Carrier (1999) (67 page)

IRBM
Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile. A rocket (typically two-stage) designed to deliver a warhead over regional rather than intercontinental distances. This class of weapons was eliminated by treaty and obsolescence from U.S. and Russian strategic forces, but is rapidly proliferating in various world trouble spots, despite international efforts to limit the export of ballistic missile technologies.

JCS
Joint Chiefs of Staff. The senior U.S. military command level, responsible for advising the President on matters of national defense. The JCS consists of a Chairman, who may be drawn from any service, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
JFACC
Joint Forces Air Component Commander. The officer who has operational control over all air units and air assets assigned to a theater of operations. The JFACC is typically drawn from the service that has the greatest amount of airpower in the area of operations, and reports directly to the theater Commander in Chief.

JP-5
Standard U.S. jet fuel. A petroleum distillate similar to kerosene.

JTF
Joint Task Force: a military unit composed of elements of two or more services, commanded by a relatively senior officer. JTFs may be organized for a specific mission, or maintained as semi-permanent organizations, such as the anti-drug JTF-4 based in Florida.

KC-10 Extender
Heavy tanker/transport based on Boeing DC-10 wide-body commercial airliner. 59 aircraft in service, some modified with drogue refueling hose reel as well as tail boom. Three CF6 turbofan engines. Maximum takeoff weight is 590,000 lbs.

KC-130
Lockheed “Hercules” four-engine turboprop, used as a transport and aerial tanker by Marine air units.

Knot
Nautical miles (6,076 feet) per hour. Often used by U.S. Air Force and Navy to measure aircraft speeds, particular in the subsonic range. One knot equals one nautical mile per hour.

LGB
Laser-guided bomb, such as the Paveway-series LGBs produced by Raytheon.

LHA Large amphibious assault ship designed to operate helicopters and STOVL aircraft, with a well deck for landing craft.

LHD
Amphibious assault ship with flight deck and well deck.

LPD
Amphibious ship with well deck.

LPH
Amphibious assault ship designed to operate helicopters.

LRIP
Low Rate Initial Production. A phase in the development of a new weapon system in which the “bugs” are worked out of manufacturing techniques, tooling, and documentation before shifting to full-rate production.

LSD
Amphibious landing dockship.

M-61 Vulcan
Six-barreled rotary (“Gatling”) 20mm cannon used as standard weapon on U.S. aircraft. Very high rate of fire. Also mounted on Army vehicles and Navy ships for short-range antiaircraft defense.

Mach The speed of sound at sea level (760 feet per second). An aircraft’s Mach number is dependent on altitude, since sound travels faster in a denser medium. Named for Ernst Mach (1838-1916), Austrian physicist.

MAG
Marine Aircraft Group.

MAGTF
Marine Air-Ground Task Force.

MAW
Marine Aircraft Wing.

MCAS
Marine Corps Air Station.

MEB
Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

MEF
Marine Expeditionary Force.

MEU
Marine Expeditionary Unit.

MEU (SOC)
Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable).

MFD
Multi-function Display. A small video monitor or flat panel display on an aircraft control panel that allows the operator to display and manipulate different kinds of sensor information, status indications, warnings, and system diagnostic data.

MiG
Russian acronym for the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, developers of some of the greatest fighter aircraft in history. Survived the breakup of the Soviet Union, and is actively competing in the global arms market.

MOS
Military Occupational Specialty.

MPF
Maritime Prepositioning Force.

MPS
Maritime Prepositioning Ship.

MPSRON
Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron.

MRC
Major Regional Contingency Pentagon euphemism for small war or large crisis requiring a significant intervention of U.S. military forces as directed by the President.

MRE
Meals, Ready to Eat. Military field ration in individual serving packs. Eaten by Marines on deployment until regular dining facilities can be constructed. Humorously known as “Meals Rejected by Everyone.”

NAF
Naval Air Facility (typically a smaller base than a Naval Air Station).

NAS
Naval Air Station.

Nautical Mile (nm)
6,076 feet. Not to be confused with Statute Mile, of 5,280 feet.

NAVAIR
Naval Air Systems Command. Organization that procures and manages aircraft and related systems and equipment for the Navy and Marine Corps. Formerly called Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAir)

NAVSEA
Naval Sea Systems Command. Organization that procures and manages ships and related systems for the Navy. Formerly called Bureau of Ships (BuShips).

NBC
Nuclear-Biological-Chemical. General term for weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear bombs or weapons designed to disperse radioactive material, toxic gases, liquids, or powders, infectious microorganisms or biological toxins. Forbidden by many international treaties that have been widely ignored.

NCO
Non-Commissioned Officer. An enlisted soldier, sailor, or airman with supervisory responsibility or technical qualifications. There are nine standardized enlisted pay grades, but each service has its own complex nomenclature for NCO ranks. In the navy these are petty officer, chief petty officer, senior chief petty officer, and master chief petty officer. The senior NCO on a vessel, regardless of rank, is informally known as “Command Master Chief.”

NEO
Non-combatant Evacuation Operations. Use of military force to rescue American and foreign citizens, diplomatic personnel, and relief workers endangered by civil unrest or factional fighting.

NORAD
North American Air Defense Command. Joint U.S.-Canadian headquarters located inside Cheyenne Mountain, CO, responsible for air defense of North America. CINCNORAD is also the Commander of U.S. Space Command.

NRO
National Reconnaissance Office. Formerly super-secret intelligence agency established in early 1960’s within the Department of Defense. Not officially acknowledged to exist until 1990’s. Responsible for procurement, operation, and management of various types of reconnaissance satellites. A separate organization, the Central Imagery Office, is responsible for processing, interpretation, and dissemination of satellite imagery.

NS
Naval Station, typically a larger base that includes shore facilities, airfields, and logistic installations.

“Nugget”
Pilot jargon for an inexperienced aviator, or new person in the squadron.

O&M
Operations and Maintenance. A major budget item for all military units.

OpTempo
Operational tempo—subjective measure of the intensity of military operations. In combat high OpTempos can overwhelm the enemy’s ability to respond, at the risk of burning out your own forces. In peacetime a high OpTempo can adversely affect morale and exhaust budgeted funds.

Ordnance
Weapons, ammunition, or other consumable armament. Frequently misspelled.

OTH
Over the Horizon. Used in references to sensors and targeting. Distance to the visual horizon may be 20 miles from the masthead of a ship, or more than 200 miles from an aircraft at high altitude.

PAA
Primary Aircraft Authorized—the number of planes allocated to a unit for the performance of its operational mission. PAA is the basis for budgeting manpower, support equipment, and flying hours. In some cases, a unit may have fewer aircraft because of delivery schedule slippage or accidents. Units may also have more aircraft than their PAA, such as trainers, spare “maintenance floats,” or inoperable “hangar queens.”

PAO
Public Affairs Officer. Military staff officer responsible for media relations, coordination with civil authorities, VIP escort duties, and similar chores. The PAO of an aircraft carrier is typically a Navy lieutenant, supervising a small team of enlisted writers and media specialists.

Paveway
Generic term for laser-guided bombs. Made by Raytheon/Texas Instruments since 1968. Latest Paveway III version provides standoff range of 3-5 nm.

PGM
Precision Guided Munition. Commonly called a “smart bomb,” any weapon that uses electronic, electro-optical, inertial, or other advanced forms of terminal guidance to achieve a very high probability of hitting its target.

Pitch
Change of an aircraft’s attitude relative to its lateral axis (a line drawn from left to right through the center of gravity). Pitch up and the nose rises; pitch down and the nose drops.

“Pucker Factor”
Flight crew anxiety level. Typically related to highly stressful combat situations such as major aircraft system malfunctions while under fire from enemy missiles.

Pylon
A structure attached to the wing or fuselage of an aircraft that supports an engine, fuel tank, weapon, or external pod. The pylon itself may be removable, in which case it is attached to a “hard point” that provides a mechanical and electrical interface.

RAM
Radar Absorbing Material. Metal or metal-oxide particles or fibers embedded in synthetic resin applied as a coating or surface treatment on radar-reflective areas of a vehicle in order to reduce its radar cross
section. A particular RAM formulation may be specific to a narrow band of the radar frequency spectrum.

RC-135V Rivet Joint
Program name for electronic reconnaissance aircraft, operated by 55th Wing based at Offut AFB, NE. Used in Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

RH-53E
Sikorsky “Sea Dragon” found in mine-countermeasure units.

RIM-116A RAM
RIM-116A Rolling Airframe Missile. Development began in 1975 as a joint U.S./German/Danish program. Entered service in June 1993 on USS Peleliu (LHA-5). Combines seeker head of Stinger SAM with motor, warhead, and fuse from AIM-9 Sidewinder. Angled tail fins cause the missile to spin in flight for stability. Range of around 5 nm, and carried in a 21-round box launcher.

RO-RO
Roll-on/Roll-off. A cargo ship with vehicle parking decks, flexible ramps, and special ventilation, allowing loaded vehicles to drive on or off under their own power.

ROE
Rules of Engagement. Guidance often determined at the highest levels of national government, regarding how and when warriors may employ their weapons. In air-to-air combat, ROE usually specify specific criteria for declaring a non-friendly aircraft as hostile. In air-to-ground combat, ROE usually forbids attacking targets likely to involve significant collateral damage to civilian populations or religious sites. Regardless of the ROE, the right of self-defense against direct armed attack is
never
denied.

Roll
Change of attitude relative to the longitudinal axis (a line drawn from nose to tail through the center of gravity). Roll to port and an aircraft tilts to the left; roll to starboard and it tilts to the right. Roll also describes a class of aerobatic maneuvers, such as the barrel roll.

RWR
Radar Warning Receiver. An electronic detector tuned to one or more hostile radar frequencies and linked to an alarm that alerts the pilot to the approximate direction, and possibly the type of threat. Similar in concept to automotive police radar detectors. Also known as a RHAW (Radar Homing and Warning Receiver).

SAM
Surface to Air Missile. A guided missile with the primary mission of engaging and destroying enemy aircraft. Most SAMs use rocket propulsion and some type of radar or infrared guidance.

SAR
Synthetic Aperture Radar. An aircraft radar (or operating mode of a multi-function radar) that can produce highly accurate ground maps.

SCUD
Western reporting name for the Soviet R-11 (SCUD-A) and R-17 (SCUD-B) short-range ballistic missiles. Based largely on captured WW II German technology. Range of 110-180 miles with 900-kg/1,980-1b warhead, with inaccurate inertial guidance. Can be transported and erected for launch by a large truck. Widely exported to Iraq, North Korea, and other Soviet client states. Iraq modified basic SCUD-B design to produce longer-ranged Al Abbas and Al Hussein missiles with much smaller warheads.

SEAD
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses. This requires enticing the enemy to “light up” search and tracking radars, launch SAMs, or fire antiaircraft guns, which can then be targeted for destruction or neutralization by jamming and other countermeasures.

SIGINT
Signal Intelligence. Interception, decoding, and analysis of enemy communications traffic.

Skunk Works®
Lockheed’s Burbank, California, Advanced Development group, created during WW II by engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson. Developed the U-2, SR-71, F-117, and other secret aircraft. Lockheed Martin copyrights the name and skunk cartoon logo.

Slat
A long, narrow, moveable control surface, usually along the leading edge of the wing, to provide additional life during takeoff.

Sortie
The basic unit of airpower: one complete combat mission by one aircraft. “Sortie generation” is the ability of an air unit to re-arm, refuel, and service aircraft for repeated missions in a given period.

Sparrow
AIM-7 family of long-range radar-guided air-to-air missiles produced by Raytheon. Variants include the ship-launched Sea Sparrow.