Recent congressional actions have attacked full funding of the remarkable Stealth bomber. But sinister forces in the world apparently think more highly of this advanced weapons system than does the Congress. During a special training exercise, one of the famous B-2 bombers disappears. After intensive air-ground searches reveal nothing, the Air Force concludes that the top-secret aircraft has been hijacked.Recovery of the Stealth and its crew is the president's highest priority. The Kremlin has its hands full with its own internal problems and disavows any knowledge of what has happened to the craft.After developing information which points to Cuba as the likely destination of the Stealth's last flight, the CIA dispatches agent Steve Wickham to the island. Wickham's mission: find the B-2 before the president calls for an invasion.As Cuban and American forces begin to clash, the world hovers on the brink of major power conflict.
ACM — Air Combat Maneuvering; dog-fighting.
ACO — Air Control Officer.
ADIZ — Air Defense Identification Zone.
ADVCAP — Advanced Capability.
AEGIS — Air Defense System on Ticonderoga Class Cruisers.
ALCM — Air Launched Cruise Missiles.
Alpha Strike — All-out carrier air wing attack.
ASW — Antisubmarine Warfare.
AWACS — Airborne Warning And Control System.
Ball — The optical landing device on an aircraft carrier. Also referred to as "meatball."
BARCAP — Barrier Combat Air Patrol, used to protect vessels at sea.
Blue Water Operations — Carrier flight operations beyond the range of land bases.
Bogie — Unidentified or enemy aircraft.
Bolter — Carrier landing attempt in which the tail hook misses the arresting wire, necessitating a go-around.
Bow — Front end of ship.
Bridge — Command post in a ship superstructure.
CAG — Commander of the Air Group; oversees all squadrons embarked on a carrier.
CAP — Combat Air Patrol.
CATCC — Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (Cat-see).
Check Six — Refers to visual observation behind an aircraft. Fighter pilots must check behind them constantly to ensure that enemy aircraft are not in an attack position.
CIC — Combat Information Center — central battle management post in naval surface combat.
CINCLANT — Commander In Chief of Atlantic Fleet.
CINCPAC — Commander In Chief of Pacific Fleet.
CNO — Chief of Naval Operations.
Dash Two — Second plane in a two-aircraft section; the wingman.
Departure — Refers to an aircraft departing from controlled flight.
DME — Distance Measuring Equipment. Distance provided to a pilot in nautical miles from a known point.
ELINT — Electronic Intelligence.
Feet Dry / Wet — Pilot radio call indicating a position over land/water.
FOD — Foreign Object Damage to a jet engine.
Fox One/Two/Three — Pilot radio calls indicating the firing of a Sparrow, Sidewinder, or Phoenix missile.
Furball — Multiaircraft fighter engagement.
G-force — Force pressed on a body by changes in velocity, measured in increments of earth gravity.
G-LOC — G-induced Loss of Consciousness.
Gomers — Air combat adversaries.
Hawkeye — E-2C early warning and control aircraft; radar eyes of the fleet.
Hornet — F/A-18 fighter/attack aircraft.
Hot pump — Refueling aircraft while engine is running.
ICS Intercom — System in cockpits of multiseat aircraft.
IFF — Military transponder used to identify aircraft (Identification Friend or Foe).
IFR — Instrument Flight Rules.
Intruder — A-6 attack aircraft.
Knot — One nautical mile per hour. A nautical mile equals 1.1 statute miles.
LAMPS — Light Airborne Multipurpose System; shipborne helicopter used for antisubmarine warfare.
LCAC — Air-cushioned landing craft.
Loose Deuce — Navy and Marine Corps tactical fighter formation.
LSO — Landing Signal Officer. Squadron pilot responsible for assisting other aviators onto flight deck of aircraft carrier; also called Paddles.
Mach — Term, named for physicist Ernst Mach, used to describe speed of an object in relation to the speed of sound.
MAD — Magnetic Anomaly Detector, used to locate submerged submarines.
Main mount — Aircraft main landing gear.
Marshall — Aircraft holding pattern behind aircraft carrier.
MILSTAR — Advanced military satellite communications system.
NATOPS — Naval Aviation Training and Operations manual. Provides rules and regulations for safe and proper operation of all navy and marine corps aircraft and helicopters.
NEACP — National Emergency Airborne Command Post (KNEECAP).
Nugget — Rookie naval aviator.
PRI-FLY — Control tower on aircraft carrier.
Phoenix — AIM-54 long-range air-to-air missile.
Plane Guard — Helicopter assigned to search and rescue during carrier flight operations.
Push Time — Designated time for aircraft to start approach to carrier.
RAM — Radar-Absorbent Material.
Ramp — Aft end of flight deck; rounddown.
RCS — Radar Cross Section.
RIO — Radar Intercept Officer; naval flight officer in backseat of F-14 Tomcat and F-4 Phantom aircraft.
ROE — Rules Of Engagement.
SAC — Strategic Air Command.
SAM — Surface-to-Air Missile.
SAR — Search And Rescue.
Section takeoff — Two aircraft taking off in formation.
Sidewinder — AIM-9 heat-seeking air-to-air missile.
Sparrow — AIM-7 radar-guided air-to-air missile.
SUCAP — Surface Combat Air Patrol.
Tally — Derivative of tallyho; target in sight.
Tomcat — F-14 fighter aircraft; also called "turkey."
Trap — Arrested landing on aircraft carrier.
Unload — Release pressure on aircraft control stick to ease g load.
VFR — Visual Flight Rules.
V/STOL — Very Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft.
Viking — S-3 ASW aircraft; also called Hoover.
