that 'sees' in the infrared spectrum rather than visible light. A FLIR displays an image based on minute temperature variations in its field of view, so that hot engine exhaust ducts, for example, appear as bright spots.
Fur Ball A confused dogfight involving a large number of aircraft on each side. Derived from the cartoonist's typical representation of fights between cats and dogs.
G force One G is the force exerted by Earth's gravity on stationary objects at sea level. High-energy maneuvers can subject the aircraft and pilot to as much as 9 Gs. Some advanced missiles can pull as much as 60 Gs in a turn.
G-suit Aircrew garment with inflatable bladders connected to a pressure-regulating system. During high-G maneuvers the suit compresses the legs and abdomen to prevent pooling of blood in the lower body that might deprive the brain of oxygen, causing 'gray-out' or, in extreme cases, GLOC (G-induced loss of consciousness).
GBU Guided Bomb Unit. General term for a class of precision-guided munitions.
GHz Gigahertz. A measure of frequency, 1,000,000,000 cycles per second.
'Glass Cockpit' Design that replaces individual flight gauges and instruments with multi- function electronic display screens. A few mechanical gauges are usually retained for emergency backup.
Goldwater-Nichols Common name for the Military Reform Act of 1986, which created a series of unified commands cutting across traditional service boundaries and strengthened the power of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
GPS Global Positioning System. A constellation of twenty-two Navstar satellites in inclined Earth orbits, which continously broadcast navigational signals synchronized by ultra-precise atomic clocks. At least four satellites are usually in transit across the sky visible from any point on Earth outside the polar regions. A specialized computer built into a portable receiver can derive highly accurate position and velocity information by correlating data from three or more satellites. An encoded part of the signal is reserved for military use. A similar, incomplete Russian system is called GLONASS.
Green Flag A series of realistic Air Force training exercises conducted at Nellis AFB to evaluate doctrine, training, tactics, readiness, and leadership at the squadron and wing level.
HARM AGM-88 High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, produced by Texas Instruments. Mach 2+ with 146 lb. blast-fragmentation warhead. Typically fired 35 to 55 miles from target, but maximum range is greater.
Have Blue Original Lockheed 'Skunk Works' prototype for the F-117 Stealth fighter. Considerably smaller than the production aircraft, and still highly classified.
Have Nap AGM-142 heavy medium range (50 mi./80 km.) standoff air-to-ground missile. Developed by Israeli Rafael Company, and co-produced by Lockheed Martin.
Have Quick A family of jam-resistant secure airborne radios operating in the UHF band utilizing frequency hopping.
HEI High Explosive Incendiary. A type of ammunition commonly used with air-to-air guns.
HOTAS Hands on Throttle and Stick. A cockpit flight control unit that allows the pilot to regulate engine power settings and steering commands with one hand.
HUD Heads-Up Display. A transparent screen above the cockpit instruments on which critical flight, target, and weapons information is projected so that the pilot need not look down to read gauges and displays during an engagement. Current HUD technology provides wide-angle display of radar and sensor data.
HVHAA High Value Heavy Airframe Aircraft. Air Force term for a big, slow, vulnerable, and extremely valuable aircraft such as an AWACS or tanker that must be protected at all costs.
IFF Identification Friend or Foe. A radio-frequency system designed to reduce the risk of shooting down friendly aircraft. An IFF 'interrogator' on one aircraft transmits a coded message intended for the IFF 'transponder' on an unknown target. If the proper coded reply is received, the target is reported as friendly. If no reply is received, the target is reported as unknown. IFF codes are changed frequently in wartime, but lack of an IFF response is not enough to classify a target as hostile, since the transponder may be inoperative or turned off.
IIR Imaging Infrared. An electro-optical device similar to a video camera that 'sees' small differences in temperature and displays them as levels of contrast or false colors on an operator's display screen.
IL-76 Candid Russian four-turbofan heavy transport. Maximum takeoff weight of 375,000 lb./170,000 kg. Designed to operate from relatively short, unpaved runways. Exported to many Soviet client states.
ILS Instrument Landing System. A radio-frequency device installed at some airfields that assists the pilot of a suitably equipped aircraft in landing during conditions of poor visibility.
INS Inertial Navigation System. A device that determines location and velocity by sensing the acceleration and direction of every movement after the system is initialized or updated at a known point. Conventional INS systems using mechanical gyroscopes are subject to 'drift' after hours of continuous operation. Ring-laser gyros sense motion by measuring the frequency shift of laser pulses in two counter-rotating rings, and are much more accurate. The advantage of an INS is that it requires no external transmission to determine location.
Interdiction Use of airpower to disrupt or prevent the movement of enemy military units and supplies by attacking transportation routes, vehicles, and bridges deep in the enemy's rear.
IOC Initial Operational Capability. The point in the life cycle of a weapon system when it officially enters service and is considered ready for combat, with all training, spare parts, technical manuals, and software complete. The more complex the system, the greater the chance that the originally scheduled IOC will slip.
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.
J-3 Operations officer on a joint staff, responsible for assisting the commander in the planning and execution of military operations.
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.
JDAM Joint Direct Attack Munition. A general-purpose Mk 83 or Mk 84 bomb or BLU-109 cluster bomb with an inertial guidance package and miniature GPS receiver in a modified tail cone. Initial operational capability originally planned for 1997. Intended for use on Air Force and Navy strike aircraft.
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.
Jink A violent zigzag maneuver intended to confuse enemy tracking or fire-control systems.
Joy Stick The control stick of a fixed-wing aircraft. Moving the stick forward or back makes the nose pitch up or down. Moving the stick left or right makes the aircraft bank in the corresponding direction. The rudder is separately controlled by foot pedals.
JP-5 Standard U.S. Air Force jet fuel. A petroleum distillate similar to kerosene.
JSOW AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon. A 1,000-pound glide bomb with 25-mile range, using INS/GPS guidance, intended to become operational in the late 1990s. The Air Force verson will carry six BLU- 108s.
Joint Stars Joint Surveillance and Targeting Attack Radar System. An Army/Air Force program to deploy about 20 Boeing E-8C aircraft equipped with powerful side-looking synthetic aperture radar to detect moving ground targets at long range. Two E-8A prototypes rushed to Saudi Arabia were very successful in Desert Storm night operations.
