Glossary
Navigating the complex world of aerospace can be daunting, especially when it comes to deciphering the industry's extensive list of abbreviations and technical terms. But fear not, we've compiled a comprehensive guide to help you make sense of it all.
From A to Z, this list of aerospace abbreviations and terms is your one-stop-shop for understanding the lingo used in this dynamic field. Whether you're an industry professional, a student, or simply curious about the aerospace industry, this resource will equip you with the knowledge you need to communicate effectively and stay ahead of the curve.
Explore this alphabetized guide and unlock the secrets of the aerospace world. With clear explanations and real-world examples, you'll be speaking the language of the skies in no time. Bookmark this page and refer to it whenever you encounter an unfamiliar acronym or technical jargon – your aerospace journey just got a whole lot smoother.
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| 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; e.g. wing or turbine blade |
| aeroplane | Powered heavier-than-air aircraft with a non-rotating wing |
| aerostat | Lighter-than-air aircraft; aka buoyant aircraft; i.e. 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; akareheat |
| 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 Kingdom 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 |