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Abbreviations used throughout the website

ACC - Air Combat Command

ADF - Automatic Direction Finding

ADP - Advanced Development Projects

AFB - Air Force Base

AFCS - Automatic Flight Control System

AOG - Air Operations Group

ANS - Astro-internal Navigation System

AOR - Area of Responsibility

ASARS - Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System

ATO - Air Tasking Order

ATREL - Air Transportable Reconnaissance Exploitation Laboratory

AWACS - Airborne Warning amd Control System

BAC - British Aircraft Corporation

BDA - Battle Damage Assessment

CINCSAC - Commander in Chief Strategic Air Command

COMINT - Communications Intelligence- -Technical and intelligence information derived from foreign communications by other than the intended recipients.

DAO - Directorate of Air Operations

DCI - Director of Central Intellegence

DISUM - Daily Intelligence Summary

ELINT - Electronic Intelligence -- Technical and intelligence information derived from foreign non-communications electromagnetic radiations emanating from other than nuclear detonations or radioactive sources.

EW - Electronic Warfare -- Military action involving the use of electromagnetic energy to determine, exploit, reduce or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum and action which retains friendly use of electromagnetic spectrum.

There are three divisions of electronic warfare:

  1. electronic countermeasures (ECM) -- That division of electronic warfare involving actions taken to prevent or reduce an enemy's effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum. Electronic countermeasures include:
    • electronic jamming -- The deliberate radiation, reradiation, or reflection of electromagnetic energy for the purpose of disrupting enemy use of electronic devices, equipment, or systems.
    • electronic deception -- The deliberate radiation, reradiation, alteration, suppression, absorption, denial, enhancement, or reflection of electromagnetic information and to deny valid information to an enemy.
  2. electronic counter-countermeasures -- That division of electronic warfare involving actions taken to ensure friendly effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum despite the enemy's use of electronic warfare. Also called ECCM.
  3. electronic warfare support measures -- That division of electronic warfare involving actions taken under direct control of an operational commander to search for, intercept, identify, and locate sources of radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition. Thus, electronic warfare support measures provide a source of information required for immediate decisions involving electronic countermeasures (ECM), electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM), avoidance, targeting and other tactical employment of forces. Also called ESM. Electronic warfare support measures data can be used to produce signals intelligence (SIGINT), both communications intelligence (COMINT) and electronics intelligence (ELINT).

EOB - Electronic Order of Battle

Ferret - An aircraft, ship, or vehicle especially equipped for the detection, location, and analyzing of electromagnetic radiation. (JCS Pub 1, p. 143) 2. In 1949, the term was defined as "aircraft specifically modified to perform electronic reconnaissance only." '

GCI - Ground Controlled Intercept - Controller that guides interceptor aircraft to an air target using ground radar stations.

GLO - Ground Liaison Officer

IA - Imagery Analyst

IR - Infra Red

IRIS - Intelligence Reconnaissance Imagery System

IRLS - Infra Red Line Scan

JARIC - Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre

LORAN - Long Range Navigational Aide - uses beacons to vector destination.

Mi - Abbreviation for aircraft designed by Vladimir Myasishchev, Soviet Union.

MiG - Abreviation for aircraft designed by the Mikoyan/ Gurevich team, Soviet Union.

MISREP - Mission Report

MIT - Massachussets Institute of Technology, Cambridge Mass.

MOD - Ministry of Defence

NCA - National Command Authority

NRO - National Reconnaissance Office

NSA - National Security Agency

OCU - Operational Conversion Unit

PARPRO - Peacetime Aerial Reconnaissance Programme

PI - Photographic Interpreter

PR - Photographic Reconniassance

PRU - Photographic Reconnaissance Unit

RAND - Research think tank - from initials for Research and Development - originally set up 1946 to service Air Force but gradually widened remit.

RECCEXREP - Reconnaissance Exploitation Report

RIC - Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre

SAC - Strategic Air Command

SAR - Synthetic Aperture Radar

SHORAN - Short Range Navigational Air - uses beacons to vector destination.

SIGINT - Signals Intelligence -- A category of intelligence information comprising all communications intelligence, electronics intelligence, and telemetry intelligence.

SIOP - Single Intergrated Operational Plan

SLIR - Sideways Looking Infra Red

SLR - Slide Looking Radar

SQINTO - Squadron Intelligence Officer

SRC - Strategic Reconnaissance Centre

SRW - Strategic Reconnaissance Wing - Usually three squadron in USAF Wing.

SYERS - Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance System

TIRRS - Tornado Infra Red Reconnaissance System

TREF - Transportable Reconnaissance Exploitation Facility

TU - Abbreviation for aircraft designed by Andrei N. Tupolev, Soviet Union.

ULTRA - codename for breaking of German radio codes during WW2

USAAF - United States Army Air Force (1941-47)

USAF - United States Air Force (post 1947)

USN - United States Navy