| A/G | Air/ground |
| AA | Air-to-air |
|
also: |
Anti-aircraft |
| AAA | Anti-aircraft artillery |
| AAAA | Army Aviation Association of America |
| AAC | Army Air Corps (UK); also: Alaskan Air Command (USAF) |
| AAF | Auxiliary air force |
| AAFCE | Allied Air Forces Central Europe (NATO) |
| AAI | Angle of approach indicator |
| AAIB | Air Accidents Investigations Branch (UK) |
| AAM | Air-to-air missile |
| AAO | Airborne area of operations |
| AAR | Air-to-air refueling |
| AAS | Aeromedical Airlift Squadron (USAF) |
| AATH | Automatic approach to hover |
| AB | Air base (USAF; overseas locations); also: Aktiebolag (Swedish company |
| constitution) | |
| ABG | Air Base Group (USAF) |
| ABM | Anti-ballistic missile |
| ABS | Air Base Squadron (USAF); also: Antilock braking system |
| absolute ceiling | Maximum altitude aircraft can reach in unaccelerated flight |
| ACCS | Air command and control system (NATO); also: Airborne Command & Control |
| Squadron (USAF) | |
| ACLANT | Allied Command, Atlantic (NATO) |
| ABW | Air Base Wing (USAF) |
| AC | Aerodynamic centre; also: alternating current |
| ACAB | Air cavalry attack brigade |
| ACAS | Airborne collision-avoidance system; also: assistent chief of air staff (UK) |
| ACB | Air circuit breaker |
| ACC | Air Combat Command (USAF) |
| ACE | Allied Command Europe; also: actuator control electronics |
| ACES | Advanced concept ejection seat |
| acint | Acoustic intelligence |
| ACLS | Automatic carrier landing system; also: air cushion landing system |
| ACM | Air combat manoeuvring; also: air combat mission; also: Air Chief Marshal |
| ACMI | Air combat manoeuvring instrumentation |
| ACMR | Air combat manoeuvring range |
| ACMS | Aircraft condition monitoring system |
| ACN | Aircraft classification number; ICAO system indicating order of bending moment |
| for runway pavements | |
| ACO | Airborne commanding officer |
| ACP | Audio control panel; also: airborne command post |
| ACR | Air control radar |
| ACS | Air combat simulator; also: attitude control system; also: automated control system; |
| also: airborne control system | |
| ACT | Active control technology |
| active controls | Flight control system which automatically counteracts vertical acceleration caused by |
| gusts by movement of pitch controls | |
| active runway | runway currently in use for flying operations |
| ACU | Avionics control unit |
| ACW | Air Control Wing (USAF) |
| AD | Airworthiness directive; also: air defence; also: Air Division (USAF) |
| ADA | High order computer language for US armed forces |
| ADAS | Airborne data aquisition system |
| ADC | Air data computer |
| ADD | Airstream direction detector; measures angle of attack |
| ADF | Automatic direction finder (a radio navigation aid); also: air defence fighter |
| ADGE | Air defence ground environment |
| ADHS | Analog data handling system |
| ADI | Attitude director indicator |
| ADIRS | Air data and inertial reference system |
| adjustable pitch | Propeller with pitch which can only be adjusted on the ground |
| ADP | Automated data-processing |
| ADR | Accident data recorder; also: Air defence region |
| ADS | Air data system; also: Air defence sector |
| ADSU | Air data sensor unit |
| ADU | Air data unit |
| AdvCap | Advanced capability |
| ADW | Area denial weapon |
| AEF | Air Experience Flight (RAF) |
| AEGIS | AEW/Ground environment Integration System |
| AEO | All engines operating |
| aerofoil | Any solid body shaped such that as air or hot gas passes over it, it produces a |
| useful force perpendicuar to the direction of relative motion; ie, wing or turbine blade | |
| aeroplane | Powered heavier-than-air aircraft with a non-rotating wing |
| aerostat | Lighter-than-air aircraft; aka buoyant aircraft; ie, airship or balloon |
| AETC | Air Education and Training Command (USAF) |
| AEU | Airborne electronics unit |
| AEW | Airborne early warning |
| AEW&C | Airborne early warning & control |
| AF | Air force |
| AFA | Air Force Association |
| AFB | Air force base (USAF; airfields on US territory) |
| AFC | Augmentor fuel control; also: automatic frequency control; also: aramid fibre composite |
| AFCAS | Automatic flight control augmentation system |
| AFCC | Air Force Communications Command (USAF) |
| AFCENT | Allied Forces Central Europe (NATO) |
| AFCS | Automatic flight control system |
| AFDS | Autopilot and flight director system; also: automatic flight director system |
| AFFTC | Air Force Flight Test Center (USAF) |
| AFGS | Automatic flight guidance system |
| AFLC | Air Force Logistics Command (USAF) |
| AFM | Advanced fuel management |
| AFMC | Air Force Material Command (USAF) |
| AFMS | Automatic flight management system |
| AFRC | Air Force Reserve Command (USAF) |
| AFRES | Air Force reserves (USAF) |
| AFRP | Aramid fibre-reinforced plastics |
| AFS | Automatic flight system |
| AFSC | Air Force Systems Command (USAF) |
| AFSOC | Air Force Special Operations Command (USAF) |
| AFSPC | Air Force Space Command (USAF) |
| afterburning | Augmented thrust; achieved by burning additional fuel in jetpipe; aka reheat |
| AG | Aktiengesellschaft; German joint stock company; also: Airlift Group (USAF) |
| AGARD | Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (NATO) |
| AGL | Above ground level |
| AGM | Air-to-ground missile |
| Ah | Ampere-hours |
| AHM | Anti-helicopter mine |
| AHRS | Attitude heading and reference system |
| AI | Air interdiction; also: air interception; also: artificial intelligence |
| AIAA | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| AIC | Air inlet computer |
| AIDS | Airborne integrated data system |
| aileron | Control surface on trailing edge of wing providing control in roll |
| AIM | Airborne intercept missile; also: actuator interface module |
| AIR | Air intercept radar |
| aircraft | Any and all man-made vehicles intended for navigation within the atmosphere |
| airship | Buoyant vehicle with means of control and propulsion |
| airspeed | Velocity of a vehicle relative to the surrounding air |
| airstairs | Passenger boarding stairs built as an integral part of the aircraft |
| air superiority | The control of airspace through the destruction of enemy fighter aircraft in dogfight |
| action | |
| AIS | Automated information system; also: advanced instrumentation subsystem |
| aka | also known as |
| ALBM | Air launched ballistic missile |
| ALCM | Air launched cruise missile |
| ALCS | Active lift control system; also: augmented longitudinal control system |
| ALD | Air-launched decoy |
| ALF | Airlift Flight (USAF) |
| ALFS | Airborne low-frequency sonar |
| Al-Li | Aluminium-Lithium |
| ALPA | Air Line Pilots Association (US) |
| alpha | Angle of attack of main wing; re: AoA |
| ALS | Airlift Squadron (USAF) |
| Alt | Altitude |
| AM | Amplitude modulation |
| AMC | Air Mobility Command (USAF) |
| AMF | ACE Mobile Force (NATO) |
| AMI | Aeronautica Militare Italiana; Italian Air Force |
| amphibian | Aircraft capable of routinely operating from both water and land |
| AMS | Air Maintenance Squadron (USAF) |
| AMSL | Above mean sea level |
| AMTI | Airborne moving target indicator |
| AMW | Air Mobility Wing (USAF) |
| ANG | Air National Guard (USAF) |
| anhedral | Downward wing inclination from root to tip |
| angled deck | Aircraft carrier deck inclined obliquely from port bow to starboard stern |
| ANO | Air Navigation Order (UK); statutory instrument for enactment of policy |
| ANS | Airborne navigation system; also: automatic navigation system |
| ANZUK | Australia, New Zealand and United Kingkom military alliance |
| ANZUS | Australia, New Zealand and United States security treaty |
| AoA | Angle of attack; the angle between the zero-lift line of a wing and the free-stream |
| airflow | |
| AOAI | Angle of attack indicator |
| AOB | Air Order of Battle |
| AOC | Air officer commanding |
| AOG | Aircraft on ground |
| AOP | Airborne observation post |
| APGS | Auxiliary power generating system |
| APR | Auxiliary power reserve; also: automatic power reserve |
| APS | Auxiliary power system; also: aircraft prepared for service; weight including crew but |
| excluding fuel and payload | |
| APU | Auxiliary power unit (on board of aircraft) |
| ARCS | Aquisition radar and control system |
| AREFS | Air Refueling Squadron (USAF) |
| AREFW | Air Refueling Wing (USAF) |
| ARG | Air Refueling Group (USAF) |
| ARINC | Aeronautical Radio Inc; company which established standard module sizes |
| ARM | Anti-radiation missile |
| ARNG | Army National Guard (US) |
| ARPA | Advanced Research Projects Agency aka DARPA |
| ARR | Air refueling receptacle |
| ARS | Attack radar set |
| articulated rotor | Rotor blades are able to flap, drag and feather |
| ARV | Air recreational vehicle |
| ASARS | Advanced synthetic aperture radar system |
| ASAT | Anti-satellite |
| ASCC | Air Standards Co-ordinating Committee; responsible for assigning recognition |
| names to aircraft of a potential enemy | |
| ASDA | Accelerate stop distance available |
| ASE | Automatic stabilisation equipment; also: aircraft survivability equipment |
| ASI | Airspeed indicator |
| ASIP | Aircraft structural integrity programme (US) |
| ASL | Above sea level |
| ASM | Air-to-surface missile |
| ASO | Acoustic systems officer |
| aspect ratio | Measure of wing slenderness when seen in plan view, usually defined as the square |
| of the span divided by gross area | |
| ASR | Air Staff Requirement (UK) |
| ASST | Anti-ship surveillance & targeting; also: advanced supersonic transport |
| AST | Air Staff Target (UK) |
| ASTOVL | Advanced short take-off and vertical landing |
| ASUW | Anti-surface unit warfare |
| ASV | Anti-surface vessel |
| ASW | Anti-submarine warfare |
| ATA | Air Transport Association; also: actual time of arrival |
| ATAF | Allied Tactical Air Force (NATO) |
| ATAP | Anti-tank, anti-personnel |
| ATC | Air traffic control; also: approved type certificate; also: Air Training Command (USAF) |
| ATCC | Air traffic control centre |
| ATD | Actual time of departure; also: advanced technology demonstrator |
| ATDS | Airborne tactical data system |
| ATE | Automatic test equipment |
| ATGM | Anti-tank guided missile |
| ATGW | Anti-tank guided weapon |
| ATHS | Airborne target handover system |
| ATIS | Aerodrome terminal information service; also: Automatic terminal information service |
| ATO | Assisted take-off |
| ATR | Air transport racking; ARINC case-sizes |
| ATS | Air traffic service |
| augmented | Jet engine: boosted by afterburning |
| autofeathering | System which feathers the propeller of a failed engine automatically |
| autogyro | Rotary-wing aircraft propelled by a propellor and lifted by a freely running |
| autorotating rotor; aka gyroplane | |
| autorotation | Rapid power-off descent in a helicopter, reduced immediately before touch-down by |
| increasing collective pitch | |
| AUW | All up weight; total weight under defined conditions |
| avcat | re: JP-5 |
| avgas | Aviation gasoline |
| avionics | Aviation electronics |
| avpin | Aviation specification monofuel; iso-propyl nitrate |
| avtag | re: JP-4 |
| avtur | re: JP-1 |
| AW | Airlift Wing (USAF) |
| AWAC | Automated weapon control system |
| AWACS | Airborne warning & control system; nowadays loosely applied to all AEW aircraft |
| AWCLS | All-weather carrier landing system |
| AWE | Atomic Weapons Establishment (UK) |
| AWR | Airborne weather radar |
| azimuth | Horizontal direction or bearing; rotation about vertical axis |
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Glossary |