Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing tcml-3

by Tom Clancy

  ROE Rules of Engagement. Guidance, often determined at the highest levels of government, regarding how and when flight crews may employ their weapons. In air-to-air combat, ROE usually specify specific criteria for identifying 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 an aircraft's attitude relative to its longitudinal axis (a line drawn from nose to tail through the center of gravity). Roll to port and the 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).

  S-60 Soviet 57mm anti-aircraft gun. Highly mobile. Very lethal at low altitudes, it may be radar or optically aimed.

  SA-2 Soviet surface-to-air missile. Introduced in the 1950s and frequently updated. Excellent performance at high altitude. Western reporting name is Guideline.

  SA-3 Soviet surface-to-air missile. Soviet designation is S-125 Neva. Western reporting name is Goa. Improved low-altitude performance. Operation since early 1960s.

  SA-6 Soviet surface-to-air missile. Western reporting name is Gainful. Semi-active radar homing. Proved highly effective in Egyptian service during 1973 Mid-east War.

  SA-8 Soviet short-range surface-to-air missile. Western reporting name is Gecko.

  SALT Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. One of a series of agreements beginning in 1972, between the United States and the former Soviet Union, designed to limit the number and type of nuclear delivery systems and warheads.

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

  SAR Search and Rescue (sometimes written as CSAR, Combat Search and Rescue). An urgent and dangerous mission to recover shot-down flight crew or survivors from enemy-controlled territory or waters. Typically involves very low-altitude covert helicopter flights with or without fighter escort.

  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 missile. Based largely on World War II German technology. Range of 110–180 miles with 1,000 kg./2,200 lb. warhead. Inaccurate inertial guidance. Can be transported and erected for launch by large truck. Widely exported to Iraq, North Korea, and other Soviet client states. Iraq modified basic SCUD 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 track radars, launch SAMs, or fire anti-aircraft guns, which can then be target for destruction or neutralization by jamming and other countermeasures. SEAD was a primary mission of Wild Weasel aircraft. With the retirement of the remaining F-4G Wild Weasels, the SEAD mission will be taken over by specially trained and equipped F-16s.

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

  Skunk Works(r) Lockheed's Burbank, California, Advanced Development group, created during World War II by engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. Developed the U-2, SR-71, F-117, and other secret aircraft. The name and skunk cartoon logo are copyrighted by Lockheed.

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

  Slave Mode Any system mode that causes the sensor of a weapon to lock onto a target being tracked by the sensor onboard the aircraft. For example, the infrared seeker on a Sidewinder missile can be "slaved" to a target tracked by the aircraft's radar.

  SNECMA Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Avions (National Aircraft Engine Research and Construction Company). French state-owned jet engine builder; financially troubled but technically proficient.

  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, re-fuel, and service aircraft for repeated missions in a given period.

  SOS Space Operations Squadron.

  Spar A long load-carrying beam in the structure of a wing.

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

  Stall Sudden lost of lift when the airflow separates from the wing surface. May be caused by a variety of maneuvers, such as climbing too steeply with insufficient thrust. "Compressor stall" is a different phenomenon that occurs inside a turbine engine.

  START Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. One of a series of agreements between the United States and the former Soviet Union to reduce the number of deployed nuclear delivery systems and warheads.

  Stealth A combination of design features, technologies, and materials, some highly classified, designed to reduce the radar, visual, infrared, and acoustic signature of an aircraft, ship, or other vehicle to the point where effective enemy detection and countermeasures are extremely unlikely before the vehicle has completed its mission and escaped. The F-117A is the best known modern example.

  STOVL Short Takeoff, Vertical Landing. Capability of certain vectored-thrust aircraft, notably the Harrier. Short takeoff is assisted by a fixed "ski-jump" ramp.

  T-38 Talon Twin-turbojet advanced trainer; over 1,100 built by Northrop. Entered service in 1961. First supersonic aircraft specifically designed as a trainer.

  T-3A Firefly Lightweight two-seat propeller-driven trainer based on British Slingsby T67. Used by U.S. Air Force for screening of prospective pilots. Top speed 178 mph., ceiling 19,000 ft.

  TAC Tactical Air Command. Former major command of the U.S. Air Force responsible for most fighter aircraft wings. Merged into Air Combat Command in 1992.

  TACC Tactical Air Control Center. A staff organization responsible for planning and coordinating air force combat and support operations in a given area.

  TDY Temporary Duty. A military assignment to a location away from one's normal duty station. TDY generally involves separation from family and entitles personnel to supplementary pay and allowances.

  TELAR Transporter Erector Launcher and Radar. A tracked or wheeled vehicle, typically of Soviet design, equipped to carry and launch one or more surface-to-air missiles. Often equipped with optical tracking systems and command, control, and communications electronics.

  TERCOM Terrain Contour Matching. A cruise missile guidance concept that relies on a radar altimeter and a stored digital map of elevations along the line of flight. Flight plans require detailed and lengthy preparation, and cannot be generated for relatively flat, featureless terrain.

  TFR Terrain-Following Radar. A low-powered radar that scans the terrain ahead during low-level flight and either automatically commands the flight-control system to avoid hitting the ground, or sounds a warning to the pilot to pull up when necessary.

  TFW Tactical Fighter Wing. A unit of three fighter squadrons and supporting units.

  TO&E Table of Organization and Equipment. The official document that prescribes in detail the structure and authorized assets of a military unit.

  Top Gun The U.S. Navy Fighter Weapon School, scheduled to relocate from NAS Miramar, California, to NAS LeMoore, California. Responsible for training fleet pilots in air-combat maneuvering.

  TSSAM Tri-service Standoff Attack Missile (AGM-137). A stealthy, long-range precision-guided munition for Air Force, Navy, and Army (ground-launched) use; cancelled in 1994 when
the projected unit cost exceeded $2 million. Air-launched version intended for B-1B, B2, B-52, F-16, and F-22 weighed about 2,300 lb./1,045 kg. with a range of less than 375 miles/600 km.

  U-2 High-altitude (over 90,000 ft./27,430 m.) reconnaissance aircraft originally developed in the 1950s for the Central Intelligence Agency by Lockheed. Single J57, later J75, turbojet. Many variants with diverse sensors operated by the USAF and NASA (civilian research).

  UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Also known as a drone or RPV (remotely piloted vehicle). A recoverable pilotless aircraft, either remotely controlled over a radio-data link, or pre-programmed with an advanced autopilot. The U.S. Air Force has tended to resist any use of UAVs, except as targets, because they take jobs away from pilots. There are also real safety concerns about operating UAVs and manned aircraft in the same airspace, since UAVs are usually small and hard to see.

  UPT Undergraduate Pilot Training.

  Variable Geometry Ability of an aircraft to change the sweep of its wings in flight, to optimize performance for a given speed and altitude.

  Viewgraph An overhead-projector transparency or slide used in briefings or presentations. Sometimes used as a term of derision for a project that is incompletely developed, as: "His plan was nothing but a set of viewgraphs."

  Warthog Nickname for the A-10 Thunderbolt.

  Waypoint Pre-set navigational reference point on an aircraft's flight plan. May include geographical coordinates, plus altitude, speed, and time-of-arrival data.

  WCMD Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser. A cluster bomb with an inertial-guidance system and GPS receiver, allowing accurate delivery from high altitudes. Intended for use on the B-1B, beginning around 2002.

  WICP Wing Initial Communications Package. A set of radios, satellite communications antennas, portable electric power generators, and related equipment maintained by selected Air Force wings for rapid emergency deployment to remote locations.

  Wild Weasel An aircraft configured with Radar Homing and Warning (RHAW) gear and Anti-Radiation Missiles (ARMs) operated to suppress enemy surface-to-air missile sites. Originally performed by F-100F, F-105F, and F-4G Phantom II aircraft, this mission will increasingly be borne by specially trained and equipped F-16Cs.

  William Tell An air-superiority competition held every other year at Tyndall AFB, Florida. Live-fire missions are conducted over the Gulf of Mexico.

  WSO Weapons System Officer. The backseater in an F-15E or F-111. Pronounced "wizzo." Although not specifically trained as a pilot, the WSO usually acquires basic flying skills.

  XO Executive Officer. Second in command of a squadron or equivalent unit.

  Yaw Change of an aircraft's attitude relative to its vertical axis (a line drawn from top to bottom through the center of gravity). Yaw to port and the nose points further to the left; yaw to starboard and the nose points further to the right.

  ZSU-23-4 Soviet four-barreled 23mm anti-aircraft gun on light tank chassis with radar and optical fire control. Deadly against unarmored low-altitude aircraft. Usually employed together with mobile SAM launchers. Russian nickname is Shilka.

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