[{"t":"10 USC 4022","s":"Statute authorizing DoD prototype Other Transactions and follow-on production","d":"10 USC 4022, formerly 10 USC 2371b before the January 2022 renumbering of Title 10 acquisition statutes, authorizes prototype OTs and, in subsection (f), noncompetitive follow-on production when the prototype was competitively awarded and successfully completed. 10 USC 4021 covers research OTs. Agreements over certain thresholds need senior approval.","c":"Acquisition","k":["2371b","Section 4022","4022(f)"],"r":["OTA","Production follow-on"]},{"t":"120mm","s":"Tank gun calibre (M256 on Abrams) and heavy mortar calibre","d":"120mm is the standard NATO tank gun calibre, used on the Abrams' M256 smoothbore and the Leopard 2. It is also the calibre of the heaviest infantry mortars, such as the M120. Tank rounds include kinetic penetrators (APFSDS), multipurpose and programmable airburst ammunition.","c":"Weapons","k":["120mm tank gun","APFSDS","M120 mortar"],"r":["M1 Abrams","Mortar"]},{"t":"155mm","s":"Standard NATO artillery calibre for howitzers like the M777 and M109","d":"155mm is the main Western artillery calibre, fired by the towed M777 and the self-propelled M109A7 Paladin. Production of 155mm shells became a major issue after Ukraine consumed them faster than the West could make them, and the US has been expanding output toward 100,000 rounds per month. Guided variants such as Excalibur add precision.","c":"Weapons","k":["155mm artillery","Excalibur","M795"],"r":["Artillery","Indirect fire","ERCA"]},{"t":"1PPS","x":"One Pulse Per Second","s":"Timing signal marking the start of each second, output by GPS receivers","d":"A 1PPS output is an electrical pulse aligned to the start of each second, typically with nanosecond-level accuracy from a GNSS receiver or time server, used to discipline local oscillators and timestamp events. It is commonly paired with a time-of-day message or IRIG-B time code to tell systems which second it is.","c":"PNT","k":["PPS","IRIG-B","10 MHz reference"],"r":["Time transfer","Holdover"]},{"t":"1SG","x":"First Sergeant","s":"First sergeant: the senior NCO of an Army or Marine company","d":"The first sergeant (E-8) is the senior enlisted leader of a company, battery or troop, responsible for soldiers' welfare, discipline and readiness. Soldiers call the first sergeant \"Top\" in some units. The Marine abbreviation is 1stSgt.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["1stSgt","Top","First shirt"],"w":"First sergeant","r":["CSM","Company"]},{"t":"2 SOPS","x":"2nd Space Operations Squadron","s":"Space Force squadron that operates the GPS constellation","d":"The 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, runs the GPS Master Control Station and commands the constellation, uploading navigation data and maintaining satellites. Its alternate master control station is at Vandenberg SFB. Monitor stations worldwide feed it measurements to compute satellite orbits and clock corrections.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["2nd SOPS","GPS Master Control Station","MCS"],"r":["GPS","OCX"]},{"t":"30mm","s":"Common medium cannon calibre for IFVs, attack helicopters and counter-UAS guns","d":"30mm cannons arm the AH-64 (30x113mm M230), the A-10 (30x173mm GAU-8), Stryker Dragoon and the XM30. The 30x173mm XM813 Bushmaster is used on M-SHORAD and M-LIDS with proximity fuzed rounds against drones. 25mm (M242 Bushmaster on the Bradley) is the earlier standard.","c":"Weapons","k":["30x173mm","30x113mm","25mm","Bushmaster"],"r":["XM30","M-SHORAD","Proximity fuze"]},{"t":"350th Spectrum Warfare Wing","s":"US Air Force wing responsible for EW reprogramming and mission data","d":"A US Air Force wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, activated in 2021, responsible for EW reprogramming, mission data and spectrum warfare readiness for Air Force platforms. It produces mission data files and runs test and analysis to keep EW systems current with the threat.","c":"Organizations","k":["350 SWW","350th SWW"],"r":["Reprogramming","Mission data file"]},{"t":"3D radar","s":"Radar that measures range, azimuth and elevation (hence altitude) of targets","d":"A 3D radar measures elevation as well as range and azimuth, either with stacked beams, frequency scanning, or electronic elevation steering, so a single sensor gives target altitude. Most modern air surveillance radars are 3D, replacing older 2D radar plus height finder combinations. Elevation accuracy at low angles is limited by multipath.","c":"Radar","k":["three-dimensional radar"],"w":"3D radar","r":["Height finder","Search radar"]},{"t":".50 BMG","s":"12.7x99mm heavy machine gun cartridge for the M2 and anti-materiel rifles","d":".50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun), also 12.7x99mm NATO, is fired by the M2 heavy machine gun and the M107 anti-materiel rifle. It is widely used on vehicles and ships, and is also a common gun for short-range counter-drone defense.","c":"Weapons","k":["12.7x99mm","50 cal","M2"],"w":".50 BMG","r":["7.62 NATO"]},{"t":"5.56 NATO","s":"5.56x45mm rifle cartridge used in M4 and many NATO weapons","d":"5.56x45mm NATO is the standard Western rifle cartridge, fired by the M4, M16, M249 and many allied rifles. The Army's M855A1 is the current standard ball round. The Army is replacing it in close combat units with the 6.8mm NGSW, though 5.56 will remain widely used.","c":"Weapons","k":["5.56x45mm","5.56mm","M855A1"],"w":"5.56×45mm NATO","r":["7.62 NATO","6.8mm","NGSW"]},{"t":"600 series","s":"ECCNs for military items moved from the USML to the EAR, with a 6 in the third position","d":"600 series ECCNs, such as 3A611 for military electronics or 8A620 for military aircraft parts, cover less sensitive military items transferred from ITAR during export control reform. They retain strict controls, with licenses required for most destinations other than Canada, and a de minimis rule with no threshold for countries under arms embargo. The .y paragraphs cover low-sensitivity items with lighter controls.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["xY6zz","3A611","8A620",".y items"],"r":["ECCN","9x515","EAR","ITAR"]},{"t":"6.1","x":"Basic Research","s":"RDT&E budget activity for fundamental research, mostly at universities and labs","d":"Budget Activity 1 funds systematic study toward greater knowledge without specific applications in mind. Most 6.1 money goes to universities and government labs through offices such as ONR, AFOSR and ARO. Results are typically fundamental research and publishable.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA 1","basic research"],"r":["Budget activities","6.2","Fundamental research exclusion"]},{"t":"6.2","x":"Applied Research","s":"RDT&E budget activity for research aimed at specific military problems","d":"Budget Activity 2 translates basic research into solutions for broadly defined military needs, short of developing hardware prototypes. It is common in service lab programs and early SBIR-like efforts.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA 2","applied research"],"r":["6.1","6.3","S&T"]},{"t":"6.3","x":"Advanced Technology Development","s":"RDT&E budget activity for demonstrating technology in relevant environments","d":"Budget Activity 3 funds development and integration of subsystems and components and demonstrations of technology, often ending at TRL 5 or 6. It is the last of the science and technology budget activities and the usual handoff point to programs, which is where the valley of death sits.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA 3","advanced technology development","ATD"],"r":["6.2","6.4","Valley of death","TRL"]},{"t":"6.4","x":"Advanced Component Development and Prototypes","s":"RDT&E budget activity for prototypes in realistic environments, before formal EMD","d":"Budget Activity 4 funds evaluation of integrated technologies and prototypes in as realistic an environment as possible, typically in TMRR or MTA prototyping. It is program-owned money, so a 6.4 line indicates program intent.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA 4","ACD&P"],"r":["6.3","6.5","TMRR","MTA"]},{"t":"6.5","x":"System Development and Demonstration","s":"RDT&E budget activity for EMD-stage engineering and manufacturing development","d":"Budget Activity 5 funds programs in engineering and manufacturing development, including the development test of production-representative articles. It generally applies after Milestone B.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA 5","SDD","EMD funding"],"r":["6.4","EMD"]},{"t":"6.6","x":"RDT&E Management Support","s":"RDT&E budget activity funding test ranges, facilities and management support","d":"Budget Activity 6 funds the infrastructure and management of RDT&E, including test ranges in the Major Range and Test Facility Base, studies and analysis, and SBIR administration in some components.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA 6","management support"],"r":["MRTFB","Budget activities"]},{"t":"6.7","x":"Operational System Development","s":"RDT&E budget activity for upgrades to fielded systems","d":"Budget Activity 7 funds development efforts for systems already in production or fielded, such as capability upgrades and software modifications. Many upgrade and modernization opportunities on existing platforms are funded here.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA 7","operational system development"],"r":["Budget activities","O&S"]},{"t":"6.8mm","s":"6.8x51mm cartridge for the Army's XM7 rifle and XM250 machine gun","d":"The 6.8x51mm Common Cartridge, a hybrid steel and brass case, fires at much higher pressure than 7.62 NATO to give longer range and better penetration from a rifle. It was chosen with the SIG Sauer weapons for the Next Generation Squad Weapon program. Weight and recoil have been points of debate.","c":"Weapons","k":["6.8x51mm","6.8 Common Cartridge",".277 Fury"],"r":["NGSW","5.56 NATO"]},{"t":"7.62 NATO","s":"7.62x51mm cartridge used in M240 machine guns and marksman rifles","d":"7.62x51mm NATO is a full-power rifle cartridge used in the M240 machine gun, M110 and M80-series sniper systems. It was the NATO standard rifle round before 5.56mm. It remains common in vehicle mounts and allied service.","c":"Weapons","k":["7.62x51mm","7.62mm"],"w":"7.62×51mm NATO","r":["5.56 NATO","6.8mm"]},{"t":"8(a)","s":"SBA program for socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses","d":"The SBA 8(a) Business Development program gives certified firms access to set-asides and sole-source awards up to thresholds, over a nine-year term. The program came under heavy review and restructuring in 2025, including SBA audits and DoD scrutiny of 8(a) awards, so check current status before relying on it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["8(a) program"],"w":"Small Business Administration","r":["Small business set-aside","SDVOSB","HUBZone"]},{"t":"9-line CAS","s":"Standard nine-line briefing a JTAC gives an aircraft for a close air support attack","d":"The CAS brief covers: 1 initial point or battle position, 2 heading and offset, 3 distance, 4 target elevation, 5 target description, 6 target location, 7 type of mark, 8 location of friendlies, 9 egress, followed by remarks and restrictions. Aircrew read back key lines. Digital CAS tools transmit the same data machine to machine.","c":"Comms","k":["Nine-line CAS","CAS 9-line","Game plan"],"r":["JTAC","CAS","Danger close","Cleared hot"]},{"t":"9-line MEDEVAC","s":"Standard nine-line request for medical evacuation by air or ground","d":"The nine lines are: 1 pickup location grid, 2 radio frequency and call sign, 3 number of patients by precedence (urgent, priority, routine), 4 special equipment, 5 patients by type (litter or ambulatory), 6 security at pickup site in wartime (wounds in peacetime), 7 marking method, 8 patient nationality and status, 9 CBRN contamination in wartime (terrain in peacetime). It is followed by a MIST report. Digital forms for it must match the format exactly.","c":"Comms","k":["Nine-line MEDEVAC","MEDEVAC request"],"r":["MEDEVAC","MIST","CASEVAC"]},{"t":"9x515","s":"ECCNs for spacecraft and related items moved from the USML to the EAR","d":"The 9x515 entries, such as 9A515 for spacecraft and components and 9E515 for technology, control commercial and some military spacecraft items no longer on the USML. Some controls were relaxed in 2024 for close allies. Classification here rather than USML Category XV greatly simplifies business.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["9A515","9E515","515 series"],"r":["USML Category XV","600 series","ECCN"]},{"t":"A2/AD","x":"Anti-Access/Area Denial","s":"Anti-access and area denial: keeping enemy forces out of a region","d":"Anti-Access/Area Denial: capabilities designed to prevent an adversary from entering an operational area (anti-access, typically long-range) or to limit its freedom of action within it (area denial, shorter range). Long-range missiles such as China's DF-21D and DF-26, integrated air defenses such as Russia's S-400, submarines and mines are typical. The US Navy has at times discouraged the term, but it remains widely used.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Anti-access/area denial","r":["DF-21D","SA-21 Growler","First island chain","EABO","DMO","ACE","IADS"],"k":["anti-access area denial"]},{"t":"AA, AS, SA, SS designators","s":"NATO missile codes: air-to-air, air-to-surface, surface-to-air, surface-to-surface","d":"The prefix in a NATO missile designation gives its launch and target domains: AA air-to-air (AA-12 Adder), AS air-to-surface (AS-24 Killjoy), SA surface-to-air (SA-21 Growler), SS surface-to-surface (SS-26 Stone) and AT anti-tank. An N inserted after the first letters marks a naval version, such as SA-N-6 or SS-N-27. Names start with the type letter: A for air-to-air, K for air-to-surface, G for surface-to-air and S for surface-to-surface.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["SA-","SS-","AS-","AA-","SS-N","SA-N","AT-"],"r":["NATO reporting name"]},{"t":"AAL","x":"Army Applications Laboratory","s":"Army Futures Command innovation unit in Austin that works with startups","d":"The Army Applications Laboratory finds and funds commercial technologies for Army problems, using cohort programs and SBIR and OT contracts. It sits within Army Futures Command, whose structure was being reorganized in 2025.","c":"Organizations","k":["Army Applications Laboratory","Army Applications Lab"],"r":["xTech","AFWERX"]},{"t":"AAR","x":"After Action Review","s":"After action review: a structured discussion of what happened and how to improve","d":"An AAR asks what was supposed to happen, what actually happened, why, and what to sustain or improve. It is non-punitive and used after training, operations and tests. Recording and replay tools that feed AARs are valued in training.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["After action report"],"w":"After-action review","r":["Hot wash","Lessons learned"],"h":"AAR – After Action Review"},{"t":"AAR","x":"Air-to-Air Refueling","s":"Transferring fuel between aircraft in flight","d":"AAR uses either a flying boom (Air Force) or probe and drogue (Navy, Marines and many allies). Interoperability between systems and certification of receiver-tanker pairs is a recurring NATO coordination topic. Also called aerial refueling or in-flight refueling.","c":"Aviation","k":["AR","aerial refueling","in-flight refueling","probe and drogue"],"w":"Aerial refueling","r":["Tanker","KC-46"],"h":"AAR – Air-to-Air Refueling"},{"t":"AARGM","x":"Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile","s":"AGM-88E: HARM upgrade with GPS/INS and active millimeter-wave terminal seeker","d":"The AGM-88E, built by Northrop Grumman, upgrades HARM with GPS/INS navigation, a wideband passive receiver, a millimeter-wave active radar terminal seeker and a weapon impact assessment link. The additions let it strike radars that shut down and other time-sensitive targets. It is used by the US Navy, US Marine Corps and Italy.","c":"Weapons","k":["AGM-88E"],"r":["AGM-88 HARM","AARGM-ER"]},{"t":"AARGM-ER","x":"Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile, Extended Range","s":"AGM-88G: longer-range AARGM with new motor, sized for F-35 internal carriage","d":"The AGM-88G, developed by Northrop Grumman, pairs AARGM's seeker and guidance with a new rocket motor and airframe for roughly twice the range, and is sized for internal carriage on the F-35A and F-35C. It is used by the US Navy and Air Force and has been ordered by allies including Australia. It is in production.","c":"Weapons","k":["AGM-88G"],"r":["AARGM","AGM-88 HARM","DEAD"]},{"t":"AAW","x":"Anti-Air Warfare","s":"Naval defense against aircraft and missiles","d":"AAW is the naval term for air defense, carried out mainly by Aegis ships with SM-2, SM-6, ESSM and close-in systems like RAM and Phalanx. The Red Sea campaign against Houthi drones and missiles from 2023 was the Navy's most intense AAW combat in decades.","c":"Naval","k":["anti-air warfare","IAMD"],"r":["Aegis","SM-6","ESSM","Phalanx CIWS"]},{"t":"A band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 0 to 250 MHz","d":"NATO EW band A covers 0 to 250 MHz, including HF, VHF tactical communications and VHF early warning radars. Not to be confused with IEEE letters, which do not use A.","c":"RF","k":["A-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","B band (NATO)"]},{"t":"ABCT","x":"Armored Brigade Combat Team","s":"Army heavy brigade with Abrams tanks, Bradleys and self-propelled artillery","d":"An ABCT contains combined arms battalions with M1 Abrams and M2 Bradleys, a cavalry squadron, M109 artillery and support units, about 4,000 soldiers. It is the Army's heaviest maneuver brigade. Its modernisation programs include M1E3, XM30 and AMPV.","c":"Ground","k":["armored brigade"],"r":["IBCT","SBCT","M1 Abrams","M2 Bradley"]},{"t":"ABI","x":"Activity-Based Intelligence","s":"Analysis that starts from activities and transactions to surface unknown targets","d":"Activity-Based Intelligence: an analytic methodology, promoted by NGA from around 2010, that focuses on activities and transactions associated with entities and networks to discover unknown threats. It relies on georeferencing all data, data neutrality (any source counts), sequence neutrality and integrating before exploiting. ABI concepts shaped many big-data and geospatial analytics platforms.","c":"Intelligence","r":["OBP","Pattern of life","GEOINT"]},{"t":"ABMS","x":"Advanced Battle Management System","s":"Air Force's contribution to JADC2, now part of the DAF Battle Network","d":"ABMS is the Department of the Air Force program for its part of JADC2, started around 2019 as a series of on-ramp experiments connecting aircraft, ships, ground forces and space. It was reorganized under the Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management (PEO C3BM) and is now described as part of the DAF Battle Network. ABMS also produced capabilities such as cloud-based C2 for air defense of North America.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["DAF Battle Network","PEO C3BM","JADC2"]},{"t":"Abort","s":"Brevity: cease the action, attack, event or mission","d":"ABORT directs an immediate halt to an attack or mission. In CAS, an abort can be called up to weapon release. In everyday speech it is used similarly.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Cleared hot","Knock it off"]},{"t":"ACAS","x":"Assured Compliance Assessment Solution","s":"DoD enterprise vulnerability scanning suite based on Tenable","d":"ACAS is the DoD enterprise vulnerability management solution, built on Tenable products such as Nessus and Security Center, used to scan networks for vulnerabilities and configuration compliance. Scan results feed authorizations and IAVA compliance reporting. Systems must typically show clean ACAS scans before connection.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["Nessus","Tenable"],"r":["IAVA","STIG","ESS"]},{"t":"ACAT","x":"Acquisition Category","s":"The I, II or III size class of a program, which sets who oversees it","d":"Acquisition Category ranks programs by estimated cost and importance. ACAT I covers MDAPs, ACAT II covers major systems below the MDAP threshold (roughly over $200 million RDT&E or $920 million procurement in FY2020 dollars), and ACAT III covers everything else. The category determines the Milestone Decision Authority and the depth of documentation and review.","c":"Acquisition","k":["ACAT I","ACAT II","ACAT III","ACAT IB","ACAT IC","Acquisition Category"],"r":["MDAP","MDA","PEO"]},{"t":"Acceptance test","s":"Test each production unit passes to show it was built correctly before delivery","d":"Acceptance testing verifies workmanship and functional performance of each deliverable unit, at levels that do not damage it. It is defined in an acceptance test procedure and its results support DD250 acceptance.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["ATP","acceptance test procedure","production acceptance"],"r":["Qualification test","DD250","ESS"]},{"t":"ACE","x":"Agile Combat Employment","s":"Agile Combat Employment: Air Force concept of dispersing aircraft across many small sites","d":"Agile Combat Employment shifts air operations from large, vulnerable main bases to networks of hubs and spokes, with small teams and multi-capable airmen to complicate enemy targeting. It drives requirements for deployable, light, low-signature equipment and resilient comms. ACE also means aviation combat element (in a MAGTF) and appears in the ACE report.","c":"Aviation","r":["A2/AD","EABO","MAGTF","ACE report","Sortie"],"k":["agile combat employment"]},{"t":"ACE report","x":"Ammunition, Casualties, Equipment","s":"Post-contact status: ammunition, casualties, equipment","d":"An ACE report gives the status of Ammunition, Casualties and Equipment, typically after an engagement. Some units use LACE to add water. Automating these reports is a common goal of soldier-system data.","c":"Comms","r":["LACE"]},{"t":"ACH","x":"Analysis of Competing Hypotheses","s":"Analysis of competing hypotheses, a structured technique to test explanations","d":"Analysis of Competing Hypotheses: a structured analytic technique developed by Richards Heuer at the CIA in which the analyst lists all plausible hypotheses and evaluates each piece of evidence for consistency against all of them, focusing on evidence that disconfirms. It guards against confirmation bias. Several analytic software tools implement ACH matrices.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Analysis of competing hypotheses","r":["Analytic tradecraft","ICD 203"]},{"t":"ACINT","x":"Acoustic Intelligence","s":"MASINT from underwater acoustics: submarine and ship signatures","d":"Acoustic intelligence: intelligence derived from the collection and processing of acoustic phenomena, especially underwater sound from submarines and surface ships. ACINT signatures underpin sonar classification and the long-running US undersea surveillance effort that began with SOSUS. It is generally treated as part of MASINT.","c":"Intelligence","r":["MASINT","SOSUS"]},{"t":"ACO","x":"Administrative Contracting Officer","s":"Contracting officer, often at DCMA, who administers a contract after award","d":"The ACO handles post-award functions such as approving billing rates, overseeing contractor business systems, accepting deliveries and managing government property. Large defense contractors typically have a resident DCMA ACO.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Administrative Contracting Officer"],"r":["PCO","DCMA","CO"],"h":"ACO – Administrative Contracting Officer"},{"t":"ACO","x":"Allied Command Operations","s":"Allied Command Operations, the NATO strategic command that runs operations","d":"Allied Command Operations: one of NATO's two strategic commands, responsible for planning and executing all Alliance operations, headquartered at SHAPE under SACEUR. Subordinate commands include Joint Force Commands Brunssum, Naples and Norfolk, and the component commands for air (Ramstein), land (Izmir) and maritime (Northwood).","c":"NATO & Allied","w":"Allied Command Operations","r":["SHAPE","SACEUR","ACT"],"h":"ACO – Allied Command Operations"},{"t":"ACO","x":"Airspace Control Order","s":"The order that sets airspace control measures for a period, issued with the ATO","d":"The airspace control order lays out the airspace coordinating measures (corridors, restricted operations zones, coordination altitudes) in effect for a given period. It is issued by the airspace control authority and published alongside the ATO. Any system that flies, such as a drone, needs to be deconflicted against it.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["ATO","SPINS","ROZ"],"h":"ACO – Airspace Control Order"},{"t":"Acoustic gunshot detection","s":"Systems locating shooters from muzzle blast and bullet shock wave sounds","d":"Gunshot detection systems use microphone arrays to detect a supersonic bullet's shock wave and the muzzle blast, computing shooter direction and range from timing differences. Military examples include Raytheon BBN's Boomerang on vehicles and soldier-worn systems, while ShotSpotter (now SoundThinking) is common in civilian policing. Some systems add optical muzzle flash detection.","c":"Sensors","k":["Boomerang","shot detection","gunshot locator"],"w":"Gunfire locator","r":["Acoustic sensor"]},{"t":"Acoustic sensor","s":"Microphone-based sensor detecting and locating sound sources such as drones or guns","d":"Acoustic sensors and microphone arrays detect, classify and locate sources such as vehicles, aircraft, drones and gunfire using bearing estimation and triangulation across nodes. They are passive and cheap but limited in range and affected by wind and ambient noise. Networks of acoustic sensors were used in Ukraine for low-cost drone and missile detection.","c":"Sensors","k":["acoustic array","microphone array"],"r":["Acoustic gunshot detection","UGS","Seismic sensor"]},{"t":"Acquisition of Services","s":"Pathway for buying contracted services such as engineering, IT and logistics support","d":"Governed by DoDI 5000.74, this pathway covers contracted services, which account for roughly half of DoD contract spending. It uses service requirements review boards and acquisition plans sized to the dollar value. Engineering, technical support, sustainment and IT services contracts all follow it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["DoDI 5000.74","services acquisition"],"r":["Adaptive Acquisition Framework","PWS","SOO"]},{"t":"Acquisition Strategy","s":"The program's plan for how it will compete, contract, develop, test and sustain","d":"The acquisition strategy describes the business and technical approach: contract types, competition, incremental approach, intellectual property strategy, test approach and sustainment plan. It is approved at milestones and drives what solicitations will look like. Industry days often preview key elements of it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["AS","acquisition plan"],"r":["Milestone B","IP strategy","MOSA"]},{"t":"ACT","x":"Allied Command Transformation","s":"Allied Command Transformation, NATO's strategic command for future capability","d":"Allied Command Transformation: NATO's strategic command for military transformation, capability development, concepts, experimentation and training, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), traditionally a European officer. It runs the NATO Defence Planning Process work on capability targets and large experimentation events. Industry engagement with NATO on future concepts often runs through ACT.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["SACT"],"w":"Allied Command Transformation","r":["ACO","NDPP","NATO DIANA"]},{"t":"Active duty","s":"Full-time military service","d":"Active duty members serve full time, as do reservists and Guard members when activated. Active component forces are the regular Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force. Many products serve both active and reserve users, who may have different equipment and training time.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["AD","Active component","Regular"],"r":["Reserve component","Title 10"]},{"t":"Active jamming","s":"Preset jamming that radiates continuously over planned frequencies","d":"Jamming that transmits continuously or on a schedule over a preplanned set of frequencies without waiting to detect a target, sometimes called proactive or preemptive jamming. It protects against threats that would act too quickly for a reactive system, at the cost of higher power use, detectability and interference with friendly systems.","c":"EW","k":["proactive jamming","preemptive jamming"],"r":["Reactive jamming","Responsive jamming"]},{"t":"Active radar homing","s":"Missile guidance using an onboard radar seeker to find and track the target","d":"An active radar homing missile carries its own transmitter and receiver, allowing fire-and-forget operation once the seeker acquires. Examples include AIM-120 AMRAAM, SM-6 and many anti-ship missiles. Seekers are typically X-, Ku- or Ka-band, with mmW used for some precision munitions.","c":"Weapons","k":["ARH","active seeker","semi-active radar","SARH"],"w":"Active radar homing","r":["Semi-active radar homing","Fire control radar","Seeker","AMRAAM","SM-6"]},{"t":"Active sonar","s":"Sonar that transmits sound pulses and listens for echoes","d":"Active sonar measures range and bearing by pinging and timing echoes, which works against quiet submarines that passive sonar might miss. Transmitting reveals the sonar platform and has environmental restrictions due to marine mammals. Low-frequency active and multistatic sonobuoy fields are used for long-range ASW.","c":"Sensors","r":["Passive sonar","Sonobuoy","Variable depth sonar"]},{"t":"Actual","s":"Indicates the commander personally, rather than a radio operator, is on the net","d":"Adding \"actual\" to a call sign, as in \"Bravo Six Actual,\" means the commander is speaking or is being requested personally. Without it, a radio operator may be answering for the unit. \"Six\" is the conventional suffix for a commander.","c":"Comms","k":["Six"],"r":["Call sign","Net"]},{"t":"ACU","x":"Army Combat Uniform","s":"Army Combat Uniform: the Army's field uniform, now in OCP pattern","d":"The ACU design was introduced in 2005 in the Universal Camouflage Pattern, which proved ineffective, and is now produced in OCP. People sometimes say \"ACUs\" for the old gray pattern specifically. Uniform colors and patterns drive product color choices.","c":"Ground","k":["UCP"],"w":"Army Combat Uniform","r":["OCP"]},{"t":"Acute threat","s":"US strategy term for Russia, dangerous now but less of a long-term rival","d":"The 2022 NDS term for Russia, described as posing an acute threat to US and allied interests, illustrated by its invasion of Ukraine, while lacking China's long-term capacity to challenge the US across the board. The distinction from the pacing challenge shapes how resources are split between Europe and the Indo-Pacific.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Pacing challenge","NDS"]},{"t":"Adaptive Acquisition Framework","s":"DoD's set of six acquisition pathways, each tailored to a different kind of buy","d":"Introduced in 2020 through DoDI 5000.02, the Adaptive Acquisition Framework replaced the single milestone-driven process with six pathways: Urgent Capability Acquisition, Middle Tier of Acquisition, Major Capability Acquisition, Software Acquisition, Defense Business Systems, and Acquisition of Services. Programs can use more than one pathway over their life. Knowing the pathway a customer program is on tells you how fast it can move and what reviews it faces.","c":"Acquisition","k":["AAF","DoDI 5000.02"],"r":["MTA","MCA","Software Acquisition Pathway","UCA","DBS","Acquisition of Services"]},{"t":"Adaptive beamforming","s":"Automatically adjusting array weights to null jammers and interference","d":"Adaptive beamforming estimates the interference covariance from array data and computes weights that keep gain toward the target while placing nulls on jammers, using methods like sample matrix inversion or MVDR. Its number of nulls is limited by available degrees of freedom. STAP extends it to the time dimension.","c":"Radar","k":["adaptive nulling","MVDR"],"r":["Digital beamforming","Sidelobe cancellation","STAP"]},{"t":"Adaptive nulling","s":"Antenna array that steers pattern nulls toward interference","d":"Automatically adjusting the weights of an antenna array so its pattern places deep nulls on interfering signals while keeping gain toward the wanted signal. It is the core of CRPA anti-jam GPS antennas and of adaptive array radars and satellite terminals.","c":"EW","k":["null steering","adaptive beamforming"],"r":["CRPA","Beamforming","Sidelobe cancellation"]},{"t":"ADC","x":"Analog-to-Digital Converter","s":"Converts analog signals to digital samples","d":"A device that samples an analog signal and converts it to digital values. In RF systems the ADC's sample rate sets instantaneous bandwidth and its resolution, noise and linearity set dynamic range, so it often defines the performance of digital receivers. Current RF ADCs sample directly at many gigasamples per second.","c":"RF","k":["A/D","analog to digital converter","digitizer"],"w":"Analog-to-digital converter","r":["DAC","ENOB","Nyquist rate","Direct RF sampling"]},{"t":"ADCON","x":"Administrative Control","s":"Administrative control: authority over administration and support, usually by the service","d":"Administrative control covers personnel management, logistics, readiness, discipline and other matters not included in operational missions. It normally stays with the service chain even when a unit is under a combatant commander's OPCON. It explains why a unit's equipment problems go to its service rather than the CCMD.","c":"Organizations","r":["OPCON","Military departments"]},{"t":"ADCS","x":"Attitude Determination and Control System","s":"Subsystem that senses and controls a satellite's orientation","d":"ADCS measures where a spacecraft is pointing with star trackers, sun sensors, magnetometers and gyros, and controls it with reaction wheels, magnetorquers, control moment gyros and thrusters. Pointing accuracy and agility drive imaging quality, laser crosslink acquisition and antenna performance. Star tracker blinding from the Sun or radiation is a common operational constraint.","c":"Space","k":["AOCS","GNC","star tracker","reaction wheel"],"r":["Bus","OISL"]},{"t":"Additive manufacturing","s":"3D printing of parts for prototyping and for spares at or near the point of need","d":"DoD's additive manufacturing strategy promotes printing parts in depots, shipyards and forward locations to reduce lead times and address obsolescence. Qualifying printed parts for flight or safety-critical use is a major hurdle, and the government needs adequate technical data rights to print parts.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["AM","3D printing","point of need manufacturing"],"w":"3D printing","r":["Contested logistics","DMSMS","Data rights"]},{"t":"ADS-B","x":"Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast","s":"Aircraft broadcast of GPS position and identity on 1090 MHz or 978 MHz","d":"ADS-B Out has aircraft broadcast GPS-derived position, velocity and identity, received by ground stations, satellites and other aircraft. It is mandated in much controlled airspace, and in the US is carried on 1090ES or 978 MHz UAT. Military aircraft may operate with ADS-B off under exemptions, while open-source trackers exploit it widely; it is unauthenticated and can be spoofed.","c":"Radar","k":["ADS-B Out","ADS-B In","UAT"],"w":"Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast","r":["Mode S","Transponder"]},{"t":"ADSI","x":"Air Defense System Integrator","s":"Multi-link gateway and display for datalink management","d":"ADSI is a multi-link datalink processor and display system, developed by Ultra and later sold under other ownership, used to receive, translate and forward Link 16, Link 11, JREAP and other formats. It is widely used in air defense and JICO cells. It is a reference point for anyone building datalink gateways.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["JREAP","Datalink gateway","JICO"]},{"t":"Advana","s":"DoD enterprise data and analytics platform","d":"Advana is the DoD's enterprise data and analytics platform, originally built for financial audit and expanded to cover readiness, logistics and other business data. It is managed by the CDAO and hosts data pipelines, dashboards and analytic tools for thousands of users. It is mostly a business and enterprise system, distinct from tactical C2.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["CDAO","Data mesh"]},{"t":"Aegis","s":"Lockheed Martin integrated naval combat system built around SPY radar","d":"Aegis is the combat system on US cruisers and destroyers and several allied navies, tying SPY-series radar, fire control and Standard Missile launchers into one weapon system. Current baselines run on open, software-defined architecture, and the Aegis Virtual Twin runs it on commercial servers. Integration with Aegis is a gateway requirement for new ship sensors and weapons.","c":"Naval","k":["Aegis combat system","Aegis Weapon System"],"w":"Aegis Combat System","r":["Aegis BMD","DDG-51","SPY-6"]},{"t":"Aegis BMD","s":"Ballistic missile defense capability of Aegis-equipped ships and Aegis Ashore","d":"Aegis BMD adds ballistic missile tracking and SM-3, SM-6 and SM-2 Block IV engagements to the Aegis combat system on US, Japanese and other destroyers and cruisers. Aegis Ashore puts the same system on land in Romania and Poland. Aegis Guam will be a land-based variant defending the island.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Aegis Ashore","Aegis Guam"],"w":"Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System","r":["Aegis","SM-3","SM-6","DDG-51"]},{"t":"AEHF","x":"Advanced Extremely High Frequency","s":"Lockheed Martin protected, jam-resistant EHF SATCOM satellites for strategic users","d":"AEHF is a six-satellite GEO constellation built by Lockheed Martin, launched 2010 to 2020, providing survivable, jam-resistant, low-probability-of-intercept communications using EHF uplinks and SHF downlinks with onboard processing and crosslinks. It supports nuclear command, control and communications and tactical protected users, and is interoperable with allies (Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia). Its successors are ESS for strategic and PTS for tactical users.","c":"Comms","k":["Advanced EHF","XDR"],"w":"Advanced Extremely High Frequency","r":["Milstar","ESS","PTS-G","FAB-T","Protected SATCOM"]},{"t":"Aerospace Force","s":"PLA arm for space operations, formed from the SSF in 2024","d":"The PLA Aerospace Force, established in April 2024 from the Space Systems Department of the dissolved Strategic Support Force, responsible for space launch, satellite operations, space surveillance and counterspace. China operates a large and growing fleet of ISR satellites that US officials say supports PLA targeting across the Western Pacific.","c":"Space","k":["PLA Aerospace Force"],"r":["Information Support Force","Strategic Support Force"]},{"t":"AESA","x":"Active Electronically Scanned Array","s":"Phased array radar with its own transmit/receive module per element or subarray","d":"An AESA places a transmit/receive module with power amplifier, low-noise amplifier, phase shifter and attenuator behind each element or small group, removing the single high-power transmitter and its losses. Benefits include graceful degradation, low noise figure, multiple beams, fast agile scanning, LPI modes and EW functions. US fighters (F-22, F-35, upgraded F-15, F-16 and F/A-18), Aegis SPY-6, AN/TPY-2 and most new ground radars are AESAs, increasingly built with GaN.","c":"Radar","k":["active electronically scanned array","active phased array","active ESA"],"w":"Active electronically scanned array","r":["Phased array","GaN","NGJ-MB","PESA","T/R module","Digital beamforming"]},{"t":"AEW&C","x":"Airborne Early Warning and Control","s":"Aircraft with a long-range radar and battle management crew for the air picture","d":"AEW&C aircraft carry an elevated surveillance radar that sees low-flying aircraft and missiles beyond ground radar horizons, plus operators who direct fighters and manage the air battle. Examples include the E-3 Sentry, E-7 Wedgetail, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, Saab GlobalEye and China's KJ-500. Their vulnerability to long-range missiles drives interest in space-based AMTI and distributed alternatives.","c":"Radar","k":["AEW","AWACS","airborne early warning"],"w":"Airborne early warning and control","r":["E-7 Wedgetail","AN/APY-9","AMTI"]},{"t":"AFATDS","x":"Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System","s":"Army and Marine fire support C2 system for planning and executing fires","d":"AFATDS is the automated fire support command and control system used by the Army and Marine Corps to process fire missions, coordinate fires and manage target lists. It exchanges messages using VMF and other formats with forward observers, fire direction centers and joint systems. Any product sending calls for fire to artillery typically has to interoperate with AFATDS.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["VMF","JADOCS"]},{"t":"AF DCGS","x":"Air Force Distributed Common Ground System","s":"Air Force ISR exploitation weapon system, AN/GSQ-272 Sentinel","d":"Air Force Distributed Common Ground System, designated AN/GSQ-272 Sentinel: the Air Force's network of ISR processing and exploitation sites worldwide, run by the Air Force's ISR wings, that exploits imagery, FMV and signals from U-2, RQ-4, MQ-9 and other platforms. It is the largest DCGS by analyst headcount. The Air Force has been modernizing it onto an open architecture and cloud infrastructure.","c":"Intelligence","k":["AN/GSQ-272","Sentinel"],"r":["DCGS","PED","FMV"]},{"t":"Affordable mass","s":"Large numbers of low-cost systems to complement a few expensive ones","d":"The idea that forces need large numbers of relatively cheap, often uncrewed systems to complement a smaller number of exquisite platforms, so they can absorb losses and overwhelm defenses. It underlies initiatives such as Replicator, the UK's 20-40-40 force mix and Ukraine's drone production. Cost per effect relative to the target is the key metric.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Attritable","Precise mass","Hellscape"]},{"t":"AFRICOM","x":"United States Africa Command","s":"US Africa Command, covering Africa except Egypt","d":"US Africa Command covers all of Africa except Egypt (which is in CENTCOM), headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. It was established in 2007-2008. Its operations are small-footprint, partner-focused and spread across huge distances.","c":"Organizations","k":["USAFRICOM"],"w":"United States Africa Command","r":["CCMD"]},{"t":"AFSC","x":"Air Force Specialty Code","s":"Air Force Specialty Code, the Air Force and Space Force job code","d":"An Air Force Specialty Code identifies an airman's career field, such as 1B4 (cyber warfare operations) or 11F (fighter pilot). Space Force uses similar codes for Guardians. It is the Air Force counterpart to the Army and Marine MOS.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Air Force Specialty Code","r":["MOS","Rating"]},{"t":"AFSCN","x":"Air Force Satellite Control Network","s":"Worldwide US military network of ground stations for satellite TT&C","d":"The AFSCN, now operated by the Space Force and often called the Satellite Control Network, is a global set of ground antennas and control nodes used to command and track DoD satellites, mostly with the S-band SGLS format. Sites include Schriever and Vandenberg in the US, plus Hawaii, Guam, Diego Garcia, Greenland, New Hampshire and the UK. It is heavily loaded, and programs such as SCAR add phased-array antennas that can serve several satellites at once.","c":"Space","k":["SCN","Satellite Control Network"],"w":"Satellite Control Network","r":["SGLS","TT&C","SCAR"]},{"t":"AFWERX","s":"Air Force innovation arm, part of AFRL, running the Air Force SBIR program","d":"AFWERX, a directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory, runs the Department of the Air Force's SBIR and STTR programs, including open topics and the STRATFI and TACFI matching programs, and the Prime program for areas such as electric aircraft. It is often the first DoD customer for startups.","c":"Organizations","k":["AFWERX Prime","AFVentures","Spark"],"w":"AFWERX","r":["SpaceWERX","SBIR","SBIR Phase II"]},{"t":"AGM","x":"Attack Guidance Matrix","s":"Matrix telling fires when and how to attack each target type","d":"Attack Guidance Matrix: a targeting product approved by the commander that addresses which targets will be attacked, how, when and with what desired effects, for example immediate engagement with rockets to destroy. It pairs with the HPTL and target selection standards. Automated fire support systems use AGM rules to route fire missions.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["HPTL","TSS","D3A"]},{"t":"AGM-88 HARM","x":"High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile","s":"Air-to-surface missile that homes on radar emissions","d":"The AGM-88 HARM, originally from Texas Instruments and now produced by Raytheon (RTX), is an air-launched missile with a passive seeker that homes on radar emissions. In service since 1985 with the US and many allies, it is the classic SEAD weapon and has been adapted for use by Ukraine on its MiG-29 and Su-27 fleet. Radars counter it by shutting down, so newer variants add GPS and active seekers.","c":"Weapons","k":["HARM","AGM-88"],"w":"AGM-88 HARM","r":["AARGM","AARGM-ER","SEAD","Anti-radiation missile"]},{"t":"AGR","x":"Active Guard and Reserve","s":"Active Guard and Reserve: reservists or Guard members serving full time","d":"AGR members are full-time members of the reserve components who organize, administer, recruit and train the force. They often provide continuity for reserve units. Technicians (dual-status) are another full-time category in the Guard.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["Reserve component"]},{"t":"AH-64 Apache","s":"Boeing attack helicopter, current version AH-64E","d":"The AH-64 is the Army's attack helicopter, armed with Hellfire or JAGM, rockets and a 30mm chain gun, with Longbow radar on some aircraft. The AH-64E can control UAS through MUM-T. In 2025 the Army announced retirement of older AH-64Ds as part of force restructuring.","c":"Aviation","k":["Apache","AH-64E","Apache Guardian"],"w":"Boeing AH-64 Apache","r":["MUM-T","Hellfire","JAGM"]},{"t":"AI","x":"Air Interdiction","s":"Air strikes on enemy forces and supplies before they reach the battle","d":"Air interdiction attacks enemy capability away from friendly ground forces, such as reinforcements, logistics and command nodes, so it does not need the detailed coordination of CAS. Beware the collision with artificial intelligence in mixed contexts.","c":"Aviation","k":["air interdiction","BAI"],"w":"Air interdiction","r":["CAS","OCA"],"h":"AI – Air Interdiction"},{"t":"Ai","x":"Inherent Availability","s":"Availability from design alone, counting only active corrective maintenance","d":"Ai equals MTBF divided by MTBF plus MTTR, ignoring logistics and administrative delays. It is the upper bound on what operational availability can reach, and a contractor controls it more directly than Ao.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Inherent Availability"],"r":["Ao","MTBF","MTTR"],"h":"Ai – Inherent Availability"},{"t":"AIM-260 JATM","x":"Joint Advanced Tactical Missile","s":"Lockheed Martin next-generation long-range air-to-air missile replacing AMRAAM","d":"The AIM-260 JATM is a Lockheed Martin air-to-air missile developed largely in classified channels to outrange threats such as China's PL-15. It is designed to fit internal bays on F-22s and F-35s and is entering production. Public detail on its performance is limited.","c":"Weapons","k":["JATM","AIM-260"],"r":["AMRAAM","F-22 Raptor"]},{"t":"AIM-9X","s":"Raytheon imaging-infrared short-range air-to-air missile, Sidewinder family","d":"AIM-9X is the latest Sidewinder, with an imaging infrared seeker, thrust vectoring and helmet-cued high off-boresight targeting. Block II added lock-on after launch with a datalink. It is also used in ground-based air defense, including NASAMS and the Army's IFPC Enduring Shield.","c":"Weapons","k":["Sidewinder","AIM-9X Block II"],"w":"AIM-9 Sidewinder","r":["IIR","IFPC","AMRAAM"]},{"t":"AI/ML EW","s":"Applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to EW tasks","d":"Use of AI and machine learning across EW: deep learning for signal classification and SEI, reinforcement learning for jamming and anti-jam decisions, and automation of EW planning and reprogramming. It depends on large labeled RF datasets and on running models at the edge on FPGAs or GPUs close to the receiver. DoD and allied programs increasingly ask for data rights and model retraining paths as part of EW contracts.","c":"EW","k":["machine learning EW","RF machine learning","RFML"],"r":["Cognitive EW","Specific emitter identification","Automatic modulation classification"]},{"t":"AIMS","x":"Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System, IFF, Mark XII/XIIA Systems","s":"DoD program office that certifies IFF and ATC transponder equipment","d":"The DoD AIMS Program Office, run by the Air Force, certifies that IFF transponders, interrogators and related equipment meet the Mark XII/XIIA and civil interoperability standards. Military platforms and defense products with IFF must pass AIMS certification. The name expands acronyms within acronyms.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["AIMS Program Office","AIMS certification"],"r":["Mark XIIA","Mode 5"]},{"t":"Aircraft survivability equipment","x":"ASE","s":"The warning, jamming and expendable systems that protect an aircraft","d":"The collective term, used especially by the US Army, for an aircraft's onboard warning receivers, missile warners, jammers, DIRCM and countermeasures dispensers. Army ASE modernization emphasizes open architectures so new sensors and effectors can be added without redesigning the aircraft.","c":"EW","k":["ASE"],"r":["Radar warning receiver","Missile warning system","DIRCM"]},{"t":"Air gap","s":"Physical isolation of a network from other networks","d":"An air gap isolates a system or network so it has no electronic connection to untrusted networks, often used for weapon systems, classified enclaves and industrial control. Air gaps can be crossed by removable media and supply chain attacks, as Stuxnet showed. Updates and data transfer to air-gapped systems need controlled processes or data diodes.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["air-gapped"],"r":["Data diode","Cross-domain solution"]},{"t":"Air-launched effects","x":"ALE","s":"Small drones launched from aircraft carrying EW, sensor or strike payloads","d":"US Army term for small unmanned air vehicles launched from helicopters, drones or the ground that extend reach with sensing, EW, decoy or lethal payloads, operating ahead of manned aircraft. EW payloads for ALE are a major opportunity for small form factor jammers and receivers.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["launched effects","ALE"],"r":["Stand-in jamming","MALD","Altius","MUM-T"]},{"t":"Air superiority","s":"Enough control of the air to operate without prohibitive interference","d":"The degree of control of the air by one force that permits it to conduct operations at a given time and place without prohibitive interference from air and missile threats. Air supremacy is the higher degree, where the opposing force cannot interfere effectively at all. Neither side has achieved air superiority over most of Ukraine, a contested condition sometimes called air denial.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["air parity","air denial"],"w":"Air supremacy","r":["Air supremacy"]},{"t":"Air supremacy","s":"Control of the air so complete the enemy cannot interfere","d":"The degree of control of the air in which the opposing force is incapable of effective interference within the operational area. US forces have enjoyed it in most conflicts since 1991, and doctrine and force design assumed it, an assumption now questioned against China and in light of Ukraine.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Air supremacy","r":["Air superiority"]},{"t":"Airworthiness certification","s":"Formal determination that an aircraft can be operated safely within defined limits","d":"Military aircraft, including unmanned ones, need airworthiness approval from the responsible service authority: the Army's Aviation Engineering Directorate, NAVAIR for Navy and Marine Corps, and the Air Force Technical Airworthiness Authority. Approvals range from full certification to limited flight releases for test. Payload integrators must show their equipment does not compromise airworthiness.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["airworthiness","military airworthiness","AWR","airworthiness release","MFR","military flight release"],"r":["MIL-HDBK-516","Flight clearance","DO-178C","DO-160"]},{"t":"AJP","x":"Allied Joint Publication","s":"Allied Joint Publication: NATO's top-level joint doctrine","d":"Allied Joint Publications are NATO's capstone and keystone joint doctrine, such as AJP-01 (Allied Joint Doctrine), AJP-2 (intelligence, counterintelligence and security), AJP-3 (operations) and AJP-5 (planning). They are the NATO counterpart of US joint publications, and many are publicly released. Other allied publications include ATP (tactics), AAP (administrative) and AEDP (engineering).","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["AJP-01","AAP","ATP","AEDP"],"r":["STANAG"]},{"t":"ALCM","x":"Air-Launched Cruise Missile","s":"AGM-86B nuclear cruise missile carried by B-52s, to be replaced by LRSO","d":"The AGM-86B ALCM is a nuclear-armed cruise missile carried by B-52H bombers since the early 1980s, well past its intended life. LRSO will replace it. ALCM also generically means any air-launched cruise missile.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["AGM-86B","AGM-86"],"r":["LRSO","Triad"]},{"t":"Aliasing","s":"Signals above half the sample rate folding into the band as false frequencies","d":"The effect in which signals at frequencies above half the sample rate appear at lower, false frequencies after sampling. Anti-alias filters prevent it, and in EW receivers unfiltered aliases cause wrong frequency reports.","c":"RF","k":["alias"],"w":"Aliasing","r":["Nyquist rate","ADC"]},{"t":"All-source intelligence","s":"Intelligence that fuses every available discipline into one assessment","d":"Intelligence products and analysis that draw on every available source and discipline to reach an assessment. All-source analysts weigh conflicting reports, judge reliability and state confidence. In the US, CIA and DIA are the main national all-source producers, and combatant command Joint Intelligence Operations Centers (JIOCs) do it for theater operations. Data fusion and analytic workflow tools are pitched at this layer.","c":"Intelligence","k":["all source","fusion"],"w":"All-source intelligence","r":["ICD 203","JIOC","Analytic tradecraft"]},{"t":"Almanac","s":"Coarse, long-lived orbit data for the whole GNSS constellation","d":"The almanac is a reduced-accuracy set of orbital parameters for all satellites in a constellation, valid for weeks, that receivers use to predict which satellites are visible and speed acquisition. Precise positioning uses each satellite's ephemeris instead. A receiver without a current almanac has a slower cold start.","c":"PNT","r":["Ephemeris","TTFF"]},{"t":"Alpha-beta filter","s":"Simple fixed-gain tracking filter for position and velocity","d":"The alpha-beta filter is a steady-state simplification of the Kalman filter with constant gains for position (alpha) and velocity (beta), and alpha-beta-gamma adds acceleration. It is cheap and still found in legacy and embedded trackers. It adapts poorly to changing measurement quality or maneuvers.","c":"Sensors","k":["alpha-beta-gamma filter","g-h filter"],"w":"Alpha beta filter","r":["Kalman filter"]},{"t":"Altius","s":"Anduril family of tube-launched UAS (Altius-600, 700) for ISR, EW or strike","d":"Altius is a family of tube-launched, folding-wing UAS that Anduril acquired with Area-I. Altius-600 can carry ISR, electronic warfare or small warhead payloads and can be launched from aircraft, helicopters, ground vehicles or ships; Altius-700M is a larger strike variant. They are examples of air-launched effects and modular payload drones.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Altius-600","Altius-700","Altius-600M"],"r":["Air-launched effects","Loitering munition"]},{"t":"Alt-PNT","x":"Alternative PNT","s":"Navigation and timing sources that do not depend on GNSS","d":"Alternative PNT covers anything that provides position or time without GNSS: inertial systems, LEO satellite signals, eLoran, signals of opportunity, vision and terrain matching, magnetic anomaly navigation, celestial navigation and quantum sensors. No single source matches GPS everywhere, so they are fused together. Commercial interest has grown with widespread jamming and spoofing.","c":"PNT","k":["APNT","complementary PNT","GPS-denied navigation"],"r":["A-PNT","LEO PNT","eLoran","Magnetic anomaly navigation","Vision-aided navigation"]},{"t":"Amazon Leo","s":"Amazon's LEO broadband constellation, formerly Project Kuiper","d":"Amazon Leo is Amazon's proliferated low Earth orbit broadband constellation, a commercial competitor to Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb. It was called Project Kuiper until it was renamed on 13 November 2025, when its government arm Kuiper Government Solutions also became Leo for Government. Initial service is targeted for 2026, and it is a candidate source of commercial SATCOM for defense users alongside Starshield and other PLEO providers.","c":"Space","k":["Project Kuiper","Kuiper","Leo for Government"],"r":["pLEO","COMSATCOM","Starlink","Starshield"]},{"t":"Ambiguity function","s":"Matched filter response versus range delay and Doppler; characterizes a waveform","d":"The ambiguity function plots the output of a waveform's matched filter as a function of delay and Doppler mismatch. Its shape shows resolution, sidelobes and Doppler tolerance, and its total volume is constant, so improving one region moves energy elsewhere. Waveform designers use it to choose between thumbtack (noise-like), ridge (LFM) and bed-of-nails (pulse train) responses.","c":"Radar","w":"Ambiguity function","r":["Matched filter","LFM","Waveform diversity"]},{"t":"American Security Drone Act","s":"2023 law extending Chinese-drone purchase bans to all federal agencies","d":"The American Security Drone Act of 2023, enacted as part of the FY2024 NDAA, prohibits federal agencies from buying, and eventually operating or funding, drones from covered foreign entities such as Chinese manufacturers. It widened the DoD-only Section 848 restrictions. State and local grant recipients are also affected when federal money is involved.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["ASDA"],"r":["NDAA Section 848","DJI"]},{"t":"Amplitude comparison DF","s":"Estimating bearing by comparing signal strength on squinted antennas","d":"Direction finding by comparing the amplitude of a signal on several antennas pointed in different directions, as in the four or six quadrant spiral antennas of a radar warning receiver. It is simple and wideband but less accurate than interferometry, typically several degrees.","c":"EW","k":["amplitude DF"],"r":["Direction finding","Radar warning receiver","Spiral antenna"]},{"t":"Amplitude taper","s":"Weighting array elements to lower sidelobes at the cost of gain and wider beam","d":"Tapering reduces element excitation toward the edges of an aperture, lowering sidelobes that admit clutter and jamming. Taylor and Chebyshev weightings are common. In AESAs where all transmitters run at full power, taper is often applied on receive only.","c":"Radar","k":["Taylor weighting","aperture taper","illumination taper"],"r":["Sidelobes","Range sidelobes"]},{"t":"AMPV","x":"Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle","s":"BAE tracked vehicle replacing M113s in armored brigades","d":"AMPV replaces the M113 in ABCTs in five variants: general purpose, mission command, mortar carrier, medical evacuation and medical treatment. It is based on Bradley components.","c":"Ground","k":["M113"],"w":"Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle","r":["ABCT","M2 Bradley"]},{"t":"AMRAAM","x":"Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile","s":"Raytheon radar-guided air-to-air missile, AIM-120","d":"AMRAAM is the standard Western beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, with inertial midcourse guidance, datalink updates and an active radar seeker for the terminal phase. The current production version is AIM-120D. A ground-launched version is used in NASAMS.","c":"Weapons","k":["AIM-120","AIM-120D","Slammer"],"w":"AIM-120 AMRAAM","r":["AIM-260 JATM","NASAMS","Active radar homing"]},{"t":"AMTI","x":"Air Moving Target Indicator","s":"Radar mode detecting and tracking airborne targets, especially from AEW aircraft","d":"AMTI refers to modes and missions focused on aircraft and cruise missiles, typically by AEW&C platforms such as the E-3, E-7 and E-2D. The US Air Force and Space Force are also working toward space-based AMTI as part of a layered airborne target tracking architecture. It is often discussed as the counterpart of GMTI.","c":"Radar","k":["air moving target indication"],"r":["GMTI","AEW&C","Space-based GMTI"]},{"t":"AN/AAQ","s":"JETDS prefix for airborne infrared systems such as targeting pods","d":"In JETDS, A airborne, A invisible light or infrared, Q special or combination. AN/AAQ designates airborne infrared systems, including targeting pods such as the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper and AN/AAQ-28 Litening, the F-35's AN/AAQ-40 EOTS and AN/AAQ-37 distributed aperture system, and infrared countermeasures such as the AN/AAQ-24 LAIRCM.","c":"Sensors","k":["AAQ-33","Sniper","Litening"],"r":["JETDS"]},{"t":"AN/AAR-57 CMWS","x":"Common Missile Warning System","s":"BAE ultraviolet missile warning system on US Army aircraft","d":"A missile warning system from BAE Systems that uses ultraviolet sensors to detect missile threats and cue countermeasures on US Army helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It also serves as an electronic control unit for integrated aircraft survivability equipment.","c":"EW","k":["CMWS","AAR-57"],"r":["Missile warning system","CIRCM"]},{"t":"AN/ALE-47","s":"Standard US countermeasures dispenser for chaff and flares","d":"The countermeasures dispenser system used across many US and allied aircraft to eject chaff, flares and other expendables, either manually or automatically on cues from the RWR and missile warning system. Mission data defines dispense programs for each threat, so ALE-47 programming is part of the reprogramming workflow.","c":"EW","k":["ALE-47","CMDS"],"w":"AN/ALE-47","r":["Chaff","Flare","Radar warning receiver"]},{"t":"AN/ALE-50","s":"Raytheon towed decoy used on several US fighters and bombers","d":"A towed radar decoy made by Raytheon and fielded on aircraft including the F-16, F/A-18E/F and B-1B. It is a repeater-type decoy that amplifies threat radar signals from a point behind the aircraft. It preceded the fiber-optic ALE-55.","c":"EW","k":["ALE-50"],"r":["Towed decoy","AN/ALE-55"]},{"t":"AN/ALE-55","s":"BAE fiber-optic towed decoy for the F/A-18E/F","d":"A fiber-optic towed decoy made by BAE Systems and used on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as part of the IDECM suite with the AN/ALQ-214 jammer. The aircraft's techniques generator sends RF over the fiber link so the decoy can radiate complex deception waveforms away from the airframe.","c":"EW","k":["ALE-55","FOTD"],"r":["Towed decoy","AN/ALQ-214","IDECM"]},{"t":"AN/ALQ","s":"JETDS prefix for airborne countermeasures, such as jamming pods","d":"In JETDS, A means airborne, L countermeasures and Q special or combination purpose, so AN/ALQ identifies airborne electronic countermeasures equipment such as the AN/ALQ-99 tactical jamming pod, the AN/ALQ-131 and AN/ALQ-184 self-protection pods, and the AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer. Related prefixes include AN/ALR for radar warning receivers.","c":"EW","k":["ALQ-99","ALQ-249","ALR"],"r":["JETDS"]},{"t":"AN/ALQ-131","s":"Northrop podded ECM jammer used on F-16s and other fighters","d":"A podded electronic countermeasures system from Northrop Grumman carried on F-16s, A-10s and other aircraft by the US and many export customers. It has been upgraded over decades and remains widely flown, though internal suites are replacing it on newer jets.","c":"EW","k":["ALQ-131"],"r":["Self-protection jamming","AN/ALQ-184"]},{"t":"AN/ALQ-184","s":"Raytheon ECM pod used on US Air Force fighters","d":"A podded self-protection jammer from Raytheon, evolved from the ALQ-119, carried on US Air Force fighters such as the F-16 and A-10. It uses multibeam array technology to direct jamming at threats.","c":"EW","k":["ALQ-184"],"r":["AN/ALQ-131","Self-protection jamming"]},{"t":"AN/ALQ-214","s":"IDECM radio frequency countermeasures jammer for the F/A-18E/F","d":"The onboard jammer in the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) suite on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, produced by an L3Harris and BAE Systems team. It generates deception techniques transmitted from the aircraft or through the AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy.","c":"EW","k":["ALQ-214","IDECM RFCM"],"r":["IDECM","AN/ALE-55","Self-protection jamming"]},{"t":"AN/ALQ-218","s":"Wideband receiver and geolocation system on the EA-18G","d":"The tactical jamming receiver on the EA-18G Growler, built by Northrop Grumman, housed in the wingtip pods. It detects, identifies and locates emitters and cues the jammers, and its precise geolocation supports targeting of radars.","c":"EW","k":["ALQ-218"],"r":["EA-18G Growler","Geolocation"]},{"t":"AN/ALQ-254 Viper Shield","s":"L3Harris internal EW suite for export F-16 Block 70/72","d":"An all-digital electronic warfare suite from L3Harris for F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft sold to foreign customers. It provides threat warning and jamming internally and is reprogrammed with mission data.","c":"EW","k":["Viper Shield","ALQ-254"],"r":["AN/ALQ-257 IVEWS"]},{"t":"AN/ALQ-257 IVEWS","x":"Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite","s":"Northrop internal EW suite for US Air Force F-16s","d":"An internal electronic warfare suite from Northrop Grumman selected by the US Air Force for its F-16 fleet, replacing podded jammers with an integrated digital system. It fits inside the F-16 without the need for an external pod station.","c":"EW","k":["IVEWS","ALQ-257"],"r":["AN/ALQ-254 Viper Shield","Self-protection jamming"]},{"t":"AN/ALQ-99","s":"Legacy tactical jamming pod carried by the EA-6B and EA-18G","d":"The tactical jamming system pods first fielded on the EA-6B Prowler in the 1970s and carried by the EA-18G Growler, covering low, mid and high bands with separate pod configurations. Aging, maintenance-intensive and limited in power and agility, it is being replaced by the Next Generation Jammer family.","c":"EW","k":["ALQ-99","TJS"],"w":"AN/ALQ-99","r":["NGJ-MB","NGJ-LB","EA-18G Growler"]},{"t":"AN/ALR-56M","s":"BAE radar warning receiver on the F-16 and other aircraft","d":"A superheterodyne-based radar warning receiver made by BAE Systems and fitted to aircraft including the F-16 and F-15. It is being replaced or supplemented on some fleets by newer digital receivers.","c":"EW","k":["ALR-56M"],"r":["Radar warning receiver","AN/ALR-69A"]},{"t":"AN/ALR-69A","s":"Raytheon all-digital radar warning receiver","d":"A digital radar warning receiver from Raytheon (RTX) fielded on US Air Force and Air National Guard aircraft including C-130s and F-16s. It digitizes the RF early, improving sensitivity and accuracy and allowing threat updates in software.","c":"EW","k":["ALR-69A"],"r":["Radar warning receiver","Digital receiver"]},{"t":"Analytic tradecraft","s":"Methods and standards analysts use to reach sound, sourced judgments","d":"The methods and disciplines intelligence analysts use to produce sound assessments: sourcing, argument mapping, assumptions checks, structured analytic techniques such as analysis of competing hypotheses, and clear expression of uncertainty. ICD 203 codifies the standards in the US, and NATO and allied services have equivalents. AI tools that summarize or draft analysis are expected to support these standards, especially source citation.","c":"Intelligence","k":["tradecraft","structured analytic techniques","SATs"],"r":["ICD 203","ACH"]},{"t":"AN/APG","s":"JETDS prefix for airborne fire-control radars, such as AN/APG-81","d":"In JETDS nomenclature, A means airborne, P radar and G fire control, so AN/APG identifies fighter fire-control radars such as the AN/APG-77 (F-22), AN/APG-81 (F-35), AN/APG-83 SABR (F-16 upgrade) and AN/APG-82 (F-15E). Most current examples are AESA radars.","c":"Radar","k":["APG"],"r":["JETDS"]},{"t":"AN/APG-63","s":"Raytheon F-15 radar family; the (V)3 was the first operational US fighter AESA","d":"The APG-63 began as the F-15's mechanically scanned pulse-Doppler radar, and the APG-63(V)3 AESA upgrade for F-15C/D fighters was the first fighter AESA in US Air Force service. Its antenna technology was reused in the APG-82.","c":"Radar","k":["APG-63(V)3"],"r":["AN/APG-82","AESA"]},{"t":"AN/APG-68","s":"Northrop Grumman mechanically scanned pulse-Doppler radar of legacy F-16s","d":"The APG-68 is the long-serving mechanically scanned X-band radar of F-16C/D aircraft, with multiple PRF modes for air-to-air and air-to-ground. It is being replaced by AESAs such as the APG-83 in many fleets. It remains a common reference for legacy fighter radar behavior.","c":"Radar","k":["APG-68"],"w":"AN/APG-68","r":["AN/APG-83","Mechanically scanned array"]},{"t":"AN/APG-77","s":"Northrop Grumman X-band AESA radar of the F-22 Raptor","d":"The APG-77 was one of the first operational fighter AESAs, designed for the F-22 with LPI search and track modes. The APG-77(v)1 variant added air-to-ground modes such as SAR mapping. Its technology fed into the F-35's APG-81.","c":"Radar","k":["APG-77"],"w":"AN/APG-77","r":["AN/APG-81","AESA","LPI radar"]},{"t":"AN/APG-79","s":"Raytheon AESA radar for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler","d":"The APG-79 is an X-band AESA that replaced the APG-73 on Super Hornets, offering simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground modes. It is also fitted to the EA-18G Growler and some export Super Hornets.","c":"Radar","k":["APG-79"],"w":"AN/APG-79","r":["AN/APG-82","AESA"]},{"t":"AN/APG-81","s":"Northrop Grumman AESA radar of the F-35 Lightning II","d":"The APG-81 is the F-35's X-band AESA with air-to-air, SAR, GMTI and EW functions, integrated with the jet's sensor fusion. Northrop Grumman is developing a successor radar for F-35 Block 4 aircraft. It is a reference example of a fighter AESA that also performs passive and electronic attack roles.","c":"Radar","k":["APG-81"],"w":"AN/APG-81","r":["AN/APG-77","AESA","Sensor fusion"]},{"t":"AN/APG-82","s":"Raytheon AESA radar for the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX","d":"The APG-82(V)1 combines the APG-79's processor with an APG-63(V)3-derived AESA antenna and equips upgraded F-15Es and the F-15EX Eagle II. It provides long-range air-to-air and SAR/GMTI capabilities.","c":"Radar","k":["APG-82"],"w":"AN/APG-63 radar family","r":["AN/APG-79","AESA"]},{"t":"AN/APG-83","s":"Northrop Grumman SABR, a scalable AESA for F-16 and B-52 upgrades","d":"The APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) is an AESA derived from F-22 and F-35 radar technology, sized to fit the F-16 and selected for US Air Force and Air National Guard F-16s and many export F-16 Block 70 and upgrade programs. A version of SABR technology is the basis of the B-52's radar modernization program.","c":"Radar","k":["SABR","APG-83","Scalable Agile Beam Radar"],"r":["AN/APG-81","AESA","AN/APG-68"]},{"t":"AN/APR-39","s":"Radar warning receiver family on US Army and Marine helicopters","d":"A radar warning receiver family used widely on US Army and Marine Corps rotary-wing and other aircraft, with the digital AN/APR-39D(V)2 as the current upgrade. Later versions also act as the EW controller that integrates missile warning and countermeasures.","c":"EW","k":["APR-39"],"r":["Radar warning receiver","AN/AAR-57 CMWS"]},{"t":"AN/APY-9","s":"UHF electronically scanned radar in the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye's rotodome","d":"The Lockheed Martin AN/APY-9 is a UHF radar that combines mechanical rotation with electronic scanning, letting it focus on sectors of interest. Its low frequency gives long-range detection and is often cited for its potential against low observable targets and small cruise missiles over water and land. It feeds Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA).","c":"Radar","k":["APY-9"],"w":"AN/APY-9","r":["AEW&C","Low-band radar"]},{"t":"AN/ASQ-239","s":"BAE integrated EW and countermeasures suite on the F-35","d":"The electronic warfare and countermeasures system built into the F-35 by BAE Systems, providing radar warning, geolocation, targeting support and self-protection. It shares apertures with the jet's other sensors and depends heavily on mission data files produced by US and partner reprogramming labs.","c":"EW","k":["ASQ-239","Barracuda"],"r":["Mission data file","Reprogramming","Self-protection jamming"]},{"t":"Angels","s":"Brevity: altitude of a friendly aircraft in thousands of feet above sea level","d":"ANGELS gives altitude in thousands of feet MSL, so \"angels twenty\" means 20,000 feet. CHERUBS gives height in hundreds of feet, for low altitudes. Altitude reports for unknown or enemy contacts use different phrasing.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Cherubs"]},{"t":"Angle accuracy","s":"Precision of a radar's angle estimate, usually a fraction of beamwidth","d":"Angle measurement error scales with beamwidth divided by the square root of SNR times a monopulse slope factor. Larger apertures and higher frequencies give narrower beams and better accuracy, which is why fire control and discrimination radars favor X-band. Cross-range position error grows with range, so angle accuracy often dominates track error at long range.","c":"Radar","k":["angular accuracy"],"r":["Monopulse","Beamwidth"]},{"t":"Angle of arrival","x":"AOA","s":"Direction from which a signal reaches a receiver","d":"The direction from which a signal arrives at a receiver, measured by amplitude comparison, phase interferometry or array processing. AOA is a key parameter for deinterleaving and the basis of direction finding and triangulation. Accuracy depends on antenna baseline, frequency and SNR.","c":"EW","k":["AOA","direction of arrival","DOA","bearing"],"w":"Direction of arrival","r":["Direction finding","Interferometry","Line of bearing"]},{"t":"Angry Kitten","s":"GTRI research ECM pod used as an adaptive jamming testbed","d":"A podded electronic countermeasures system developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute and used by the US Air Force and Marine Corps as an aggressor jamming pod in training and as a testbed for adaptive and cognitive EW techniques.","c":"EW","k":["Angry Kitten pod"],"r":["Cognitive EW","Self-protection jamming"]},{"t":"Annual Threat Assessment","s":"The DNI's yearly unclassified report on threats to the US","d":"The unclassified annual report the Director of National Intelligence presents to Congress, summarizing the IC's view of worldwide threats from states such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea and from transnational issues. It is a standard public source for threat context in proposals and briefings. The DIA director testifies with a parallel worldwide threat assessment.","c":"Intelligence","k":["ATA","worldwide threat assessment"],"r":["NIE","ODNI"]},{"t":"Anomalous propagation","s":"Non-standard atmospheric bending of radar beams, causing false echoes or range changes","d":"Anomalous propagation (AP or anaprop) covers superrefraction, ducting and subrefraction caused by unusual temperature and humidity profiles. It can bring in distant ground and sea clutter, displace targets, or shorten coverage. Weather radar products and surveillance radar clutter maps both have to account for it.","c":"Radar","k":["anaprop","AP","subrefraction"],"w":"Anomalous propagation","r":["Ducting","Multipath"]},{"t":"AN/PRC","s":"JETDS prefix for man-portable radios, such as AN/PRC-117G and AN/PRC-163","d":"In JETDS, P means man-portable, R radio and C communications, so AN/PRC identifies manpack and handheld radios such as the AN/PRC-117G, AN/PRC-152, AN/PRC-158 and AN/PRC-163. Soldiers commonly refer to them by the number alone, as in a 117 or 152.","c":"Comms","k":["PRC-117G","PRC-152","PRC-163"],"r":["JETDS"]},{"t":"AN/PRC-117G","s":"L3Harris wideband multiband manpack radio","d":"The AN/PRC-117G is an L3Harris Falcon III wideband manpack radio covering 30 to 2000 MHz, supporting SINCGARS, HAVE QUICK, SATCOM including MUOS, and the ANW2 networking waveform. It was widely fielded by US and allied forces and special operations from the late 2000s. It has Type 1 encryption for secret and below.","c":"Comms","k":["PRC-117G","117G","Falcon III manpack"],"w":"AN/PRC-117","r":["ANW2","MUOS","AN/PRC-158"]},{"t":"AN/PRC-148","s":"Thales multiband handheld radio, known as the MBITR","d":"The AN/PRC-148 is Thales's multiband inter/intra team radio (MBITR), a handheld widely used by special operations and other forces. The newer AN/PRC-148C IMBITR is a two-channel version used as an Army leader radio option. It supports SINCGARS, HAVE QUICK and other waveforms.","c":"Comms","k":["MBITR","IMBITR","PRC-148"],"w":"AN/PRC-148","r":["Leader radio","AN/PRC-152"]},{"t":"AN/PRC-152","s":"L3Harris Falcon III single-channel multiband handheld radio","d":"The AN/PRC-152 is an L3Harris Falcon III handheld covering 30 to 512 MHz with SINCGARS, HAVE QUICK, UHF SATCOM and other waveforms, and Type 1 encryption. The PRC-152A added wideband networking. It is one of the most widely fielded US military handhelds.","c":"Comms","k":["PRC-152","152","PRC-152A"],"w":"AN/PRC-152","r":["AN/PRC-163","SINCGARS"]},{"t":"AN/PRC-154","s":"Rifleman Radio for squad-level SRW networking","d":"The AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio is a single-channel handheld that runs the Soldier Radio Waveform for squad networking and is often paired with Nett Warrior end user devices. Versions were produced by General Dynamics Mission Systems and Thales. It handles secret and below information in the 154A version.","c":"Comms","k":["Rifleman Radio","PRC-154"],"r":["SRW","Nett Warrior"]},{"t":"AN/PRC-158","s":"L3Harris two-channel multiband manpack under the Army HMS program","d":"The AN/PRC-158 is an L3Harris Falcon IV two-channel multiband manpack covering 30 to 2500 MHz, with SINCGARS, MUOS, SRW, TSM and other waveforms, procured under the Army HMS manpack program and by the Marine Corps. Its two channels allow cross-banding and simultaneous networks. It succeeds the PRC-117G for many users.","c":"Comms","k":["PRC-158"],"r":["HMS","AN/PRC-162","AN/PRC-117G"]},{"t":"AN/PRC-160","s":"L3Harris wideband HF/VHF manpack radio","d":"The AN/PRC-160 is an L3Harris Falcon III manpack that covers HF and low VHF and supports wideband HF and 4G ALE, providing BLOS communications without satellites. It was adopted by the Army and Marine Corps and others. Interest grew as forces planned for contested SATCOM.","c":"Comms","k":["PRC-160"],"r":["Wideband HF","HF ALE","HF"]},{"t":"AN/PRC-162","s":"Collins Aerospace two-channel manpack under the Army HMS program","d":"The AN/PRC-162 is a Collins Aerospace two-channel software-defined manpack radio procured under the Army HMS manpack program alongside the AN/PRC-158. It supports MUOS and SINCGARS among other waveforms.","c":"Comms","k":["PRC-162"],"r":["HMS","AN/PRC-158"]},{"t":"AN/PRC-163","s":"L3Harris Falcon IV two-channel multimission handheld radio","d":"The AN/PRC-163 is an L3Harris Falcon IV two-channel handheld radio that supports TSM, SINCGARS, MUOS and other waveforms and can cross-band between them, procured by the Army as a leader radio and by special operations. It integrates with ATAK end user devices. It is one of the most common current US handhelds.","c":"Comms","k":["PRC-163"],"r":["Leader radio","TSM","AN/PRC-152"]},{"t":"AN/SLQ-32","s":"US Navy shipboard EW system, upgraded through SEWIP","d":"The AN/SLQ-32 is the standard US Navy surface ship electronic warfare system, first fielded in the late 1970s, providing radar warning, emitter identification and countermeasures. It is being modernized in blocks under SEWIP, with the newest versions adding active electronic attack using modern arrays.","c":"EW","k":["SLQ-32","Slick 32"],"w":"AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare suite","r":["SEWIP","Nulka"]},{"t":"AN/SPY","s":"JETDS prefix for ship surveillance and control radars, such as AN/SPY-6","d":"In JETDS, S means surface ship, P radar and Y surveillance and control, so AN/SPY identifies shipboard multifunction radars such as the AN/SPY-1 used with Aegis and its successor AN/SPY-6 (AMDR) on Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyers. The Aegis program made the designation well known.","c":"Radar","k":["SPY-1","SPY-6"],"r":["JETDS"]},{"t":"AN/SPY-1","s":"Lockheed Martin S-band passive phased array radar at the heart of the Aegis system","d":"AN/SPY-1 is the S-band PESA multifunction radar of the Aegis Combat System, with four fixed array faces, fitted on US Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers through Flight IIA as well as Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Norwegian and Australian ships. Its SPY-1D(V) and later variants support ballistic missile defense with SM-3 and SM-6. It is being succeeded by SPY-6 on US ships and by SPY-7 on several allied programs.","c":"Radar","k":["SPY-1","SPY-1D"],"w":"AN/SPY-1","r":["AN/SPY-6","AN/SPY-7","PESA"]},{"t":"AN/SPY-3","s":"Raytheon X-band multifunction radar on Zumwalt destroyers and Ford-class carriers","d":"AN/SPY-3 is an X-band AESA multifunction radar for horizon search, low-altitude threats and missile illumination, fitted to the Zumwalt-class destroyers and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), where it originally paired with a volume search radar. Later Ford-class carriers use SPY-6(V)3 instead.","c":"Radar","k":["SPY-3"],"w":"AN/SPY-3","r":["AN/SPY-6"]},{"t":"AN/SPY-6","s":"Raytheon S-band GaN AESA family for US Navy ships, also called AMDR","d":"AN/SPY-6 is built from 2x2x2 ft radar modular assemblies (RMAs) that scale across variants: (V)1 with four 37-RMA faces for Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyers, (V)2 rotating Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar for amphibious ships and some carriers, (V)3 three fixed faces for Ford-class carriers from CVN 79 and the Constellation-class frigate, and (V)4 as a backfit for Flight IIA destroyers. Raytheon claims substantially higher sensitivity than SPY-1D. USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) was the first Flight III ship.","c":"Radar","k":["SPY-6","AMDR","Air and Missile Defense Radar","EASR"],"w":"AN/SPY-6","r":["AN/SPY-1","Subarray","GaN"]},{"t":"AN/SPY-7","s":"Lockheed Martin solid-state S-band radar derived from LRDR for allied navies","d":"AN/SPY-7 is a Lockheed Martin GaN S-band multifunction radar based on LRDR technology, selected for Spain's F-110 frigates, Canada's River-class destroyers and Japan's Aegis System Equipped Vessels. It integrates with Aegis. It is often compared with SPY-6 as an alternative scalable array.","c":"Radar","k":["SPY-7"],"r":["LRDR","AN/SPY-1","AN/SPY-6"]},{"t":"Antenna gain","s":"How much an antenna concentrates power in a direction compared with a reference","d":"The ratio of power radiated in the peak direction to that of a reference antenna (isotropic or dipole) fed with the same power, including efficiency losses. Gain trades directly against beamwidth: high gain antennas have narrow beams. Gain is specified in dBi or dBd.","c":"RF","k":["gain","directivity"],"w":"Gain (antenna)","r":["dBi","Beamwidth","Directivity"]},{"t":"Antideficiency Act","s":"Law barring obligation of funds in excess of or before appropriations","d":"The Antideficiency Act, 31 USC 1341 and related sections, prohibits government officials from obligating or spending money not appropriated or before it is available. Violations must be reported and can carry penalties for officials. It is why contracting officers will not let a contractor start work without funds on contract.","c":"Acquisition","k":["ADA"],"w":"Antideficiency Act","r":["Colors of money","Bona fide need","CR"]},{"t":"Anti-jam","s":"Techniques that let a receiver keep working in the presence of jamming","d":"Anti-jam (AJ) measures include adaptive antennas such as CRPAs, spread spectrum and frequency hopping, high-power signals, narrowband filtering, and tight coupling with inertial sensors so tracking loops can stay locked longer. In SATCOM, protected waveforms and processed payloads provide AJ. AJ performance is usually quoted as a jammer-to-signal ratio the system tolerates.","c":"PNT","k":["AJ","J/S"],"r":["CRPA","GNSS jamming","PTW","Protected SATCOM"]},{"t":"Anti-radiation missile","x":"ARM","s":"Missile that homes passively on enemy emitters such as radars","d":"A missile that passively homes on electromagnetic emissions, typically radars, and is classed in doctrine as electromagnetic attack. Examples include the US AGM-88 family, the UK ALARM (retired) and the Russian Kh-31P. Emitter designers counter ARMs with emission control, decoy emitters and short dwell times.","c":"Weapons","k":["ARM","anti-radiation weapon"],"w":"Anti-radiation missile","r":["AGM-88 HARM","SEAD","EMCON","HARM"]},{"t":"AN/TPQ","s":"JETDS prefix for ground transportable special radars, like the TPQ-53","d":"In JETDS, T means ground transportable, P radar and Q special or combination purpose. The best known examples are counter-battery and counter-fire radars such as the AN/TPQ-36, AN/TPQ-37 and AN/TPQ-53 that locate artillery, mortars and rockets, and that have also been adapted to detect drones.","c":"Radar","k":["TPQ-53","Q-53"],"r":["JETDS"]},{"t":"AN/TPQ-50","s":"Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar used by US Army and Marine Corps","d":"The AN/TPQ-50, known as the Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar (LCMR), is a compact 360 degree radar that detects mortar, rocket and artillery fire and locates firing points, widely used at forward bases. It is made by SRC Inc. and is also used for small UAS detection.","c":"Radar","k":["LCMR","Q-50","Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar"],"r":["Counter-battery radar","AN/TPQ-53"]},{"t":"AN/TPQ-53","s":"US Army counter-fire radar, the Q-53, by Lockheed Martin","d":"The AN/TPQ-53 is a truck-mounted AESA counter-fire target acquisition radar that replaced the TPQ-36 and TPQ-37, offering 90 degree and 360 degree modes. Lockheed Martin has transitioned it to GaN and added multi-mission capability, including air surveillance and counter-UAS tracking. It is a common example of radar upgrades that add roles through software.","c":"Radar","k":["Q-53","TPQ-53"],"w":"AN/TPQ-53 Quick Reaction Capability Radar","r":["Counter-battery radar","AN/TPQ-50","GaN"]},{"t":"AN/TPY-2","s":"Raytheon X-band transportable missile defense radar used by THAAD and forward-based","d":"AN/TPY-2 is a large X-band AESA used both as the fire control radar for THAAD batteries and, in forward-based mode, as an early warning and tracking sensor for the US Missile Defense Agency in places such as Japan, Israel and Turkey. It provides high-resolution discrimination of ballistic missile components. Newer production uses GaN modules.","c":"Radar","k":["TPY-2","FBX-T","THAAD radar"],"r":["LRDR","Discrimination"]},{"t":"AN/TPY-4","s":"Lockheed Martin ground-based long-range air surveillance radar for the US Air Force","d":"The AN/TPY-4 is a software-defined GaN radar selected by the US Air Force for its Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) program to replace the aging AN/TPS-75. It is designed for long-range air surveillance with digital beamforming at the element level.","c":"Radar","k":["TPY-4","3DELRR"],"r":["Search radar","Element-level DBF"]},{"t":"ANW2","x":"Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform","s":"Harris/L3Harris wideband MANET waveform for manpacks","d":"ANW2 is a Harris-developed wideband networking waveform used on AN/PRC-117G and later L3Harris radios to provide IP networking for data, video and voice over UHF. It is widely used by special operations and allied forces. It competes with other MANET waveforms such as TSM.","c":"Comms","r":["AN/PRC-117G","MANET","TSM"]},{"t":"AN/ZPY-series","s":"US designations for UAS radars, e.g. ZPY-1 STARLite, ZPY-2 MP-RTIP, ZPY-3 MFAS","d":"The Z prefix in the Joint Electronics Type Designation System indicates an unmanned airborne installation. AN/ZPY-1 STARLite is a small SAR/GMTI radar for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, AN/ZPY-2 is the MP-RTIP GMTI radar on RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawks, and AN/ZPY-3 is the multi-function active sensor on the Navy's MQ-4C Triton, all by Northrop Grumman.","c":"Radar","k":["ZPY-1","ZPY-2","ZPY-3","STARLite","MP-RTIP","MFAS"],"r":["GMTI","SAR","JETDS"]},{"t":"AO","x":"Area of Operations","s":"Area of operations: the area assigned to a land or maritime commander","d":"An AO is an area defined by a joint force commander for land or maritime forces, large enough for them to accomplish their missions and protect their forces. Within it, the commander controls movement, fires and other activity. Boundaries between AOs need coordination for fires and airspace.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["AOR","Boundary","Area of interest"],"h":"AO – Area of Operations"},{"t":"Ao","x":"Operational Availability","s":"Fraction of time a system is ready for use in its real support environment","d":"Ao includes all downtime, including supply delays and administrative time, often calculated as MTBM divided by MTBM plus mean downtime. It is usually the availability in the sustainment KPP. Spares levels and logistics delays affect it as much as design.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Operational Availability","A sub o"],"r":["Ai","RAM","MTBF"],"h":"Ao – Operational Availability"},{"t":"AoA","x":"Analysis of Alternatives","s":"Study comparing candidate solutions on effectiveness, cost and risk","d":"The AoA evaluates materiel options to close a capability gap and recommends a preferred approach. For major programs, guidance comes from CAPE. A product that is not considered in the AoA can be hard to insert later, so engagement during market research matters.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Analysis of Alternatives"],"r":["MSA","MDD","CAPE"]},{"t":"AOC","x":"Air Operations Center","s":"Theater-level center that plans, directs and assesses air operations","d":"The Air Operations Center, designated AN/USQ-163 Falconer as a weapon system, is the command center from which the joint force air component commander plans and directs air operations. It produces the air tasking order and manages airspace, ISR and dynamic targeting. Its software is being modernized by Kessel Run.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["CAOC","AN/USQ-163 Falconer","Falconer"],"w":"Air Operations Center","r":["TBMCS","Kessel Run","JFACC","ATO"]},{"t":"AOR","x":"Area of Responsibility","s":"A combatant commander's assigned geographic region","d":"The area of responsibility is the geographic area assigned to a geographic combatant commander by the Unified Command Plan. Inside it, subordinate commanders get smaller areas of operations. People also use AOR loosely for any assigned area or job scope.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["AO","UCP","Theater"]},{"t":"APB","x":"Acquisition Program Baseline","s":"The approved cost, schedule and performance targets a program is measured against","d":"The APB records a program's key cost, schedule and performance parameters with thresholds and objectives, approved by the Milestone Decision Authority. Breaching APB thresholds triggers reporting and, for MDAPs, can trigger Nunn-McCurdy. It is the program's contract with leadership.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Acquisition Program Baseline"],"r":["Milestone B","Nunn-McCurdy","KPP"]},{"t":"APFIT","x":"Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies","s":"DoD fund buying production quantities from small and nontraditional firms","d":"APFIT, started in FY2022, provides procurement funds to move technologies from small businesses and nontraditional contractors that have completed prototyping into production more quickly. Projects are selected competitively from service nominations. It is a direct tool against the valley of death.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies"],"r":["Valley of death","Technology transition","Nontraditional defense contractor"]},{"t":"APKWS","x":"Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System","s":"BAE laser guidance kit for 70mm rockets, now a cheap counter-drone weapon","d":"APKWS adds a semi-active laser guidance section to 2.75 inch (70mm) Hydra rockets, making them precision weapons at a fraction of a missile's cost. It became prominent in 2024 as US fighters used it to shoot down drones over the Middle East. Ground-launched versions are also offered for counter-UAS.","c":"Weapons","k":["Hydra 70","70mm rocket"],"r":["Semi-active laser","Cost-exchange ratio"]},{"t":"A-PNT","x":"Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing","s":"PNT that stays trustworthy when GPS is jammed, spoofed or unavailable","d":"Assured PNT is the DoD goal of PNT that users can trust under contested conditions, combining protected GPS (M-code) with inertial sensors, clocks and alternative sources fused in an integrity-aware solution. The Army's PNT Cross-Functional Team leads efforts such as the Mounted (MAPS) and Dismounted (DAPS) Assured PNT Systems. Modular open architectures such as SOSA and the PNT standard work aim to let new sensors plug in.","c":"PNT","k":["assured PNT"],"r":["Alt-PNT","MAPS","DAPS","INS","M-code"]},{"t":"Apogee","s":"Point in an Earth orbit farthest from the Earth","d":"Apogee is the highest point of an elliptical Earth orbit, where the satellite moves slowest; perigee is the lowest. The general term is apoapsis. Burns at apogee are used to raise perigee or circularize, as in the apogee kick that turns a GTO into GEO.","c":"Space","k":["apoapsis"],"w":"Apsis","r":["Perigee","GTO","Orbital elements"]},{"t":"APS","x":"Army Prepositioned Stocks","s":"Equipment sets stored in or near likely theaters to speed deployment","d":"APS are unit sets of equipment, supplies and ammunition stored ashore and afloat in regions such as Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific, so deploying units can draw equipment instead of shipping it. The Marine Corps and other services have similar prepositioning programs.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Army Prepositioned Stocks","prepositioned stock","PREPO","MPF","Maritime Prepositioning Force"],"r":["TRANSCOM","Class VII"],"h":"APS – Army Prepositioned Stocks"},{"t":"APS","x":"Active Protection System","s":"Vehicle system that detects and intercepts incoming rockets and missiles","d":"An APS uses radar to detect incoming anti-tank rockets and missiles and launches a countermeasure to destroy or deflect them (hard kill) or confuses their guidance (soft kill). Rafael's Trophy is the most combat-proven and is installed on US Abrams. Drone threats are pushing APS designs toward top-attack and slow-mover coverage.","c":"Ground","k":["active protection","hard-kill APS","Iron Fist"],"r":["Trophy","M1 Abrams","Top attack"],"h":"APS – Active Protection System"},{"t":"APT","x":"Advanced Persistent Threat","s":"Well-resourced, usually state-sponsored actor conducting long-term intrusions","d":"An advanced persistent threat is a sophisticated actor, usually state sponsored, that gains and keeps long-term access to target networks for espionage or prepositioning. APT groups are tracked by numbers or names such as APT28, APT41, Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon. Defense contractors and the DIB are prominent APT targets.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","w":"Advanced persistent threat","r":["Volt Typhoon","Salt Typhoon","MITRE ATT&CK"]},{"t":"AQAP","x":"Allied Quality Assurance Publication","s":"NATO quality assurance requirements, such as AQAP 2110","d":"Allied Quality Assurance Publications: NATO's quality requirements for defense suppliers, built on ISO 9001 with added defense-specific clauses. AQAP 2110 covers design, development and production, AQAP 2210 adds software, and AQAP 2131 covers final inspection. European contracts and government quality assurance (GQA) often cite them, much as US contracts cite AS9100.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["AQAP 2110","AQAP 2210"],"r":["STANAG"]},{"t":"Area of Interest","s":"The area of concern to a commander, extending beyond the assigned area","d":"An area of interest includes the area of influence and adjacent areas, extending into enemy territory, where events could affect the operation. A named area of interest (NAI) is a specific point or area where activity is expected to confirm or deny an enemy course of action. Sensors are tasked against NAIs.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["AOI","solution brief","NAI","Named area of interest"],"r":["CSO","DIU","AO","PIR"]},{"t":"ARES","x":"Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System","s":"US Army business-jet SIGINT/EW demonstrator flown by L3Harris","d":"ARES is a US Army demonstrator, a Bombardier Global business jet modified by L3Harris, used in the early 2020s to test high-altitude, long-range airborne ISR and EW concepts. It and the similar Leidos ARTEMIS aircraft informed requirements for the HADES program of record.","c":"SIGINT","k":["Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System"],"r":["HADES","Guardrail"]},{"t":"ARF","x":"Allied Reaction Force","s":"Allied Reaction Force: NATO's multidomain rapid response force since 2024","d":"Allied Reaction Force: the multinational, multidomain high-readiness force that became operational in 2024 under the NATO Force Model, able to deploy at short notice in response to crises. It replaced the NRF and VJTF roles.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["NATO Force Model","NRF"]},{"t":"ARG","x":"Amphibious Ready Group","s":"Three amphibious ships carrying an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit","d":"An ARG usually consists of a big-deck amphibious assault ship (LHA or LHD), an amphibious transport dock (LPD) and a dock landing ship (LSD), carrying a MEU of about 2,200 Marines. Together they form an ARG/MEU used for crisis response, raids and humanitarian work. Amphibious ship availability has been a persistent readiness problem.","c":"Naval","k":["ARG/MEU","ESG","amphibious ready group"],"w":"Amphibious ready group","r":["MEU","CSG"]},{"t":"ARINC 429","s":"Widely used avionics data bus standard for point-to-point digital data","d":"ARINC 429 is a unidirectional bus where one transmitter sends 32-bit words to up to 20 receivers at 12.5 or 100 kbit/s. It dominates commercial avionics and appears in many military commercial-derivative aircraft.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["A429"],"w":"ARINC 429","r":["MIL-STD-1553"]},{"t":"Armor","s":"Protective material on vehicles: steel, composite, ceramic, reactive","d":"Vehicle armor ranges from rolled steel to composite, ceramic and depleted uranium arrays, plus add-ons such as slat armor and reactive tiles. Protection levels are specified with standards such as STANAG 4569. Armor weight drives mobility, fuel use and transportability.","c":"Ground","k":["STANAG 4569","composite armor","slat armor"],"r":["Reactive armor","APS","MRAP"]},{"t":"Army Transformation Initiative","s":"2025 Army overhaul cutting legacy programs and fielding drones and new tech","d":"The Army Transformation Initiative, announced in 2025 under Secretary Dan Driscoll and Gen. Randy George following a Secretary of Defense directive, ends or reduces several legacy programs, consolidates headquarters including merging Army Futures Command with TRADOC, and pushes unmanned systems and counter-drone capability across formations. It builds on the 2024 Transformation in Contact effort. Vendors should expect Army priorities and program names to reflect it.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["ATI"],"r":["Transformation in Contact","M10 Booker","JLTV","C-UAS"]},{"t":"Array calibration","s":"Measuring and correcting amplitude and phase errors across array channels","d":"Phased arrays need channel-to-channel amplitude and phase matching to hit sidelobe and pointing specs, and errors drift with temperature, aging and module replacement. Calibration uses factory near-field measurements plus built-in calibration networks or mutual coupling methods in the field. Low sidelobe and adaptive arrays are especially sensitive to it.","c":"Radar","k":["array cal","near-field calibration"],"r":["Phased array","Digital beamforming"]},{"t":"Arrow 3","s":"Israeli exoatmospheric ballistic missile interceptor, IAI with Boeing","d":"Arrow 3 intercepts ballistic missiles in space, above the Arrow 2 layer. It was used against Houthi and Iranian missiles from 2023 onward. Germany bought it as part of the European Sky Shield Initiative, the first export.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Arrow 2","Arrow"],"w":"Arrow 3","r":["David's Sling","Exoatmospheric"]},{"t":"ARRW","x":"Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon","s":"Air Force air-launched boost-glide missile, AGM-183A","d":"ARRW is a Lockheed Martin hypersonic boost-glide missile launched from bombers. After mixed test results the Air Force stopped planned procurement in 2023, then later revived funding to buy some. It remains a reference for air-launched boost-glide capability.","c":"Weapons","k":["AGM-183A","AGM-183"],"r":["HGV","HACM"]},{"t":"Article 4","s":"NATO clause letting any ally request consultations when threatened","d":"Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty provides that allies will consult whenever any of them believes its territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. It has been invoked several times, including by eight eastern allies on the day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and by Poland and Estonia in September 2025 after Russian drone and fighter incursions. Consultations do not commit the Alliance to any action.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["Article 5","NATO"]},{"t":"Article 5","s":"NATO's collective defense clause: an attack on one is an attack on all","d":"Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty commits each ally to treat an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America as an attack against all, and to take such action as it deems necessary, including armed force, to restore security. It has been invoked once, after the September 11, 2001 attacks. NATO has stated that cyber attacks and attacks in space could trigger it.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["collective defense","Article V"],"r":["NATO","Article 4"]},{"t":"Artillery","s":"Large-calibre guns, howitzers and rockets firing at distant targets","d":"Artillery provides indirect fires using cannons (howitzers), rocket launchers and missiles, usually controlled through fire direction centers and forward observers. Key concerns are range, rate of fire, accuracy, survivability against counter-battery fire and ammunition supply. Drones have tightened the sensor-to-shooter loop for artillery in Ukraine.","c":"Weapons","k":["fires","cannon artillery","howitzer"],"r":["Indirect fire","Counter-battery","155mm","HIMARS"]},{"t":"AS6081","s":"Standard for counterfeit parts avoidance by electronic parts distributors","d":"SAE AS6081 sets requirements for distributors to avoid, detect, mitigate and dispose of counterfeit electronic parts, including testing of parts bought outside authorized channels. AS5553 is the companion standard for equipment manufacturers. DFARS 252.246-7007 and 7008 require counterfeit detection systems and preference for authorized sources.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["AS5553","AS6171","counterfeit parts","252.246-7007","252.246-7008"],"r":["DMSMS","GIDEP","AS9100"]},{"t":"AS9100","s":"Aerospace and defense quality management system standard built on ISO 9001","d":"AS9100, currently revision D, adds aerospace and defense requirements to ISO 9001, including configuration management, risk, product safety, counterfeit parts prevention and first article inspection. Many primes require AS9100 certification of suppliers, so certification is often a gating step for hardware startups. A new revision aligned with the next ISO 9001 update was in development.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["AS9100D","EN 9100","AS9102","AS9110","AS9120"],"w":"AS9100","r":["ISO 9001","First article test","AS6081"]},{"t":"ASAT","x":"Anti-Satellite weapon","s":"Weapon designed to disable or destroy satellites","d":"An anti-satellite weapon is any system meant to disable or destroy satellites, including direct-ascent missiles, co-orbital spacecraft, lasers, high-power microwaves, jammers and cyber tools. Destructive tests by the US (2008), China (2007), India (2019) and Russia (2021) demonstrated hit-to-kill capability, and the China and Russia tests created long-lived debris. The US announced a unilateral moratorium on destructive direct-ascent ASAT testing in April 2022.","c":"Weapons","k":["anti-satellite"],"w":"Anti-satellite weapon","r":["DA-ASAT","Co-orbital ASAT","Counterspace","Kessler syndrome"]},{"t":"ASCA","x":"Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator","s":"Australia's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator","d":"Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator: Australian Defence's innovation organization, launched in July 2023 to replace the Defence Innovation Hub, which funds and accelerates technologies with an emphasis on fielding them quickly, including AUKUS Pillar II priorities. It runs missions and an emerging and disruptive technologies program open to industry and universities.","c":"Organizations","r":["DSTG","AUKUS"]},{"t":"ASCOPE","x":"Areas, Structures, Capabilities, Organizations, People, Events","s":"Civil considerations: areas, structures, capabilities, organizations, people, events","d":"ASCOPE is the framework for analyzing the civil dimension of an area: Areas, Structures, Capabilities, Organizations, People and Events. It is the \"C\" in METT-TC broken into pieces and is often crossed with PMESII in a matrix. It matters most in stability operations, urban operations and counterinsurgency.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["PMESII","IPB","METT-TC"]},{"t":"Assessment","s":"Continuous measurement of progress toward objectives and the end state","d":"Assessment determines how well an operation is going and whether plans need to change, using MOEs, MOPs and indicators. It happens at every level from battle damage assessment to campaign assessment. Dashboards for commanders are often assessment tools in practice.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["MOE","BDA"]},{"t":"ASSIST","s":"DLA database of military and federal specifications and standards","d":"ASSIST is the official source for DoD specifications, standards, handbooks and Data Item Descriptions, with free public access through ASSIST Quick Search. Use it to find current revisions of MIL-STDs and MIL-PRFs.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["ASSIST Quick Search","Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System"],"r":["MIL-SPEC","DID"]},{"t":"Assumption","s":"Something accepted as true in planning, without proof, to allow planning to continue","d":"Planning assumptions must be valid (likely true) and necessary (planning cannot continue without them), and they must be checked as facts emerge. A product's design can embed hidden assumptions about connectivity or power that a user's plan does not share. Planners keep an explicit list.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Mission analysis"]},{"t":"ASTERIX","x":"All Purpose Structured EUROCONTROL Surveillance Information Exchange","s":"EUROCONTROL binary format for exchanging radar plots and tracks","d":"ASTERIX defines categories of messages for surveillance data such as monoradar plots (CAT 048), system tracks (CAT 062) and ADS-B reports (CAT 021). It is widely used in air traffic control and many military air surveillance radars output it, which makes it a common integration target for C2 and counter-UAS products.","c":"Radar","w":"ASTERIX","r":["Plot extractor","ADS-B"]},{"t":"ASuW","x":"Anti-Surface Warfare","s":"Attacking enemy surface ships","d":"ASuW uses anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, guns and aircraft against surface vessels. US ASuW capability has been expanded with LRASM, Maritime Strike Tomahawk, NSM and SM-6 anti-ship modes.","c":"Naval","k":["SUW","anti-surface warfare"],"r":["LRASM","NSM","Maritime Strike Tomahawk"]},{"t":"ASW","x":"Anti-Submarine Warfare","s":"Finding and attacking submarines with sonar, aircraft, ships and subs","d":"ASW uses sonar (hull, towed array, sonobuoys), maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters, submarines and seabed sensors to locate and attack submarines. Signal processing, acoustic modelling and autonomous sensor networks are active areas for commercial technology.","c":"Naval","k":["anti-submarine warfare","USW"],"w":"Anti-submarine warfare","r":["P-8A Poseidon","SSN","UUV"]},{"t":"ATACMS","x":"Army Tactical Missile System","s":"Lockheed Martin ballistic missile fired from HIMARS/MLRS, up to about 300 km","d":"ATACMS is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile fired from HIMARS and M270 launchers, with a range of up to about 300 km and unitary or cluster warheads. It is being replaced by PrSM. Its delivery to Ukraine and the rules on its use were widely debated.","c":"Weapons","k":["MGM-140","M39","M57"],"w":"ATACMS","r":["PrSM","HIMARS"]},{"t":"ATAK","x":"Android Team Awareness Kit","s":"Android app for maps, position sharing and tactical data, extensible by plugins","d":"ATAK is the Android version of TAK, providing moving maps, blue force positions, chat, drawing tools, video and data from sensors and drones. It was originally called the Android Tactical Assault Kit and has military (ATAK-MIL), government (ATAK-GOV) and civilian (ATAK-CIV) versions, with ATAK-CIV open source. Third parties extend it through a plugin SDK, which is the usual way products reach soldiers' devices.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["Android Tactical Assault Kit","ATAK-CIV","ATAK-MIL"],"w":"Android Team Awareness Kit","r":["TAK","TAK plugin","Cursor on Target","WinTAK","iTAK"]},{"t":"Ate up","s":"Slang for disorganized, sloppy or incompetent","d":"Ate up (or \"ate up like a soup sandwich\") describes someone or something in a mess. It is the opposite of squared away. It is informal and often used with humor.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Soup sandwich"],"r":["Squared away"]},{"t":"Atmospheric attenuation","s":"Loss of radar energy to oxygen, water vapor and rain, rising with frequency","d":"Atmospheric absorption is small at L- and S-band and grows quickly above X-band, with absorption peaks near 22 GHz (water vapor) and 60 GHz (oxygen) and windows near 35 GHz and 94 GHz. Rain attenuation can be several dB per kilometer at Ka- and W-band in heavy rain. Band selection for long-range search therefore leans low, while short-range seekers and imaging radars exploit high bands.","c":"Radar","k":["rain attenuation","propagation loss"],"r":["Ka-band","W-band","Volume clutter"]},{"t":"Atmospheric drag","s":"Slowing force from the thin upper atmosphere that lowers LEO orbits","d":"Residual atmosphere in LEO removes orbital energy from satellites, lowering their altitude until they reenter. Drag depends strongly on altitude and on upper-atmosphere density, which swells during solar maximum and geomagnetic storms. In February 2022 SpaceX lost about 38 newly launched Starlink satellites when a storm raised drag at their low insertion altitude.","c":"Space","k":["drag"],"r":["VLEO","Geomagnetic storm","Deorbit"]},{"t":"ATO","x":"Authority to Operate","s":"Formal decision by an authorizing official accepting a system's security risk","d":"An authority to operate is the formal decision by an authorizing official that a system's residual security risk is acceptable and it may operate, usually for up to three years or under continuous monitoring. It is the outcome of the RMF process. Getting a product an ATO, or inheriting one from a platform, is often the biggest practical barrier for vendors selling software to DoD.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Authority to Operate","Authorization to Operate","RMF","AO","IATT","authority to operate","authorization to operate"],"r":["cATO","DevSecOps","RMF","IATT","Authorizing official"],"h":"ATO – Authority to Operate"},{"t":"ATO","x":"Air Tasking Order","s":"The daily order assigning air missions, targets and aircraft across a theater","d":"The air tasking order is produced by the air operations center for the JFACC and assigns sorties, targets, timing and capabilities to units, usually covering a 24-hour period inside a 72-hour planning cycle. It is the backbone of the joint air campaign and is distributed with the ACO and SPINS. Many C2 and mission-planning systems exist largely to build, distribute and execute the ATO.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Air tasking order","r":["ACO","SPINS","JFACC","AOC","TBMCS","ATO"],"h":"ATO – Air Tasking Order"},{"t":"Atomic clock","s":"Clock locked to an atomic transition: cesium, rubidium or hydrogen maser","d":"Atomic clocks use the frequency of an atomic transition as their reference. Rubidium standards are compact and common in equipment; cesium beam clocks provide primary-level long-term accuracy; hydrogen masers give the best short-term stability for labs and ground stations. GPS satellites carry rubidium and cesium clocks, and optical atomic clocks are the next generation.","c":"PNT","k":["rubidium","cesium","hydrogen maser","optical clock"],"w":"Atomic clock","r":["CSAC","Holdover","PTTI"]},{"t":"ATR","x":"Automatic Target Recognition","s":"Algorithms that detect and classify targets in sensor data without a human","d":"ATR uses signal processing and increasingly deep learning to detect, classify and sometimes identify targets in radar, EO/IR, SAR or acoustic data. The DoD increasingly prefers 'aided target recognition' (AiTR) where a human confirms, reflecting DoDD 3000.09 policy on autonomy in weapons. Performance depends heavily on training data that represents real conditions, and on measuring false alarms honestly.","c":"Sensors","k":["automatic target recognition","AiTR","aided target recognition"],"w":"Automatic target recognition","r":["ROC curve","Edge processing","NCTR"]},{"t":"Attenuator","s":"Device that reduces signal power by a set amount","d":"A component that reduces signal power by a fixed or variable amount without significant distortion. Step and digital attenuators extend a receiver's dynamic range with automatic gain control and are used throughout test setups.","c":"RF","k":["pad","step attenuator"],"w":"Attenuator (electronics)","r":["Dynamic range","Automatic gain control"]},{"t":"Attritable","s":"Cheap enough that losses in combat are acceptable","d":"Describes systems designed and priced so that commanders can accept losing them in combat, without being disposable after one use. The term is applied to drones such as the XQ-58 Valkyrie and collaborative combat aircraft, and to small satellites. Attritable design trades longevity and survivability features for cost and production rate.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["attritable systems","attritable aircraft","expendable"],"r":["Affordable mass","Mass","Replicator","CCA"]},{"t":"Attrition warfare","s":"Winning by wearing down the enemy's personnel and materiel faster than your own","d":"Attrition warfare seeks victory through the cumulative destruction of enemy forces and materiel. The war in Ukraine renewed attention to attrition and to munition and production capacity. The concern drives demand for low-cost, mass-producible systems.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Attrition"],"w":"Attrition warfare","r":["Maneuver warfare","Mass"]},{"t":"AUKUS","s":"Australia, UK and US security partnership: nuclear submarines and advanced tech","d":"A trilateral security partnership announced in September 2021. Pillar I helps Australia acquire conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines: US Virginia-class boats from the 2030s, then the SSN-AUKUS design built in the UK and Australia. Pillar II covers advanced capabilities, including undersea, quantum, AI and autonomy, hypersonics, cyber and electronic warfare, and has been the focus of export control reforms easing defense trade among the three.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["AUKUS Pillar I","AUKUS Pillar II","SSN-AUKUS","Pillar II"],"w":"AUKUS","r":["Five Eyes","Quad","ASCA","Virginia class","SSN"]},{"t":"AUKUS Pillar II","s":"US-UK-Australia cooperation on AI, hypersonics, undersea and other advanced tech","d":"AUKUS Pillar II covers advanced capabilities including undersea systems, quantum, AI and autonomy, hypersonics, cyber and electronic warfare. To enable it, a 2024 ITAR exemption (22 CFR 126.7) allows license-free transfer of many defense articles and services among authorized users in the three countries, and BIS eased EAR licensing in parallel. Pillar I concerns nuclear-powered submarines for Australia.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["AUKUS","Pillar 2","126.7 exemption","AUKUS exemption"],"w":"AUKUS","r":["ITAR","Export license"]},{"t":"Authorizing official","s":"Senior official accountable for accepting a system's security risk","d":"The authorizing official (AO) is the senior official with authority to formally accept security risk and grant or deny an ATO. Each DoD component has designated AOs, and their risk tolerance largely determines what can be deployed. Vendors usually work through the AO's staff and security control assessors.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["AO","DAA"],"r":["ATO","RMF"]},{"t":"Automatic gain control","x":"AGC","s":"Circuit that adjusts receiver gain to keep output level constant","d":"A control loop that adjusts receiver gain to keep signal level within the processing range. AGC protects against overload but can be exploited by jammers, for example swept or pulsed jamming that captures the AGC and suppresses weaker wanted signals.","c":"RF","k":["AGC"],"w":"Automatic gain control","r":["Dynamic range","Swept jamming"]},{"t":"Automatic modulation classification","x":"AMC","s":"Identifying a signal's modulation type automatically from its samples","d":"Automatically determining the modulation type of an intercepted signal, such as FM, BPSK, QPSK or OFDM, from its samples. It is a front end step in COMINT and cognitive EW, and deep learning on IQ data (for example models trained on the public RadioML datasets) has become the dominant method.","c":"SIGINT","k":["AMC","modulation recognition"],"r":["AI/ML EW","IQ data","COMINT"]},{"t":"Autonomy levels","s":"Scales describing how much a system decides without a human","d":"Autonomy is described on several scales: human-in-the-loop (human approves each action), human-on-the-loop (system acts, human supervises and can intervene) and human-out-of-the-loop. Other frameworks, such as NIST ALFUS or the SAE-style levels 0 to 5, grade the degree of independence by task. For weapons, DoD Directive 3000.09 sets review requirements for autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["human in the loop","human on the loop","HITL","HOTL"],"r":["DoDD 3000.09","Swarm"]},{"t":"Avangard","s":"Russian hypersonic glide vehicle carried on an ICBM","d":"A Russian hypersonic glide vehicle launched by an intercontinental ballistic missile, initially the UR-100N UTTKh (SS-19), and designed to maneuver in the atmosphere at very high speed to evade missile defenses. Russia announced it entered combat duty in December 2019. It is a strategic nuclear system covered by New START counting rules.","c":"Weapons","k":["Avangard HGV","Yu-71"],"w":"Avangard (hypersonic glide vehicle)","r":["Zircon","DF-17","HGV"]},{"t":"Average power","s":"Transmitter power averaged over time; drives detection performance and heat","d":"Average power is peak power multiplied by duty cycle and, together with aperture and dwell time, sets search performance. It also determines prime power and cooling requirements, which dominate SWaP for ground and shipboard radars.","c":"Radar","r":["Peak power","Power-aperture product"]},{"t":"AWACS","x":"Airborne Warning and Control System","s":"The E-3 Sentry and its rotodome radar; also used generically for AEW&C aircraft","d":"AWACS is the Boeing E-3 Sentry, a 707-based aircraft with a rotating rotodome housing the S-band AN/APY-1/2 pulse-Doppler radar, operated by the US, NATO, France and formerly the UK and Saudi Arabia. Its fleet is aging and shrinking as replacements are debated. The word is often used loosely for any AEW&C aircraft.","c":"Aviation","k":["E-3 Sentry","E-3","AN/APY-2","AEW"],"w":"Boeing E-3 Sentry","r":["AEW&C","E-7 Wedgetail"]},{"t":"Axial ratio","s":"Ratio describing how circular an antenna's polarization is","d":"The ratio of the major to minor axes of the polarization ellipse, expressed in dB; 0 dB is perfectly circular. Axial ratio is a key spec for GNSS and satellite antennas and for EW antennas intended to receive any linear polarization.","c":"RF","k":["AR"],"w":"Axial ratio","r":["Polarization"]},{"t":"Azimuth","s":"A horizontal direction measured clockwise from north, in degrees or mils","d":"Azimuths can be referenced to true north, grid north or magnetic north, and the difference matters. Land navigation uses magnetic azimuths from a compass converted to grid. Software should state which north it uses.","c":"PNT","k":["Bearing","Grid azimuth","Magnetic azimuth"],"w":"Azimuth","r":["Mils","MGRS"]},{"t":"B-21 Raider","s":"Northrop Grumman stealth bomber in low-rate production","d":"The B-21 Raider is a long-range, dual-capable stealth bomber that first flew in 2023 and is in low-rate initial production, with Ellsworth AFB as the first base. It is designed with open architecture to absorb upgrades. It will replace the B-1 and B-2 and serve as the bomber leg of the nuclear triad with the B-52.","c":"Aviation","k":["B-21"],"w":"Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider","r":["Triad","LRSO"]},{"t":"B61-12","s":"US life-extended nuclear gravity bomb with a guided tail kit","d":"The B61-12 consolidates four older B61 versions into one with a guided tail kit for better accuracy, allowing a lower yield to achieve the same effect. Production finished in 2024. It is carried by F-15Es, F-35As, B-2s and in future the B-21, and is deployed in Europe for NATO nuclear sharing.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["B61","B61 Mod 12"],"w":"B61 nuclear bomb","r":["B61-13","Nuclear sharing"]},{"t":"B61-13","s":"Higher-yield B61 variant announced in 2023 for harder targets","d":"The B61-13 is a modern variant of the B61 bomb with a higher yield similar to the older B61-7, intended for hardened and large-area targets. It was announced in 2023, and the first unit was produced in 2025, ahead of schedule.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["B61 Mod 13"],"r":["B61-12"]},{"t":"BA 08","x":"Budget Activity 8, Software and Digital Technology Pilot Programs","s":"RDT&E budget activity that lets software be funded with one flexible appropriation","d":"Introduced in FY2021, BA 08 lets selected software programs use a single RDT&E budget activity for development, production and sustainment instead of splitting software across colors of money. It supports the continuous delivery model of the Software Acquisition Pathway. The number of pilot programs has grown since, and reformers have pushed to expand it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA 8","BA-8","software pilot programs","single appropriation"],"r":["Software Acquisition Pathway","Colors of money","RDT&E"]},{"t":"BAA","x":"Broad Agency Announcement","s":"Open solicitation for basic and applied research proposals, often accepted year-round","d":"A BAA, under FAR 35.016, invites proposals for scientific research rather than a defined product, and proposals are peer reviewed instead of compared directly. Service labs, DARPA and ONR rely on them heavily. Many accept white papers first, then invite full proposals.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Broad Agency Announcement","white paper"],"r":["CSO","OTA","S&T"]},{"t":"Backbrief","s":"A subordinate's explanation to the commander of how they will execute the order","d":"In a backbrief, a subordinate leader briefs back their understanding of the mission and their plan, so the commander can confirm intent was understood. It catches misunderstandings early. The term is also used loosely for any brief summarizing a plan to a superior.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Rehearsal","Commander's intent"]},{"t":"Backfire","s":"NATO name for the Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Tupolev Tu-22M, a supersonic variable-geometry bomber used by Russian long-range aviation and naval aviation, now in the Tu-22M3 version. It carries Kh-22 and Kh-32 anti-ship and land-attack missiles and has been used extensively against Ukraine. Several were destroyed on the ground in Ukraine's June 2025 Operation Spiderweb drone strike, along with Tu-95s.","c":"Aviation","k":["Tu-22M","Tu-22M3"],"w":"Tupolev Tu-22M","r":["Bear","Blackjack"]},{"t":"BACN","x":"Battlefield Airborne Communications Node","s":"Airborne gateway that bridges datalinks and voice between incompatible systems","d":"BACN is an airborne communications relay and gateway, built by Northrop Grumman and flown on E-11A business jets and EQ-4B Global Hawks, that translates between datalinks such as Link 16, SADL and fifth-generation links and extends voice ranges. It was used heavily in Afghanistan to connect ground forces with aircraft. It is the model for airborne gateway concepts in JADC2.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["E-11A"],"w":"Battlefield Airborne Communications Node","r":["Datalink gateway","Link 16","SADL"]},{"t":"Badger","s":"NATO name for the Tu-16 bomber, the basis of China's H-6","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 jet bomber of the 1950s. It is retired in Russia, but China's Xian H-6, license-built from the Tu-16 and repeatedly modernized, remains the PLA's main bomber.","c":"Aviation","k":["Tu-16"],"w":"Tupolev Tu-16","r":["H-6"]},{"t":"BAH","x":"Basic Allowance for Housing","s":"Basic Allowance for Housing: a tax-free payment to cover off-base housing costs","d":"BAH varies by location, pay grade and dependency status. Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) covers food. Both are tax-free, which matters when comparing military and civilian pay.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["BAS","OHA"],"r":["LES"]},{"t":"Ballistic helmet","s":"A combat helmet protecting against fragments and some bullets","d":"US forces have used the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH), Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) and Army Integrated Head Protection System (IHPS), among others. Helmets carry NVG shrouds and side rails for lights and accessories. Weight and balance matter greatly for anything mounted.","c":"Ground","k":["ACH","ECH","IHPS","Combat helmet"],"w":"Combat helmet","r":["NVG mount"]},{"t":"Bandit","s":"Brevity: an aircraft identified as enemy, not necessarily cleared for engagement","d":"BANDIT means an aircraft identified as enemy under the theater's ID criteria. It does not by itself authorize engagement. HOSTILE carries that authorization.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Bogey","Hostile","Declare"]},{"t":"Barker code","s":"Binary phase code with peak sidelobes of 1/N; longest known length is 13","d":"Barker codes are binary phase sequences whose autocorrelation sidelobes never exceed one unit, giving a peak sidelobe ratio of about -22.3 dB for the 13-element code. No longer Barker codes are known, so longer codes use nested Barkers, minimum peak sidelobe codes or polyphase codes. They are sensitive to Doppler, which limits use against fast targets without Doppler processing.","c":"Radar","k":["Barker sequence"],"w":"Barker code","r":["Pulse compression","MOP","Polyphase codes"]},{"t":"Barrage jamming","s":"Noise jamming spread across a wide band to cover many frequencies at once","d":"Noise jamming spread across a wide frequency range so that several channels, or a frequency agile emitter, are covered simultaneously. Coverage comes at the cost of power density: spreading a fixed power over more bandwidth lowers the jamming power per hertz. It is useful against hopping radios and agile radars when the exact frequency is unknown.","c":"EW","k":["broadband jamming","wideband jamming"],"r":["Spot jamming","Swept jamming","Noise jamming"]},{"t":"Baseline","s":"An approved, controlled description of a system at a point in time","d":"Defense programs use three main configuration baselines: functional (system requirements, set around SFR), allocated (subsystem requirements, set at PDR) and product (detailed design, set at CDR and finalized at PCA). Once a baseline is set, changes require formal approval. The word is also used for cost and schedule baselines.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["functional baseline","allocated baseline","product baseline"],"r":["Configuration management","ECP","PDR","CDR"]},{"t":"Battalion","s":"A unit of about 300 to 1,000 people, led by a lieutenant colonel","d":"A battalion is typically three to five companies plus a headquarters, led by a lieutenant colonel (O-5) with a command sergeant major (Army) or sergeant major (Marines). It is the lowest level with a full staff (S1 through S6). Battalion commanders and their S3 and S6 are key product stakeholders.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Bn","BN"],"w":"Battalion","r":["Company","Brigade","Staff numbering"]},{"t":"Battery","s":"An artillery or air defense unit equivalent to a company","d":"A battery is the company-level unit in field artillery and air defense artillery, led by a captain. Battalions of batteries are the typical firing unit for systems like HIMARS or Patriot. The term also applies to some Marine units.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Artillery battery","r":["Company","Battalion"]},{"t":"Battle belt","s":"A padded load-bearing belt carrying pouches, holster and first aid kit","d":"A battle belt (or war belt) holds items such as a holster, IFAK, tourniquet and magazines, keeping weight on the hips. It replaced older suspender-and-belt load-bearing equipment in many units. Belt-mounted electronics need to survive bending and impact.","c":"Ground","k":["War belt","Duty belt","LBE"],"r":["IFAK","Chest rig"]},{"t":"Battle buddy","s":"A partner assigned to look out for a fellow soldier","d":"The battle buddy system pairs soldiers, starting in basic training, so nobody is alone and each looks after the other. Marines and others use similar ideas (\"buddy\" or \"wingman\" in the Air Force). It also underpins suicide prevention efforts.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Wingman"],"r":["Blue falcon"]},{"t":"Battle captain","s":"The officer running the current operations floor in a command post","d":"A battle captain manages the TOC or command post during a shift, tracking reports, enforcing battle drills and keeping the commander informed. They are heavy users of C2 software and shift logs. A battle NCO assists.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Battle NCO","Battle major"],"r":["TOC","Battle rhythm"]},{"t":"Battle drill","s":"A rehearsed, standard collective action carried out with minimal orders","d":"A battle drill is a standardized action a unit performs immediately on a cue, such as reacting to contact or breaching an obstacle. Headquarters also have battle drills, for example reacting to a downed aircraft or a mass casualty event. Software for operations centers often scripts these drills.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["SOP","TTP"]},{"t":"Battle rhythm","s":"The recurring schedule of meetings, briefs and reports in a headquarters","d":"A battle rhythm is a deliberate daily and weekly cycle of command and staff activities that synchronizes current and future operations, such as update briefs, targeting boards and working groups. Products that ask staff to log in at odd times or that create new meetings fight the battle rhythm; ones that feed existing events fit into it. Expect users to schedule demos and feedback around it.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Battle captain","Targeting cycle"]},{"t":"Battlespace","s":"The environment, factors and conditions to understand in order to apply combat power","d":"Battlespace refers to the whole environment in which forces operate, including air, land, sea, space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum. Current joint doctrine prefers \"operational environment,\" but battlespace remains common, as in \"battlespace awareness.\" Vendors use it freely.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Battlefield"],"w":"Battlespace","r":["OE","Theater"]},{"t":"B band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 250 to 500 MHz","d":"NATO EW band B covers 250 to 500 MHz, including the military UHF air band and UHF SATCOM and some long-range surveillance radars.","c":"RF","k":["B-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","A band (NATO)","C band (NATO)"]},{"t":"BCT","x":"Brigade Combat Team","s":"Brigade combat team: the Army's main self-contained combined arms maneuver unit","d":"A brigade combat team combines maneuver battalions with artillery, engineers, reconnaissance and support, in infantry, Stryker and armored types. BCTs have about 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers. Since 2024 the Army has shifted more capability back to divisions as the unit of action for large-scale combat.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["IBCT","SBCT","ABCT"],"w":"Brigade Combat Team","r":["Brigade","Division"]},{"t":"BDA","x":"Battle Damage Assessment","s":"Assessment of physical and functional damage after an attack","d":"Battle Damage Assessment: the estimate of damage composed of physical and functional damage assessment, plus target system assessment, resulting from the application of lethal or nonlethal force. Phase 1 reports physical damage, phase 2 functional damage, and phase 3 the effect on the wider target system. BDA, MEA and reattack recommendations together make up combat assessment.","c":"Intelligence","k":["bomb damage assessment","Combat assessment"],"w":"Battle damage assessment","r":["MEA","Combat assessment","Assessment","F2T2EA","D3A"]},{"t":"Beamforming","s":"Combining array elements with controlled phase or delay to steer a beam","d":"Combining the signals of an antenna array's elements with controlled phase, time delay and amplitude to form beams and nulls in chosen directions. It can be done in analog RF, at IF or digitally. Beamforming underlies AESA radars, NGJ-MB, CRPA GPS antennas, 5G and satellite terminals.","c":"RF","k":["beam steering","spatial filtering"],"w":"Beamforming","r":["Digital beamforming","Phased array","Adaptive nulling"]},{"t":"Beam hopping","s":"Rapidly switching a satellite's beams among coverage cells to follow demand","d":"Beam hopping time-shares a smaller number of beams across many cells, dwelling on each according to traffic demand, so capacity goes where users are. It is used in modern HTS and LEO systems and is supported by the DVB-S2X standard superframe. Terminals must synchronize to the hopping schedule.","c":"Comms","r":["High-throughput satellite","Phased array user terminal"]},{"t":"Beam squint","s":"Change of beam pointing with frequency in a phase-steered array","d":"In a phase-steered array the correct phase for a direction depends on frequency, so off-center frequencies point slightly off target, an effect that grows with scan angle and bandwidth. It limits instantaneous bandwidth. True time delay or digital beamforming removes it.","c":"Radar","r":["True time delay","Instantaneous bandwidth"]},{"t":"Beam steering","s":"Pointing an antenna beam electronically by setting element phases or delays","d":"Electronic beam steering applies a progressive phase or time delay across the array so the wavefronts add in the desired direction. Beam moves take microseconds, allowing interleaved tasks. Steering accuracy depends on phase shifter resolution, calibration and thermal stability.","c":"Radar","k":["electronic scanning","ESA steering"],"r":["Phased array","Phase shifter","True time delay"]},{"t":"Beamwidth","s":"Angular width of an antenna's main lobe, usually at half power","d":"The angular width of an antenna's main lobe, normally measured between the half power (-3 dB) points. It is approximately proportional to wavelength divided by aperture size, so higher frequencies and bigger apertures give narrower beams. Beamwidth sets angular resolution, coverage and how hard an emitter is to intercept.","c":"RF","k":["HPBW","half-power beamwidth","3 dB beamwidth"],"r":["Antenna gain","Sidelobe","Angle accuracy","Scan loss"],"w":"Beam diameter"},{"t":"Bear","s":"NATO name for the Tu-95 turboprop strategic bomber and Tu-142","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber and its Tu-142 maritime patrol derivative, a four-engine turboprop with contra-rotating propellers first flown in 1952. The Tu-95MS Bear-H carries Kh-101 cruise missiles used against Ukraine, and Bears regularly approach NATO and US airspace, prompting intercepts.","c":"Aviation","k":["Tu-95","Tu-142","Bear-H"],"w":"Tupolev Tu-95","r":["Blackjack","Backfire"]},{"t":"Bearings-only tracking","s":"Estimating target position and motion from angle measurements alone","d":"Passive sensors such as IRST, ESM and passive sonar measure only bearing, so range must be inferred from how bearing changes as the observer maneuvers (target motion analysis) or by triangulating from multiple platforms. It is a classic submarine and fighter IRST problem. Observability requires own-ship maneuvers.","c":"Sensors","k":["TMA","target motion analysis","angle-only tracking"],"r":["IRST","Passive sonar","Particle filter"]},{"t":"BeiDou","s":"China's GNSS, globally complete since 2020","d":"BeiDou (BDS) is China's satellite navigation system. BeiDou-3, declared complete in 2020, mixes MEO, GEO and inclined geosynchronous satellites, giving very strong coverage over Asia. It offers open and authorized military services plus a short-message communication service, and is used by the PLA.","c":"PNT","k":["BDS","BeiDou-3","Compass"],"w":"BeiDou","r":["GNSS","GPS"]},{"t":"Berry Amendment","s":"Requires DoD to buy food, clothing, textiles and some tools made in the United States","d":"The Berry Amendment, 10 USC 4862, requires that food, clothing, fabrics, fibers, hand tools and certain other items bought with DoD funds be grown, reprocessed and produced in the United States, with limited exceptions. It is stricter than the Buy American Act.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["10 USC 4862"],"w":"Berry Amendment","r":["Buy American Act","Specialty metals"]},{"t":"Bias instability","s":"Slow drift in a gyro or accelerometer reading, the main IMU quality metric","d":"Bias instability is the lowest achievable random variation in a sensor's bias, read from an Allan variance plot, and for gyros is quoted in degrees per hour. Rough grades: consumer MEMS around 10 to 100 deg/h, tactical about 1 to 10 deg/h, navigation grade about 0.01 deg/h or better. Together with angle random walk it determines how fast unaided inertial error grows.","c":"PNT","k":["ARW","angle random walk","Allan variance"],"r":["IMU","INS"]},{"t":"BICES","x":"Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation Systems","s":"NATO intelligence sharing network and the agency that runs it","d":"BICES is a network and organization for sharing intelligence among NATO and partner nations, with the US portion known as US BICES and the multinational element run by the NATO-affiliated BICES Group. US BICES-X extended it to additional partners. It is the main NATO-side intelligence sharing environment.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["US BICES","BICES-X"],"r":["CENTRIXS","Mission Partner Environment"]},{"t":"Bid protest","s":"Formal challenge to a solicitation or award at the agency, GAO or Court of Federal Claims","d":"A bid protest challenges the terms of a solicitation or the evaluation and award decision. Protests may be filed with the agency, GAO or the Court of Federal Claims, each with different deadlines and standards. A timely GAO protest generally triggers an automatic stay of performance, which is why winning bidders brace for them.","c":"Acquisition","k":["protest","COFC","Court of Federal Claims","agency protest"],"r":["GAO protest","Debriefing","Source selection"]},{"t":"Big Army","s":"Slang for the Army institution as a whole, as opposed to one's own unit","d":"Big Army refers to the Army's large bureaucracy and senior leadership, often in contrast to special operations or a specific unit. Similar phrases include \"Big Navy\" and \"Big Blue\" for the Air Force. It is used when complaining about institutional decisions.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Big Navy","Big Blue"],"r":["SOF"]},{"t":"Big Bang","s":"Platform One declarative baseline for deploying a DoD-hardened Kubernetes stack","d":"Big Bang is Platform One's open source, Helm and GitOps-based baseline that deploys a set of hardened tools on Kubernetes, such as a service mesh, logging, monitoring and policy enforcement, using Iron Bank images. Programs use it to stand up a compliant software platform quickly. It is maintained publicly on Repo1.","c":"Engineering & Test","r":["Platform One","Iron Bank","DevSecOps"]},{"t":"Billet","s":"A specific authorized position in a unit, or the person's assigned job","d":"A billet is a funded position with a defined grade and specialty on a unit's manning document. \"What's your billet?\" means \"what's your job?\" New systems that need extra operators need new billets, which are hard to get.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["MTOE"]},{"t":"Bingo","s":"Brevity: fuel state at which an aircraft must head home to recover safely","d":"BINGO is the prebriefed fuel state needed to return to base or a tanker with required reserves. Reaching bingo means leaving now. JOKER is a higher fuel state that triggers the end of combat maneuvers or preparation to leave.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Bingo fuel"],"w":"Multi-service tactical brevity code","r":["Joker","Playtime"]},{"t":"BIS","x":"Bureau of Industry and Security","s":"Commerce Department bureau that administers the EAR","d":"BIS issues export licenses, classifies items, maintains the Entity List and other restricted party lists, and enforces the EAR. In recent years it has been central to semiconductor and advanced computing controls on China. License applications go through the SNAP-R system.","c":"Organizations","k":["Bureau of Industry and Security","SNAP-R"],"w":"Bureau of Industry and Security","r":["EAR","Entity List","ECCN"]},{"t":"Bistatic radar","s":"Radar with transmitter and receiver at separate locations","d":"In a bistatic radar the transmitter and receiver are separated by a distance comparable to target range, so the geometry is defined by a bistatic angle and range is measured as a sum of transmitter-target and target-receiver distances. Passive receivers reveal nothing about their location, and bistatic geometries can see shaping-based low observable targets from angles where specular returns are stronger. Synchronization of time and frequency between sites is the main engineering challenge.","c":"Radar","k":["bistatic"],"w":"Bistatic radar","r":["Multistatic radar","Passive radar","Monostatic radar"]},{"t":"BIT","x":"Built-In Test","s":"Self-test capability that detects and isolates faults without external equipment","d":"BIT runs at power-up, periodically or on command to detect failures and isolate them to an LRU. Requirements usually specify fault detection, fault isolation and false alarm rates, and high false alarm rates drive costly no-fault-found removals. BITE refers to the built-in test equipment.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Built-In Test","BITE","PBIT","CBIT","IBIT","fault isolation","NFF","no fault found"],"w":"Built-in self-test","r":["LRU","Prognostics","MTTR"]},{"t":"Bit error rate","x":"BER","s":"Fraction of received bits that are wrong","d":"The ratio of bit errors to total bits received, used to measure digital link quality. BER requirements, for example 10^-5 for voice or 10^-6 for data, combined with modulation and coding, determine the required Eb/N0 and therefore the link budget and jamming margin.","c":"Comms","k":["BER","bit error ratio"],"w":"Bit error rate","r":["Eb/N0","SNR"]},{"t":"Black core","s":"Network design in which the transport carries only encrypted traffic","d":"A black core network carries only encrypted traffic across its transport, with each enclave encrypting at its edge using HAIPE or CSfC, so the core can be unclassified and shared. It simplifies multi-classification transport and lets commercial links carry classified traffic. DoD networks and tactical architectures increasingly adopt black core designs.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["HAIPE","CSfC","Red/black separation"]},{"t":"Blackjack","s":"NATO name for the Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Tupolev Tu-160, the largest and heaviest combat aircraft ever built, a supersonic variable-geometry strategic bomber carrying Kh-101 and Kh-102 cruise missiles. Production of the modernized Tu-160M has resumed at Kazan. Russian crews call it the White Swan.","c":"Aviation","k":["Tu-160","White Swan"],"w":"Tupolev Tu-160","r":["Bear","Backfire"]},{"t":"Blanking","s":"Briefly muting a receiver while a nearby transmitter fires","d":"Suppressing a receiver's input or processing during the time a co-located transmitter or jammer is active, coordinated by a blanking signal or bus. It allows a platform's own jammers, radars and radios to coexist, at the cost of short gaps in receiver coverage. Look-through is the reverse: brief pauses in jamming so receivers can listen.","c":"EW","k":["receiver blanking","look-through"],"r":["Co-site interference","Reactive jamming"]},{"t":"Blast fragmentation","s":"Warhead that kills with blast plus a spray of casing fragments","d":"A blast-frag warhead uses explosive to shatter a casing, often pre-formed or scored, into fragments that hit targets over a wide area. It is standard for air defense interceptors with proximity fuzes and for general-purpose bombs and shells. Fragment size, velocity and spread pattern are tuned to the target.","c":"Weapons","k":["blast-frag","fragmentation"],"r":["Proximity fuze","HE","Hit-to-kill"]},{"t":"Blind","s":"Brevity: I do not have sight of the friendly aircraft or ground position","d":"BLIND means no visual contact with a friendly aircraft or ground position, the opposite of VISUAL. It prompts deconfliction measures such as altitude separation. NO JOY is the enemy equivalent.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Visual","No Joy"]},{"t":"Blind range","s":"Ranges where echoes arrive while the radar is transmitting and cannot be received","d":"A monostatic pulse radar cannot receive during its own transmit pulse, so echoes from ranges corresponding to the pulse width, and to each multiple of the PRI in ambiguous modes, are eclipsed. Long pulses used for energy create large minimum ranges, which is why radars often add a short fill pulse. Medium and high PRF modes need PRF switching to fill eclipsed range zones.","c":"Radar","k":["eclipsing","minimum range"],"r":["Duty cycle","Pulse width","HPRF"]},{"t":"Blind speed","s":"Target radial speed whose Doppler is a multiple of the PRF, making it vanish in MTI","d":"In MTI and pulse-Doppler radars, a target whose Doppler shift equals a multiple of the PRF looks stationary and is cancelled with the clutter. The first blind speed is λ·PRF/2. PRF stagger raises the first blind speed well beyond target speeds of interest.","c":"Radar","k":["blind velocity"],"r":["MTI","PRI stagger","Doppler ambiguity"]},{"t":"Block","s":"A production or upgrade batch with a common configuration, such as F-16 Block 70","d":"A grouping of aircraft, missiles, ships or software produced or upgraded to a common configuration, used to introduce capability in increments. Examples include F-16 Block 70, RQ-4 Block 30 and 40, Tomahawk Block V and Virginia-class Block V submarines. Block numbering affects which software loads, interfaces and spares apply, so integrators need to know the exact block.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Blk"],"r":["Flight","Lot","Increment"]},{"t":"Block 4","s":"F-35 modernization adding new weapons, sensors and EW capabilities","d":"Block 4 is a long series of F-35 software and hardware upgrades adding weapons, an upgraded radar (APG-85), better EW and other improvements, delivered through continuous capability development. It depends on TR-3 and has seen delays and scope reductions.","c":"Aviation","k":["F-35 Block 4"],"r":["F-35","TR-3"]},{"t":"Blocking","s":"Loss of receiver sensitivity caused by a strong off-channel signal","d":"Degradation of a receiver's ability to receive a wanted signal because a strong unwanted signal on another frequency drives the front end into compression or raises its noise. Blocking performance is specified as the level of off-channel signal tolerated and matters for receivers near high power transmitters.","c":"RF","k":["blocking dynamic range","desensitization"],"r":["Desensitization","P1dB","Co-site interference"]},{"t":"BLOS","x":"Beyond Line of Sight","s":"Communications beyond radio horizon, via SATCOM, HF or relays","d":"Beyond line of sight communications reach past the radio horizon using satellites, HF skywave, airborne relays or terrestrial networks. Line of sight (LOS) VHF and UHF links are limited to tens of kilometers on the ground. Most C2 architectures combine both, with BLOS links more constrained in bandwidth or more expensive.","c":"Comms","k":["OTH","over the horizon"],"r":["LOS","HF","SATCOM"]},{"t":"Blue falcon","s":"Slang for someone who undermines peers to benefit themselves","d":"Blue falcon is a polite stand-in for \"buddy f-er,\" a person who betrays or lets down their teammates. Being a blue falcon is a serious social offense in a unit. It is informal.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Battle buddy"]},{"t":"Blue force","s":"Friendly forces; red is enemy, green is partner or neutral, white is civilian","d":"Color conventions are standard in planning and on maps: blue for friendly, red for enemy, green for partner, neutral or local forces depending on context, and white or gray for civilians. Blue force tracking (BFT) systems report friendly positions. In military symbology (MIL-STD-2525) shapes and colors follow these conventions.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["BLUFOR","OPFOR","REDFOR","Red force","BFT","Blue force tracking"],"r":["Red team","Fratricide"]},{"t":"Blue Force Tracking","s":"GPS-based tracking of friendly force positions on a shared map","d":"Blue force tracking shows the positions of friendly (blue) units and vehicles, typically from GPS reports sent over SATCOM or terrestrial radio. It reduces fratricide and supports C2 on the move. US Army systems include FBCB2 and JBC-P, and many commercial and allied systems provide similar functions.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["BFT","PLI"],"w":"Blue force tracking","r":["JBC-P","FBCB2","PPLI"]},{"t":"Blue team","s":"Defenders who protect systems and respond to attacks","d":"A blue team is the defending side in security operations and exercises, responsible for monitoring, detection, hardening and incident response. In operational test, blue team assessments are cooperative vulnerability assessments with the system owner. The term also denotes friendly forces generally.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["Red team","Purple team"]},{"t":"Blue UAS","s":"DoD-vetted list of small drones cleared for government purchase and operation","d":"Blue UAS is a list of small UAS that have been reviewed for cybersecurity and supply chain compliance (including NDAA Section 848) and approved for DoD use. The Defense Innovation Unit created and ran it, and it is used by other agencies as a reference. Being on the list is effectively a market entry requirement for selling small drones to the US military.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Blue UAS Cleared List","Blue UAS Framework","Blue UAS List","Blue sUAS"],"r":["Section 848","DIU","Blue UAS Framework","NDAA Section 848"]},{"t":"Blue UAS Framework","s":"DoD-vetted components (autopilots, radios, cameras) for building compliant drones","d":"The Blue UAS Framework lists components and software, such as flight controllers, radios, gimbals and cameras, that have been vetted as NDAA compliant and secure. Drone builders who use framework components get a shorter path to Blue UAS approval. For component vendors it is the equivalent of the Blue UAS list.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Blue Framework"],"r":["Blue UAS","NDAA Section 848"]},{"t":"BLUF","x":"Bottom Line Up Front","s":"Bottom line up front: lead with the conclusion","d":"BLUF is the standard military writing rule of putting the main point or request first. Emails often begin with \"BLUF:\". Briefings and documents for military audiences should follow it.","c":"Comms","w":"BLUF (communication)","r":["Read-ahead"]},{"t":"BMC2","x":"Battle Management Command and Control","s":"C2 focused on real-time management of an engagement, especially air and missile","d":"Battle management command and control is the real-time direction of forces in an engagement, such as assigning interceptors or fighters to threats and deconflicting fires. It is central to air and missile defense and to airborne platforms such as AWACS and E-7. BMC2 software must handle high track counts, low latency and strict timing compared with planning-oriented C2.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["BMC3","C2BMC","IBCS"]},{"t":"BMC3","x":"Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications","s":"BMC2 including the communications that carry it","d":"BMC3 adds communications to battle management C2. It appears frequently in missile defense, where sensor data, fire control and interceptor communications are designed as one system. The Air Force PEO C3BM uses closely related terminology.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["BMC2","C2BMC"]},{"t":"BMD","x":"Ballistic Missile Defense","s":"Systems to detect, track and intercept ballistic missiles","d":"BMD covers the sensors and interceptors that defend against ballistic missiles in boost, midcourse or terminal phase. The US Missile Defense Agency develops the layered Ballistic Missile Defense System, including GMD, Aegis BMD, THAAD and Patriot with supporting radars and space sensors. Hypersonic and maneuvering threats have pushed BMD toward broader missile defense.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["ballistic missile defence","MDA"],"w":"Missile defense","r":["GMD","Aegis BMD","THAAD","Patriot"]},{"t":"Body armor protection levels","s":"NIJ ratings for body armor: IIIA soft armor, III and IV rifle plates","d":"Under the older NIJ 0101.06 standard, Level IIA, II and IIIA stop handgun rounds (soft armor), Level III stops 7.62x51mm ball rifle rounds, and Level IV stops a .30-06 armor-piercing round. The newer NIJ 0101.07 renames these levels. US military plates are tested to military specifications instead, so NIJ levels describe commercial and police armor.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Level IIIA","Level III","Level IV","NIJ levels"],"r":["NIJ 0101.07","ESAPI","Plate carrier"]},{"t":"Bogey","s":"Brevity: an air contact whose identity is unknown","d":"BOGEY is a radar or visual air contact of unknown identity. Controllers and pilots work to identify bogeys as friendly, bandit, neutral or hostile. Identification is a major function of air defense systems.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Bogie"],"r":["Bandit","Declare","Friendly"]},{"t":"BOHICA","s":"Resigned slang for \"here it comes again,\" said when another unwelcome tasking arrives","d":"BOHICA expands to a crude phrase best rendered as \"bend over, here it comes again.\" It expresses weary resignation at a repeated imposition such as another reorganization or inspection. Hearing it about a product rollout is a bad sign.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Voluntold"]},{"t":"BOI","x":"Basis of Issue","s":"Rule setting how many of an item each type of unit or person receives","d":"The basis of issue specifies quantities, such as one per squad or one per vehicle, and drives total procurement quantities and MTOE entries. A Basis of Issue Plan (BOIP) is developed for new equipment.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Basis of Issue","BOIP","Basis of Issue Plan"],"r":["MTOE","LIN"]},{"t":"Bona fide need","s":"Rule that funds may be used only for needs arising in their period of availability","d":"The bona fide needs rule, from 31 USC 1502, requires that an appropriation be obligated only for a need that exists during its period of availability. It shapes how severable services and subscriptions can be funded across fiscal years. It is a common reason for awkward contract periods and option structures.","c":"Acquisition","k":["bona fide needs rule"],"r":["Antideficiency Act","O&M","Colors of money"]},{"t":"Boost phase","s":"Powered flight just after launch while the rocket motor is burning","d":"The boost phase lasts from ignition to burnout, a few minutes for ICBMs. The missile is bright and slow, so it is easy to detect from space, but intercepting it requires being very close. Space-based interceptor concepts under Golden Dome target this phase.","c":"Weapons","k":["boost-phase intercept"],"r":["Midcourse","Terminal phase","Golden Dome"]},{"t":"Boots on the ground","s":"Ground troops physically present in an area","d":"Boots on the ground refers to deployed ground forces, often as a policy question about whether to commit troops. It contrasts with air strikes or advisers. It can also mean hands-on presence generally.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["BOG"],"r":["Grunt"]},{"t":"Boundary","s":"A line separating the areas of adjacent units","d":"A boundary delineates surface areas between units to coordinate maneuver and fires. Crossing it with fires or movement requires coordination with the adjacent unit. Map tools need to show which unit owns which ground.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["AO","Phase line"]},{"t":"Bragg cell receiver","s":"Acousto-optic receiver that diffracts light to show signal frequencies","d":"A receiver that drives an acousto-optic crystal with the RF signal so that a laser beam is diffracted at angles proportional to the signal frequencies, with a photodetector array reading out the spectrum. It gives instantaneous wideband spectral analysis and was used in ELINT and EW systems before high-speed digital processing displaced it.","c":"EW","k":["acousto-optic receiver","AOR"],"r":["Compressive receiver","Digital receiver"]},{"t":"Branch","s":"A contingency option built into a plan for a foreseeable change","d":"A branch is an alternative within the current phase of a plan, such as \"if the enemy reinforces from the north, then do X.\" Branches are tied to decision points and triggered by observed conditions. They let a unit change course quickly without new planning.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Branch plan"],"r":["Sequel","Decision point"]},{"t":"Brass","s":"Slang for senior officers as a group","d":"\"The brass\" or \"top brass\" means senior officers, especially generals and admirals, from the gold insignia and braid. A \"brass\" briefing is usually short and focused on decisions. Brass also means spent cartridge cases.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Top brass"],"r":["General officer"]},{"t":"Brave1","s":"Ukraine's government defense tech cluster connecting startups with the military","d":"A Ukrainian government platform launched in April 2023 by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Ministry of Defence and others to support defense technology developers with grants, testing, codification and links to military units. It has backed hundreds of drone, EW, robotics and software projects and runs the Brave1 Market, where units order equipment using points earned for battlefield results.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["Brave1 Market"],"r":["Delta","Kropyva"]},{"t":"Break","s":"Radio proword separating parts of a message or signaling a pause","d":"BREAK separates the text of a message from other parts, or separates multiple messages, and in practice gives others a chance to interrupt with urgent traffic. \"Break, break\" signals a priority interruption on a busy net. In aviation, \"break\" followed by a direction is a hard defensive turn.","c":"Comms","k":["Break break"],"r":["Proword"]},{"t":"Brevity code","s":"Standard short code words for radio calls, defined in ATP 1-02.1","d":"Multiservice brevity codes are words with specific meanings that shorten radio communication, published in ATP 1-02.1 (also MCRP, NTTP and AFTTP numbers) and used across US services and with NATO partners. They exist for speed and clarity and provide no security. Aviation and air defense software and training simulators must use them exactly.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Brevity","ATP 1-02.1","Brevity words"],"w":"Multi-service tactical brevity code","r":["Fox Three","Bandit","Winchester"]},{"t":"Brick architecture","s":"AESA with T/R modules mounted as slats or bricks perpendicular to the array face","d":"In a brick architecture, each T/R module is a long assembly that extends back from the aperture, which eases heat removal and component layout and suits high-power ground and ship radars. It makes the array thicker and heavier than a tile design. Many legacy fighter and ground AESAs use brick or slat construction.","c":"Radar","k":["slat architecture","brick AESA"],"r":["Tile architecture","T/R module"]},{"t":"Brigade","s":"A unit of about 3,000 to 5,000 people, led by a colonel","d":"A brigade is several battalions with a headquarters, led by a colonel (O-6) with a command sergeant major. The Marine Corps equivalent ground unit is a regiment. Brigades are a common level for Army fielding decisions and experimentation.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Bde","Regiment"],"w":"Brigade","r":["BCT","Battalion","Division"]},{"t":"Budget activities","s":"RDT&E subdivisions 6.1 to 6.8, from basic research to upgrades of fielded systems","d":"RDT&E is divided into budget activities that track maturity: 6.1 basic research, 6.2 applied research, 6.3 advanced technology development, 6.4 advanced component development and prototypes, 6.5 system development and demonstration, 6.6 management support and 6.7 operational system development. BA 8 was added for software and digital technology pilot programs. Knowing which BA a line is in tells you what kind of work it can fund.","c":"Acquisition","k":["BA","BA 6.1","budget activity"],"r":["6.1","6.2","6.3","6.4","6.5","6.6","6.7","BA 08","RDT&E"]},{"t":"Bullseye","s":"Brevity: a fixed reference point from which positions are given by bearing and range","d":"BULLSEYE is a pre-briefed reference point; positions are given as bearing and range from it so they make sense to everyone regardless of their own location. It keeps own positions off the radio. Mission planning software sets the bullseye and cockpit displays use it.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Picture"]},{"t":"Burden sharing","s":"How allies split the costs and risks of collective defense","d":"The distribution of costs, forces and risks among members of an alliance. The US has pressed NATO allies for decades to spend more, a debate that culminated in the 2025 Hague commitment to 5 percent of GDP. Burden sharing also covers contributions to operations, host nation support and capability targets.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["Defence Investment Pledge","Extended deterrence"]},{"t":"Burn-through range","s":"Range at which a radar's target echo overcomes jamming","d":"The range at which a radar's received target echo becomes strong enough relative to jamming to detect or track the target. Inside burn-through the jamming no longer protects the target. Radar designers extend burn-through with power, gain and processing; jammer designers shrink it with EIRP and techniques.","c":"EW","k":["burnthrough","self-screening range"],"r":["Jamming-to-signal ratio","Stand-off jamming","ECCM","Radar equation"]},{"t":"Burst communications","s":"Transmitting messages in very short bursts to reduce intercept chance","d":"A technique in which messages are compressed and transmitted in very short bursts, reducing the time available for an adversary to detect, direction find or jam the transmission. Burst transmission has been used since HF special operations radios and remains a basic LPI tactic for tactical data.","c":"Comms","k":["burst transmission"],"w":"Burst transmission","r":["LPI","EMCON"]},{"t":"Bus","s":"The spacecraft platform that supports the payload: power, attitude, propulsion","d":"The satellite bus is the platform carrying the payload, providing structure, power (solar arrays, batteries), thermal control, attitude determination and control, propulsion, command and data handling and TT&C. Standardized commercial buses let programs focus on the payload and buy the platform, which is how SDA and many smallsat programs work. Bus vendors include York, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Airbus, Apex and others.","c":"Space","k":["satellite bus","spacecraft bus","platform"],"w":"Satellite bus","r":["Payload","TT&C","ADCS"]},{"t":"Buster","s":"Brevity: fly at maximum continuous power without afterburner","d":"BUSTER directs an aircraft to fly at maximum continuous speed or power. GATE is faster, using afterburner or maximum power. Controllers use both to push fighters to an intercept quickly.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Gate"]},{"t":"Butter bar","s":"Slang for a second lieutenant, after the gold rank insignia","d":"A second lieutenant wears a single gold bar, hence \"butter bar.\" The term affectionately or teasingly marks inexperience. Navy ensigns wear the same insignia on some uniforms.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Ensign"],"r":["Lieutenant"]},{"t":"Buy American Act","s":"Domestic preference law for federal purchases of end products and construction material","d":"The Buy American Act, 41 USC 8301 to 8305, gives price preferences to domestic end products. Its domestic content threshold rose to 65 percent in 2024 and is scheduled to reach 75 percent in 2029. For many DoD buys, trade agreements or reciprocal defense procurement agreements waive it for qualifying countries. The acronym BAA in this sense collides with Broad Agency Announcement.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["BAA","Buy American"],"w":"Buy American Act","r":["Trade Agreements Act","Berry Amendment","Specialty metals"]},{"t":"BVLOS","x":"Beyond Visual Line of Sight","s":"Flying a UAS beyond where the operator can see it","d":"BVLOS operations require the aircraft to be controlled through a datalink and avoid traffic without the pilot's eyes. In civil airspace they need waivers or specific approvals; the FAA has been working on a Part 108 rule. Military operations are routinely BVLOS but need range, relay or SATCOM links and deconfliction with other airspace users.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["VLOS","beyond line of sight"],"r":["C2 link","Detect and avoid"]},{"t":"C-130J","s":"Lockheed Martin four-engine turboprop tactical airlifter","d":"The C-130J Super Hercules is the latest version of the C-130, used for tactical airlift, special operations, tanking and many special mission variants by the US and dozens of other countries. It can land on short, unprepared strips.","c":"Aviation","k":["C-130","Hercules","Super Hercules"],"w":"Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules","r":["ACE"]},{"t":"C2","x":"Command and Control","s":"Exercise of authority and direction by a commander over assigned forces","d":"Command and control is the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces to accomplish a mission. In product terms it covers the people, processes, software and networks that let a commander see the situation, decide and issue orders. Most C2 software deals with tracks, tasking, status, plans and orders, and has to keep working when networks degrade.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["Command & Control"],"w":"Command and control","r":["C4ISR","Mission command","JADC2"]},{"t":"C2BMC","x":"Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications","s":"Missile Defense Agency system integrating the ballistic missile defense system","d":"C2BMC is the Missile Defense Agency system that ties together the sensors and interceptors of the US missile defense system, providing tracking, sensor tasking, engagement planning and situational awareness to combatant commands. It is developed by a Lockheed Martin-led team and continuously upgraded through spirals. It is the integration point for missile defense sensor data.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","r":["BMC2","IBCS","MDA"]},{"t":"C2 link","x":"Command and Control link","s":"The datalink carrying commands to a UAS and telemetry back","d":"The C2 link (also called the control and non-payload communications link) carries flight commands and vehicle status. It is usually separate from the payload link that carries video and sensor data. Its reliability, latency, encryption and resistance to jamming are central to safety cases and to survival in contested airspace.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["CNPC","command link","control link"],"r":["Lost link","GCS","BVLOS"]},{"t":"C3","x":"Command, Control, and Communications","s":"C2 plus the communications systems that carry it","d":"C3 extends command and control to explicitly include the communications that connect commanders to forces. The term is still used in program office names such as the Air Force PEO C3BM and in NC3. It is one of a family of acronyms (C4, C4I, C4ISR, C5ISR) that each add another letter of scope.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["C2","C4I","NC3","PEO C3BM"]},{"t":"C3PAO","x":"CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organization","s":"Authorized organization that performs CMMC Level 2 certification assessments","d":"A C3PAO is an organization authorized by the CMMC accreditation body, the Cyber AB, to conduct CMMC Level 2 certification assessments of contractors. Demand for C3PAO assessments is high as phased CMMC requirements take effect. Results are recorded in the government's eMASS instance for CMMC.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Cyber AB"],"r":["CMMC 2.0","NIST SP 800-171"]},{"t":"C4","x":"Command, Control, Communications, and Computers","s":"C3 plus the computing systems that support command","d":"C4 adds computers to command, control and communications, reflecting that C2 depends on information systems as much as radios. The J6 staff directorate at joint commands is typically titled Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber. Vendors often use C4 loosely to mean any military IT or networking product.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["C4I","C4ISR","J6"]},{"t":"C4I","x":"Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence","s":"C4 systems plus intelligence integrated into command","d":"C4I adds intelligence to the C4 family, describing systems that fuse intelligence products into the commander's picture and decision process. The Navy and Marine Corps commonly use C4I in program and directorate names. Products marketed as C4I typically integrate tracks, imagery and intelligence reports into a common display.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["C4ISR","C4"]},{"t":"C4ISR","x":"Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance","s":"Umbrella term for C2 systems plus the sensors and intel that feed them","d":"C4ISR combines C4I with surveillance and reconnaissance, covering everything from the sensors that collect data to the networks and software that move it and the C2 systems that act on it. It is the most common umbrella term in industry for defense electronics and IT. Many budget lines, trade shows and company divisions are organized under it.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["C4ISTAR"],"r":["C5ISR","C4I","ISR"]},{"t":"C5ISR","x":"Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance","s":"C4ISR with cyber added as a fifth C","d":"C5ISR adds cyber to C4ISR, recognizing that networks are both a dependency and a domain of conflict. The Army's research center at Aberdeen Proving Ground is named the DEVCOM C5ISR Center. Some sources expand the fifth C as combat systems instead of cyber, so check usage in a given document.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["C4ISR","C6ISR"]},{"t":"C6ISR","x":"Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Combat Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance","s":"C5ISR with combat systems added, used mostly by the Navy","d":"C6ISR extends C5ISR with combat systems, used particularly in Navy contexts where shipboard combat systems are tightly bound to C2 and networks. Naval Information Warfare Center documents use the term. It is mainly a marketing and organizational label and carries no distinct technical standard.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["C5ISR","C4ISR"]},{"t":"CAC","x":"Common Access Card","s":"DoD smart card for identification and PKI-based authentication","d":"The Common Access Card is the DoD smart card issued to active duty personnel, civilians and eligible contractors, carrying PKI certificates for authentication, digital signing and email encryption. Applications on DoD networks are expected to accept CAC authentication. Mobile and derived credentials extend it to devices without card readers.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["Common Access Card","PIV"],"w":"Common Access Card","r":["PKI","ICAM","DEERS"]},{"t":"C/A code","x":"Coarse/Acquisition code","s":"Open civil GPS signal on L1, used by most receivers worldwide","d":"The C/A code is the unencrypted civil GPS ranging code at 1.023 Mchip/s on L1, used by almost every consumer receiver. It is weak at the Earth's surface (about -130 dBm) and has no authentication, so it is easy to jam and spoof. Military receivers traditionally acquire C/A first and then hand over to P(Y), a dependence direct-acquisition receivers avoid.","c":"PNT","k":["L1 C/A"],"r":["P(Y) code","L1/L2/L5","GNSS spoofing","L1C"]},{"t":"CAE","x":"Component Acquisition Executive","s":"Each service's senior acquisition official, such as the Army's ASA(ALT)","d":"The Component Acquisition Executive, also called the Service Acquisition Executive, is the senior acquisition official of a military department: ASA(ALT) for the Army, ASN(RD&A) for the Navy and Marine Corps, SAF/AQ for the Air Force and SAF/SQ for the Space Force. CAEs are MDA for many major programs and oversee the PEOs or PAEs.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Component Acquisition Executive","SAE","Service Acquisition Executive","ASA(ALT)","ASN(RD&A)","SAF/AQ"],"r":["DAE","PEO","PAE"]},{"t":"CAGE code","x":"Commercial and Government Entity code","s":"Five-character ID for a contractor facility, assigned by DLA","d":"A CAGE code identifies a specific business location and is assigned during SAM.gov registration or through the NATO NCAGE system for foreign firms. It appears on contracts, drawings, part markings and facility clearance records. Each physical location typically has its own code.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["CAGE","NCAGE","Commercial and Government Entity"],"w":"Commercial and Government Entity code","r":["SAM.gov","UEI","NSN"]},{"t":"CAI","x":"Commercially Available Information","s":"Commercially purchased data such as location, ad-tech and broker datasets","d":"Data that is sold or licensed commercially to the public or to government, such as location data, ad-tech data, vehicle telematics and broker datasets. ODNI issued an IC-wide policy framework for CAI in 2024 requiring the elements to catalog and protect sensitive purchased data. Companies offering data feeds to defense customers should expect questions about how data was collected and whether it identifies US persons.","c":"Intelligence","r":["PAI","OSINT"]},{"t":"Call sign","s":"An identifier used on the radio for a unit, position or aircraft","d":"Call signs identify stations on a net, often combining a word and a number (for example Bravo 6 for B Company's commander). Many units change call signs periodically to frustrate adversary intelligence. Aircraft use tactical call signs assigned on the ATO.","c":"Comms","r":["Actual","Net"]},{"t":"Campaigning","s":"The continuous, logically linked use of forces over time to achieve strategic aims","d":"In the 2022 National Defense Strategy, campaigning means conducting and sequencing activities, including exercises, posture and operations, over time to gain advantage below the threshold of war as well as in conflict. It replaced the idea of a sharp line between peace and war. Product relevance shows up as demand for systems used daily in competition, not just in a hypothetical war.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Integrated deterrence","Competition continuum","Gray zone"]},{"t":"Candid","s":"NATO name for the Il-76 heavy transport","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Ilyushin Il-76, a four-engine jet transport in service since 1974 and widely exported. Derivatives include the A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning aircraft and the Il-78 Midas tanker.","c":"Aviation","k":["Il-76"],"w":"Ilyushin Il-76","r":["Mainstay"]},{"t":"CAP","x":"Combat Air Patrol","s":"Fighters on station to protect an area or force against air threats","d":"A CAP keeps aircraft on station over a designated area to intercept enemy aircraft and missiles. Variants include BARCAP (barrier), DCA CAPs and carrier-based CAPs. In UAS terms, a CAP also means one continuous orbit, which takes several aircraft to sustain.","c":"Aviation","k":["BARCAP","combat air patrol"],"w":"Combat air patrol","r":["DCA","Sortie"]},{"t":"Capability gap","s":"A shortfall between what forces can do and what missions demand","d":"A capability gap is identified through assessments comparing current and programmed capabilities against threats and missions. Gaps documented in requirements documents justify new programs and funding. Framing a product around a documented gap is one of the most effective ways to sell into DoD.","c":"Acquisition","k":["gap"],"r":["ICD","Requirement","DOTMLPF-P"]},{"t":"Capability set","s":"Army two-year increments of network modernization equipment","d":"Capability sets are the Army's increments for network modernization, fielded every two years and named by year, such as Capability Set 21, 23 and 25. Each focuses on a theme, such as expeditionary capability or higher bandwidth and resilience. Vendors align product roadmaps and demonstrations with upcoming sets.","c":"Acquisition","k":["CS21","CS23","CS25"],"r":["ITN","Unified Network"]},{"t":"CAPE","x":"Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation","s":"OSD office that does independent cost estimates and analysis of alternatives guidance","d":"CAPE, established by the 2009 Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act, conducts independent cost estimates for major programs, guides AoAs and leads program review in the PPBE programming phase. Its estimates often differ from program office estimates and carry weight with Congress.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation","OSD CAPE"],"r":["ICE","AoA","PPBE"]},{"t":"Cape Canaveral SFS","x":"Cape Canaveral Space Force Station","s":"Florida spaceport for eastward launches to GEO and mid-inclinations","d":"Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, operated with the Eastern Range by Space Launch Delta 45 (headquartered at Patrick SFB), launches eastward over the Atlantic, taking advantage of Earth's rotation for GTO and GEO missions. Together with NASA's adjacent Kennedy Space Center it is the busiest US launch site.","c":"Space","w":"Cape Canaveral Space Force Station","r":["Vandenberg SFB","GTO","NSSL"]},{"t":"Captain","s":"Army, Air Force, Marine and Space Force O-3, but a Navy and Coast Guard O-6","d":"Captain is the classic rank trap: an Army captain (CPT) is an O-3 company commander, while a Navy captain (CAPT) is an O-6, equivalent to a colonel, who might command a ship or a major program. Lieutenant has a similar split: Navy lieutenant (LT) is O-3. Check service before assuming seniority.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["CPT","Capt","CAPT"],"r":["O-1 to O-10","Lieutenant"]},{"t":"Capture management","s":"The business development process of positioning to win a specific contract","d":"Capture is the work done before an RFP drops: understanding the customer and requirement, shaping it, picking teammates, assessing competitors and making bid decisions. Industry practice includes color team reviews of proposals, such as pink, red and gold teams. Most wins are decided before the RFP is released.","c":"Acquisition","k":["capture","BD","pipeline","pink team","red team","gold team","bid/no-bid"],"r":["RFP","Teaming agreement","Sources sought"]},{"t":"Carrier phase","s":"GNSS measurement of the signal's carrier cycles, precise to millimeters","d":"Carrier-phase tracking measures the phase of the GNSS carrier wave (about 19 cm wavelength at L1) instead of the code, giving range changes precise to millimeters. Its integer number of cycles is initially unknown, which RTK and PPP techniques resolve. It is the basis for high-precision positioning and time transfer.","c":"PNT","r":["RTK","Pseudorange"]},{"t":"CAS","x":"Cost Accounting Standards","s":"Federal rules for consistent measurement and allocation of contract costs","d":"CAS, at 48 CFR Chapter 99, applies to negotiated contracts over thresholds, with full coverage for firms receiving $50 million or more in CAS-covered awards and modified coverage below that. Small businesses and commercial item contracts are exempt. CAS coverage drives disclosure statements and accounting rigor.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Cost Accounting Standards","CAS coverage","disclosure statement"],"w":"Cost Accounting Standards","r":["TINA","DCAA","Nontraditional defense contractor"],"h":"CAS – Cost Accounting Standards"},{"t":"CAS","x":"Close Air Support","s":"Air attacks on targets near friendly ground forces, closely coordinated with them","d":"CAS strikes enemy forces in close proximity to friendly troops and requires detailed integration with ground fire and movement, usually through a JTAC. It is performed by A-10s, AH-64s, F-35s, F-16s and armed drones. Digital CAS tools that pass target data machine-to-machine are an active product area.","c":"Aviation","w":"Close air support","r":["JTAC","9-line CAS","Cleared hot","AI"],"k":["close air support","JTAC"],"h":"CAS – Close Air Support"},{"t":"CASEVAC","x":"Casualty Evacuation","s":"Casualty evacuation using non-medical vehicles or aircraft","d":"CASEVAC moves casualties on any available platform when dedicated MEDEVAC is not available. It may lack medical care en route. Large-scale combat planning expects heavy reliance on CASEVAC.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["MEDEVAC"]},{"t":"CASR","x":"Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve","s":"Space Force program to call on commercial space services in a crisis","d":"CASR is a Space Force program modeled loosely on the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, under which commercial space companies agree in advance to provide services such as SATCOM, imagery and launch during conflict or crisis. The first contracts were signed in 2024. It raises questions about protecting commercial assets that support military operations.","c":"Space","r":["COMSATCOM","TacSRT"]},{"t":"Cataloging","s":"Assigning NSNs and recording item data in the federal catalog","d":"Cataloging, managed by DLA Logistics Information Services under the NATO Codification System, records item descriptions, manufacturer part numbers and CAGE codes against NSNs. Once cataloged, an item can be requisitioned through the supply system.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["NATO Codification System","codification"],"r":["NSN","FLIS","Provisioning"]},{"t":"cATO","x":"Continuous Authority to Operate","s":"Ongoing authorization based on continuous monitoring and secure DevSecOps","d":"A continuous ATO replaces periodic reauthorization with ongoing assessment, relying on real-time monitoring, active cyber defense and an approved DevSecOps pipeline so new software releases can deploy without new ATO packages. DoD issued cATO guidance in 2022, with early examples including Kessel Run and Platform One. It is the goal for software factories delivering frequent releases.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["continuous ATO","Continuous Authorization to Operate","continuous authorization"],"r":["ATO","DevSecOps","Software Acquisition Pathway","Software factory"]},{"t":"C band","s":"IEEE band 4 to 8 GHz: satellite, some radars, 5G C-band","d":"The IEEE band from 4 to 8 GHz, used for satellite downlinks and uplinks, some surveillance and weather radars, radar altimeters (4.2 to 4.4 GHz) and, in the US, 5G mid-band spectrum at 3.7 to 3.98 GHz marketed as C-band. Interference between 5G C-band and aircraft radar altimeters became a major FAA issue from 2021.","c":"RF","w":"C band (IEEE)","r":["IEEE radar bands","X band","LTAMDS","Radar altimeter"]},{"t":"C band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 500 MHz to 1 GHz","d":"NATO EW band C covers 500 MHz to 1 GHz, including UHF early warning radars and some cellular bands. It differs from IEEE C band (4 to 8 GHz), which corresponds to NATO G and H bands.","c":"RF","r":["NATO EW bands","C band"]},{"t":"CBM+","x":"Condition Based Maintenance Plus","s":"DoD strategy to perform maintenance based on evidence of need rather than fixed schedules","d":"CBM+, governed by DoDI 4151.22, combines condition monitoring, prognostics, reliability-centered maintenance and data analytics to maintain equipment when indicators show it is needed. It requires data access and integration into maintenance systems, which affects data rights and interface requirements for vendors.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Condition Based Maintenance Plus","DoDI 4151.22","predictive maintenance"],"r":["Prognostics","RCM","Digital twin"]},{"t":"CBRN","x":"Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear","s":"Umbrella term for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons and hazards","d":"CBRN is the standard US and NATO term for these hazards and for the defense measures against them: detection, protection, decontamination and medical countermeasures. CBRN defense equipment includes sensors, protective suits, masks and collective protection. Sensors and data fusion for CBRN detection are a specialised but steady market.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["NBC","CBR"],"r":["CBRNE","WMD","MOPP","Decon"]},{"t":"CBRNE","x":"Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosives","s":"CBRN plus large explosive hazards","d":"CBRNE adds high-yield explosives to the CBRN list. It is common in homeland security, emergency response and some DoD organisations, such as the Army's 20th CBRNE Command.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","r":["CBRN"]},{"t":"CBRS","x":"Citizens Broadband Radio Service","s":"US 3550 to 3700 MHz band shared among Navy radar, licensed and general users","d":"A US band from 3550 to 3700 MHz shared in three tiers: incumbents (chiefly Navy shipborne radars and some fixed satellite stations), Priority Access License holders and General Authorized Access users. A Spectrum Access System (SAS) assigns channels and moves commercial users when an Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) network detects Navy radar. It is the model often cited for other federal-commercial sharing.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Citizens Broadband Radio Service","SAS","ESC","Spectrum Access System","PAL","GAA"],"w":"Citizens Broadband Radio Service","r":["Spectrum sharing","Dynamic spectrum access","S band"]},{"t":"CCA","x":"Collaborative Combat Aircraft","s":"USAF uncrewed jet fighters flying alongside crewed fighters; YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A","d":"CCA is the Air Force program for affordable, autonomous jet aircraft that fly with crewed fighters to carry weapons, sensors or jammers. Increment 1 produced two prototypes: General Atomics' YFQ-42A and Anduril's YFQ-44A Fury, both of which flew in 2025. The program centres on government-owned autonomy and mission software, open architecture and a much lower unit cost than a fighter.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Collaborative Combat Aircraft","loyal wingman"],"r":["YFQ-42A","YFQ-44A","Loyal wingman","MUM-T","F-47"]},{"t":"CCD","x":"Camouflage, Concealment, and Deception","s":"Camouflage, concealment and decoys to defeat enemy observation","d":"Camouflage, Concealment and Deception (US Army also uses Camouflage, Concealment and Decoys): measures to hide forces and mislead enemy sensors, including signature management in the visual, thermal, radar and electromagnetic bands and the use of inflatable or radar-reflective decoys. The war in Ukraine, with persistent drone surveillance, has made CCD a renewed priority. Multispectral camouflage nets such as Saab Barracuda are an established product category.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["signature management"],"r":["Denial and deception","MILDEC"],"h":"CCD – Camouflage, Concealment, and Deception"},{"t":"CCD","x":"Coherent Change Detection","s":"Comparing phase coherence of repeat SAR images to reveal subtle surface changes","d":"Coherent change detection measures how much the complex SAR return has decorrelated between two passes with matched geometry, revealing disturbances invisible in amplitude images, such as vehicle tracks, footprints, or disturbed soil from emplaced IEDs. It requires precise repeat-pass geometry and careful timing, since vegetation and weather also reduce coherence. It is a mature capability on tactical UAS radars and commercial SAR constellations.","c":"Radar","k":["coherent change detection"],"r":["InSAR","SAR"],"h":"CCD – Coherent Change Detection"},{"t":"CCI","x":"Controlled Cryptographic Item","s":"Secure equipment that is unclassified when unkeyed but must be controlled","d":"A Controlled Cryptographic Item is secure telecommunications or information handling equipment, or a component, that is unclassified when not keyed but is subject to special accounting and control. Most Type 1 radios and encryptors are CCI. Handling rules affect logistics, export and who can possess the equipment.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["Type 1","COMSEC account"]},{"t":"CCIR","x":"Commander's Critical Information Requirements","s":"Information the commander has said is needed for key decisions","d":"Commander's critical information requirements are elements of information a commander identifies as critical to timely decision making. They have two parts: priority intelligence requirements (about the enemy and environment) and friendly force information requirements (about own forces). Alerting and dashboards should surface CCIR-related information fast, since staff are expected to report it immediately.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["PIR","FFIR","EEFI"]},{"t":"CCL","x":"Commerce Control List","s":"The EAR's list of controlled items, organized by ECCN","d":"The CCL, Supplement 1 to 15 CFR 774, organizes controlled items into ten categories, from 0 nuclear and miscellaneous through 9 aerospace and propulsion, and five product groups (A systems and equipment, B test equipment, C materials, D software, E technology). Each entry lists reasons for control, which drive license requirements by country.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Commerce Control List"],"w":"Export Administration Regulations","r":["ECCN","EAR","EAR99"]},{"t":"CCMD","x":"Combatant Command","s":"A combatant command: one of 11 unified commands that employ forces","d":"A combatant command is a unified command with a broad, continuing mission under a single commander, the combatant commander (CCDR). There are seven geographic commands (AFRICOM, CENTCOM, EUCOM, INDOPACOM, NORTHCOM, SOUTHCOM, SPACECOM) and four functional ones (CYBERCOM, SOCOM, STRATCOM, TRANSCOM). Services equip forces; combatant commands employ them, and their annual integrated priority lists signal what they need.","c":"Organizations","k":["COCOM","Unified combatant command","CCDR","GCC","FCC"],"w":"Unified combatant command","r":["COCOM authority","UCP","AOR"]},{"t":"CDAO","x":"Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office","s":"DoD office leading data, analytics and AI adoption","d":"The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office was established in 2022, absorbing the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, Defense Digital Service, Advana and the Chief Data Officer. It leads DoD data strategy, AI policy and enterprise platforms, and it was given a lead role in delivering CJADC2 capability. It runs procurement vehicles such as Tradewinds and frontier AI agreements with commercial AI companies.","c":"Organizations","k":["Chief Digital and AI Office","OCDAO","JAIC"],"r":["Advana","Maven Smart System","Tradewinds","JAIC","DIU","OSD"],"w":"Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office"},{"t":"CDD","x":"Capability Development Document","s":"JCIDS document that sets KPPs, KSAs and performance thresholds for development","d":"The CDD defines the performance attributes of the system to be developed, including KPPs and KSAs with threshold and objective values. It supports Milestone B and the EMD contract. Engineers trace system specifications back to the CDD.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Capability Development Document"],"r":["ICD","CPD","KPP","JCIDS"]},{"t":"CDE","x":"Collateral Damage Estimation","s":"Method for estimating civilian harm before a strike","d":"Collateral Damage Estimation: the joint methodology (CJCSI 3160.01) for estimating the potential for collateral damage to noncombatants and civilian objects from a planned engagement, using weapon effects radii, structure types and population density across five levels of increasing detail. CDE results determine the approval authority required for a strike. Weaponeering software automates much of the calculation.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Proportionality","No-strike list","CHMR"]},{"t":"CDL","x":"Common Data Link","s":"DoD standard full-duplex wideband datalink for ISR sensor data","d":"Common Data Link is a family of DoD-standard, full-duplex, jam-resistant point-to-point microwave datalinks used to downlink imagery and signals data from ISR aircraft to ground stations, with data rates from about 10 Mbps up to 274 Mbps and higher. CDL is mandated for many DoD ISR platforms. It operates mainly in Ku and X bands.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Common Data Link","r":["TCDL","ISR"]},{"t":"CDM","x":"Conjunction Data Message","s":"Standard CCSDS message warning operators of a predicted close approach","d":"A CDM is the CCSDS-standard message carrying the details of a predicted conjunction: time of closest approach, miss distance, relative velocity, covariances and probability of collision. The Space Force issues CDMs through Space-Track.org, and commercial SSA providers produce their own. Operators feed them into maneuver planning tools.","c":"Space","r":["Conjunction","Probability of collision","Space-Track.org"]},{"t":"CDR","x":"Critical Design Review","s":"Review confirming the detailed design is ready for fabrication and test","d":"CDR evaluates the detailed design against requirements and confirms readiness to build production-representative articles, establishing the initial product baseline. After CDR, changes generally go through formal configuration control.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Critical Design Review"],"r":["PDR","TRR","Baseline","ECP"]},{"t":"CDRL","x":"Contract Data Requirements List","s":"Contract list (DD Form 1423) of every data deliverable and its due dates","d":"Each CDRL item, on a DD Form 1423, specifies a data deliverable such as a test report, drawing package or status report, its format via a Data Item Description, frequency and distribution. CDRLs can drive a large share of program cost. Data rights in delivered data depend on how it was developed, not on whether it was a CDRL.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Contract Data Requirements List","DD 1423","DD Form 1423"],"r":["DID","Data rights","SOW"]},{"t":"CE90","x":"Circular Error 90 percent","s":"Horizontal error radius containing the true position 90 percent of the time","d":"Circular Error at 90 percent: the radius of a circle centered on a reported position within which the true position lies with 90 percent probability. LE90 is the vertical counterpart. Imagery products, targeting coordinates and geolocation sensors are specified in CE90/LE90, and it is a frequent acceptance metric in GEOINT contracts.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["LE90","CE90/LE90"],"r":["Mensuration","CEP"]},{"t":"CEC","x":"Cooperative Engagement Capability","s":"Navy sensor netting system forming fire control quality composite tracks","d":"Cooperative Engagement Capability is a Navy system that shares raw sensor measurements between ships and aircraft over a high-capacity, low-latency link, so every unit builds the same composite fire control quality track picture. It enables engage on remote, where a ship fires on a track from another unit's radar. It is built by RTX, is installed on Aegis ships, carriers and the E-2D, and is central to NIFC-CA.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Cooperative Engagement Capability","r":["Fire control quality","NIFC-CA","Link 16"]},{"t":"Celestial navigation","s":"Determining position or attitude from star, Sun or Moon observations","d":"Celestial navigation measures the angles to stars or other bodies with known positions. Modern automated star trackers on aircraft, missiles and ships combine it with inertial systems; the B-2 and SR-71 used astro-inertial systems, and ICBMs and SLBMs use stellar updates. Daytime star tracking and cloud cover are the main challenges for atmospheric platforms.","c":"PNT","k":["astro-inertial","stellar navigation","star tracker"],"w":"Celestial navigation","r":["Alt-PNT","INS"]},{"t":"CEMA","x":"Cyberspace Electromagnetic Activities","s":"US Army term for integrated planning of cyber, EW and spectrum operations","d":"The US Army process for planning, integrating and synchronizing cyberspace operations, EW and spectrum management operations in support of the ground commander. A CEMA section on brigade and higher staffs, led by an EW officer, coordinates these effects. Army doctrine in FM 3-12 (2021) treats cyberspace operations and EW together. NATO and the UK use the same abbreviation for Cyber and Electromagnetic Activities with the same meaning.","c":"EW","k":["cyber electromagnetic activities","CEMA section","CEMA cell","Cyber and Electromagnetic Activities"],"r":["EWPMT","TLS","Spectrum management","ISTAR","SDR 2025"]},{"t":"CENTCOM","x":"United States Central Command","s":"US Central Command, covering the Middle East, Egypt and Central Asia","d":"US Central Command covers the Middle East, Egypt, Central and South Asia (excluding India), headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa. Israel moved into its area from EUCOM in 2021. It has run most US combat operations since 1991, and its counter-drone and air defense needs are pressing.","c":"Organizations","k":["USCENTCOM"],"w":"United States Central Command","r":["CCMD"]},{"t":"Center of gravity","s":"The source of power that gives a force its strength or will to act","d":"Derived from Clausewitz, the center of gravity is the source of moral or physical strength, freedom of action or will to fight. Planners analyze both enemy and friendly centers of gravity, along with their critical capabilities, requirements and vulnerabilities. It is shortened to COG in staff writing.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["COG"],"w":"Center of gravity (military)","r":["Decisive point","Operational design","Culminating point"]},{"t":"CENTRIXS","x":"Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System","s":"US-run coalition networks for sharing classified information with partners","d":"CENTRIXS is a family of coalition networks that let the US share classified information with specific partner nations or coalitions, each enclave released to a defined group, such as CENTRIXS-K for Korea. These networks are being consolidated under the Mission Partner Environment approach. Products deployed on them need releasability controls.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"CENTRIXS","r":["Mission Partner Environment","BICES"]},{"t":"CEP","x":"Circular Error Probable","s":"Radius within which half of the rounds or weapons are expected to land","d":"CEP is the standard accuracy measure for weapons: the radius of a circle centred on the aim point that contains 50 percent of impacts. GPS-guided bombs have CEPs of a few meters; unguided artillery has tens to hundreds of meters at long range. Related measures include R95 (95 percent radius) and linear error for vertical accuracy.","c":"Weapons","k":["circular error probable","CEP50"],"w":"Circular error probable","r":["Error ellipse","Geolocation","PGM","JDAM"]},{"t":"CFACC","x":"Combined Force Air Component Commander","s":"Combined force air component commander, the multinational version of the JFACC","d":"The CFACC directs air operations for a coalition or alliance, as in CENTCOM's air campaigns run from the combined air operations center. Similar combined titles exist for other components (CFLCC, CFMCC). Releasability of data is a recurring issue in combined commands.","c":"Organizations","r":["JFACC","AOC"]},{"t":"CFAR","x":"Constant False Alarm Rate","s":"Adaptive thresholding that keeps false alarms steady as noise and clutter vary","d":"A CFAR detector estimates the local background from reference cells around the cell under test and sets the threshold as a multiple of that estimate. Cell-averaging CFAR suits homogeneous noise, while ordered-statistic and greatest-of variants handle clutter edges and closely spaced targets. CFAR losses are typically a dB or two and grow with fewer reference cells.","c":"Radar","k":["CA-CFAR","OS-CFAR","constant false-alarm rate"],"w":"Constant false alarm rate","r":["Detection threshold","Clutter","Clutter map"]},{"t":"CFL","x":"Coordinated Fire Line","s":"Coordinated fire line: beyond it, surface fires need no further coordination","d":"A CFL is a permissive line set by a brigade or division beyond which conventional surface-to-surface indirect fires can be delivered without additional coordination with the establishing headquarters. It speeds up counterfire. It is usually closer than the FSCL.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["FSCM","FSCL"]},{"t":"CH-47","s":"Boeing Chinook tandem-rotor heavy-lift helicopter","d":"The CH-47 Chinook is the Army's heavy-lift helicopter, carrying troops, artillery and supplies. The CH-47F Block II adds improved rotor blades and drive system. Special operations use the MH-47G.","c":"Aviation","k":["Chinook","CH-47F","MH-47"],"w":"Boeing CH-47 Chinook","r":["UH-60"]},{"t":"Chaff","s":"Clouds of metallized fibers cut to radar wavelengths to create false echoes","d":"Thin strips of metallized glass fiber or foil cut to about half the wavelength of threat radars and dispensed in bundles that bloom into clouds with large radar cross section. Chaff creates false targets, breaks radar lock or screens a corridor. It remains standard on aircraft and ships, dispensed by systems such as the AN/ALE-47.","c":"EW","k":["window","radar chaff"],"w":"Chaff (countermeasure)","r":["Flare","AN/ALE-47","Expendables","Volume clutter","ECCM"]},{"t":"Chain of command","s":"The succession of commanders through which authority and orders pass","d":"The chain of command runs from the President through the Secretary of Defense to combatant commanders and down to the lowest unit leader. Requests and complaints are expected to go through it rather than around it. Enlisted leaders form a parallel NCO support channel.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["NCO support channel"],"r":["CO","Higher"]},{"t":"CHAMP","x":"Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project","s":"Boeing/AFRL missile-borne HPM demonstrator tested in 2012","d":"An Air Force Research Laboratory and Boeing project that put a high-power microwave payload on an air-launched cruise missile airframe to disable electronics in buildings along its flight path, demonstrated in 2012. Follow-on work continued under other names.","c":"Weapons","k":["Counter-electronics HPM missile"],"w":"Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project","r":["High-power microwave"]},{"t":"Change detection","s":"Finding differences between images of the same place at different times","d":"The automated or manual comparison of images of the same area taken at different times to find new construction, vehicle movement, damage or disturbed earth. Coherent change detection with SAR can reveal subtle ground disturbance such as tire tracks. It is one of the most mature applications of computer vision in GEOINT and is offered by many commercial analytics firms.","c":"Intelligence","k":["coherent change detection"],"r":["IMINT","SAR","Orthorectification"]},{"t":"Channelized receiver","s":"Receiver that splits a wide band into many parallel filtered channels","d":"A receiver that divides a wide instantaneous bandwidth into many contiguous channels, each with its own detector, so several simultaneous signals can be seen with good sensitivity and high probability of intercept. Historically built with analog filter banks, channelizers are now usually implemented digitally with polyphase filter banks in FPGAs.","c":"EW","k":["channelizer","digital channelizer"],"r":["Digital receiver","Polyphase filter bank","Probability of intercept"]},{"t":"Charlie Mike","s":"Continue mission","d":"Charlie Mike, from the phonetic letters C and M, means continue mission. It is used both on the radio and in conversation to mean keep going despite setbacks. It is common across services.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["CM","Continue mission"],"r":["Oscar Mike"]},{"t":"Checkpoint","s":"A predetermined point used as a reference for control and reporting","d":"Checkpoints (CPs) are points on the ground or in the air used to report progress or direct movement. Rally points are places where a dispersed unit regroups, and an objective rally point (ORP) is the last stop before an objective. A traffic control checkpoint is a different thing entirely.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["CP","Rally point"],"r":["ORP","Phase line"]},{"t":"Chemical agent","s":"Toxic chemical used as a weapon: nerve, blister, blood or choking agents","d":"Chemical warfare agents include nerve agents (sarin, VX, Novichok), blister agents (mustard), blood agents (hydrogen cyanide) and choking agents (phosgene, chlorine). Detection uses ion mobility spectrometry and other sensors. The Chemical Weapons Convention bans them, and the US completed destruction of its declared stockpile in 2023.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["nerve agent","CWA","sarin","VX","Novichok"],"r":["CBRN","MOPP"]},{"t":"Chem light","s":"A chemical light stick used for marking and signaling","d":"Chem lights (often called Cyalumes after a brand) come in visible and infrared versions and mark positions, routes, casualties and equipment. They are cheap and need no batteries. IR versions are only visible through night vision.","c":"Ground","k":["Cyalume","Glow stick"],"r":["IR strobe"]},{"t":"Cherubs","s":"Brevity: height of a friendly aircraft in hundreds of feet","d":"CHERUBS reports low altitude in hundreds of feet, so \"cherubs five\" means 500 feet. It is useful for helicopters and low-flying aircraft. ANGELS covers higher altitudes in thousands of feet.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Angels"]},{"t":"Chest rig","s":"A harness of pouches worn on the chest, often for magazines and radios","d":"A chest rig carries magazines, radios and other items on the chest, worn alone or over a plate carrier. Placement competes for space with plates, cables and electronics. Users customize them heavily.","c":"Ground","k":["Placard"],"r":["Plate carrier","Battle belt"]},{"t":"Chief of staff","s":"The officer who directs the staff at a brigade-level or higher headquarters","d":"At division level and above, a chief of staff coordinates the staff for the commander. The service chiefs (Chief of Staff of the Army or Air Force) are the senior uniformed leaders of those services. Abbreviated CoS or COS.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["CoS","COS"],"r":["XO","JCS"]},{"t":"Chirp","s":"Signal whose frequency sweeps linearly across a pulse","d":"A signal whose frequency increases or decreases with time, most commonly linearly (LFM). Radars transmit chirps so a long pulse can be compressed to fine range resolution, and chirps also appear in sonar and some communications. ES receivers report chirp direction and slope as MOP.","c":"Radar","k":["LFM","linear frequency modulation"],"w":"Chirp","r":["Pulse compression","MOP"]},{"t":"CHMR","x":"Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response","s":"DoD effort to reduce and respond to civilian casualties","d":"Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response: DoD's program, launched with an August 2022 action plan and DoD Instruction 3000.17 in 2023, to prevent, assess and respond to civilian harm from US operations. It created a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence and requirements for data collection and learning. Its staffing was substantially cut in 2025.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["CHMR-AP"],"r":["CDE","LOAC"]},{"t":"Chop","s":"To coordinate on or approve a document, or a transfer of control of a unit","d":"To chop a document is to review and approve it, often by signing or initialing a coordination sheet; a document can need many chops. A \"non-concur\" is a formal disagreement. In operations, a unit's change of operational control is also called a chop.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Non-concur","Concur","Coordination"],"r":["Tasker","OPCON"]},{"t":"CI","x":"Counterintelligence","s":"Activities that detect and counter foreign intelligence threats and insiders","d":"Information gathered and activities conducted to identify, deceive, exploit, disrupt or protect against espionage, sabotage, assassination or other intelligence activities by foreign powers or insiders. In the US, the FBI leads domestic CI, while the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) under ODNI sets national strategy, and each military service has a CI organization (for example Army CI, NCIS, AFOSI). For contractors, CI shows up as foreign travel reporting, insider threat programs and supply chain risk reviews.","c":"Intelligence","k":["counter-intelligence"],"w":"Counterintelligence","r":["HUMINT","Insider threat","OPSEC"]},{"t":"CIA","x":"Central Intelligence Agency","s":"US civilian foreign intelligence agency, HUMINT and all-source analysis","d":"Central Intelligence Agency: the independent US agency responsible for clandestine HUMINT, covert action and all-source analysis, headquartered in Langley, Virginia. Its directorates include Operations, Analysis, Science and Technology, Digital Innovation and Support. In-Q-Tel, its strategic investment arm, funds startups whose technology may serve the IC.","c":"Organizations","w":"Central Intelligence Agency","r":["Intelligence Community","HUMINT","In-Q-Tel"]},{"t":"CIK","x":"Crypto Ignition Key","s":"Physical token that activates a secure device when inserted","d":"A crypto ignition key is a physical key or token that, when inserted, enables a cryptographic device, and when removed renders it unclassified and less sensitive. It allows equipment to be stored with lower protection while the CIK is held separately. The approach is used in secure phones, encryptors and some radios.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["Crypto Ignition Key"],"w":"KSD-64","r":["CCI","Type 1"]},{"t":"CIRCM","x":"Common Infrared Countermeasures","s":"Lightweight DIRCM, AN/AAQ-45, for US Army helicopters","d":"The AN/AAQ-45 lightweight directional infrared countermeasures system from Northrop Grumman, sized for US Army rotary-wing aircraft and cued by missile warning. It replaced older lamp-based infrared jammers.","c":"EW","k":["AN/AAQ-45"],"r":["DIRCM","LAIRCM","AN/AAR-57 CMWS"]},{"t":"Circulator","s":"Three-port ferrite device routing signals in one rotational direction","d":"A non-reciprocal device, usually ferrite, that passes signals from port 1 to 2, 2 to 3 and 3 to 1, letting a transmitter and receiver share one antenna. With one port terminated it becomes an isolator protecting a PA from reflections. Circulators are standard in T/R modules.","c":"RF","k":["isolator","ferrite circulator"],"w":"Circulator","r":["AESA","Duplexer"]},{"t":"Cislunar space","s":"The volume between Earth's GEO belt and the Moon, including the Lagrange points","d":"Cislunar space is the region from roughly beyond GEO out to and around the Moon, including the Earth-Moon Lagrange points. Growing US, Chinese and commercial lunar activity has made it a domain awareness concern, since objects there are far from existing sensors and follow complex three-body trajectories. AFRL's Oracle program (formerly CHPS) is an experiment to track objects in this region.","c":"Space","k":["cislunar"],"r":["xGEO","Lagrange points","SDA (space domain awareness)"]},{"t":"Civil affairs","s":"Units that work with civilian authorities and populations in an area of operations","d":"Civil affairs forces assess civil conditions, coordinate with local governments and aid organizations, and support stability and governance. Most US Army civil affairs capacity is in the Army Reserve. Their reports feed ASCOPE analysis.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["CA","CIMIC"],"r":["ASCOPE","Stability operations"]},{"t":"CJADC2","x":"Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control","s":"JADC2 extended to include allies and partners","d":"CJADC2 adds combined (multinational) to JADC2, reflecting that US forces will fight alongside allies and need shared data and C2. The CDAO was given a lead role for delivering a minimum viable CJADC2 capability starting in 2024, using tools such as Maven Smart System and the GIDE experiment series. For a product, CJADC2 relevance usually means open interfaces, data releasability controls and coalition network compatibility.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["JADC2","CDAO","GIDE","Mission Partner Environment"]},{"t":"Class deviation","s":"An official, temporary departure from FAR or DFARS text for a class of contracts","d":"A class deviation lets an agency use different rules than the published regulation for multiple contracts, often to implement new law or policy before formal rulemaking. DoD issues them frequently, and they were the main vehicle for the 2025 FAR overhaul. Solicitations cite the deviation number in place of or alongside the clause.","c":"Acquisition","k":["deviation"],"r":["FAR","DFARS","DPCAP"]},{"t":"Classes of supply","s":"The ten categories (I to X) used to group military supplies","d":"Supplies are grouped into ten classes: I subsistence, II clothing and individual equipment, III petroleum, oils and lubricants, IV construction and barrier materials, V ammunition, VI personal demand items, VII major end items, VIII medical materiel, IX repair parts and X materiel for nonmilitary programs. Logisticians plan and report by class.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["class of supply","supply classes","Class II","Class IV","Class VI","Class VIII","Class X"],"r":["Class I","Class III","Class V","Class VII","Class IX"]},{"t":"Class I","s":"Subsistence: food and water, including rations such as MREs","d":"Class I covers subsistence, including rations, bottled water and gratuitous health and comfort items. Feeding forces in contested environments is a growing planning concern.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Class 1","subsistence"],"r":["Classes of supply","MRE"]},{"t":"Classification levels","s":"Confidential, Secret and Top Secret, based on damage from unauthorized disclosure","d":"Under Executive Order 13526, information is classified Confidential if disclosure could cause damage to national security, Secret for serious damage and Top Secret for exceptionally grave damage. Sensitive compartmented and special access controls add restrictions on top of these levels. Contractors need a facility clearance and cleared personnel at the appropriate level.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Confidential","Secret","Top Secret","TS","EO 13526","CNSI","classified national security information"],"w":"Classified information in the United States","r":["SCI","SAP","Collateral","OCA"]},{"t":"Class III","s":"Petroleum, oils and lubricants (POL)","d":"Class III covers fuels and lubricants, bulk and packaged. Fuel is the largest tonnage in most operations, which is why energy efficiency and operational energy KPPs matter for new systems.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Class 3","fuel"],"r":["Classes of supply","POL"]},{"t":"Class IX","s":"Repair parts and components, including kits and assemblies","d":"Class IX covers repair parts for maintenance. Shortages are a leading cause of nonmission capable equipment. Most Class IX is managed by DLA and the service inventory control points.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Class 9"],"r":["Classes of supply","Spares","DLA"]},{"t":"Class V","s":"Ammunition of all types, including bombs, missiles, rockets and explosives","d":"Class V covers all munitions and associated items. Munitions production capacity became a top DoD priority after demand from Ukraine and planning for a Pacific conflict exposed shortfalls in artillery shells, missiles and interceptors.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Class 5","ammunition","munitions","ammo"],"r":["Classes of supply","Industrial base"]},{"t":"Class VII","s":"Major end items such as vehicles, aircraft, radios and weapons systems","d":"Class VII covers complete assembled items such as tanks, launchers, generators and radios. Fielding new Class VII equipment involves materiel release, new equipment training and updates to unit authorization documents.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Class 7","major end items"],"r":["Classes of supply","Fielding","LIN"]},{"t":"Cleared facility","s":"A contractor location holding a facility clearance to work on classified contracts","d":"A cleared facility holds an FCL issued by DCSA, which requires sponsorship by a government customer or cleared prime for a specific classified need. Being cleared is often a prerequisite for classified bids, and the process can take months.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["cleared contractor","cleared defense contractor","CDC"],"r":["FCL","DD254","FSO","NISPOM"]},{"t":"Cleared hot","s":"CAS term: clearance for an aircraft to release ordnance on a target","d":"CLEARED HOT is the JTAC's clearance to release weapons during a CAS attack. CONTINUE DRY or CLEARED TO ENGAGE are used under other control types. Without the clearance, aircraft do not release.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Continue dry"],"r":["JTAC","9-line CAS","Abort"]},{"t":"CLIN","x":"Contract Line Item Number","s":"A separately priced and deliverable line in a contract","d":"Each CLIN identifies a supply or service with its own price, quantity, funding and delivery terms. Sub-items are SLINs, and informational lines are often called info CLINs. How CLINs are structured affects how you can invoice and how funds of different colors are applied.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Contract Line Item Number","SLIN","subCLIN"],"r":["CDRL","Uniform Contract Format","WAWF"]},{"t":"Closed area","s":"Approved space in a cleared facility for storing and working with collateral classified","d":"Under the NISPOM, a closed area is a room or area approved by DCSA for safeguarding classified material, typically Secret, often in open storage, with access controls and alarms. GSA-approved security containers are the alternative for small amounts.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["open storage","GSA container","safeguarding"],"r":["NISPOM","SCIF","Collateral"]},{"t":"CLS","x":"Contractor Logistics Support","s":"Sustainment provided by a contractor rather than organic government maintainers","d":"Under CLS, the contractor provides some or all maintenance, supply and engineering support for a fielded system. It is common for commercial-derivative aircraft, training systems and low-density equipment. Interim contractor support covers the period before organic capability stands up.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Contractor Logistics Support","ICS","interim contractor support","FSR","field service representative"],"r":["Sustainment","PBL","Depot"]},{"t":"Clutter","s":"Unwanted radar echoes from ground, sea, weather, birds or chaff","d":"Clutter is any return that is not a target of interest, and in many scenarios it is far stronger than receiver noise. It is characterized by reflectivity (sigma-zero for surface, eta for volume), spectral width and amplitude statistics. Doppler filtering, MTI, STAP, polarization and CFAR are the main tools for rejecting it, and clutter often sets the true performance limit for low-flying and small targets.","c":"Radar","k":["radar clutter"],"w":"Clutter (radar)","r":["Sea clutter","Ground clutter","MTI","STAP"]},{"t":"Clutter map","s":"Stored map of clutter levels per range-azimuth cell used to set detection thresholds","d":"A clutter map records the average return in each cell over many scans so the radar can set per-cell thresholds and detect targets whose echo exceeds the local clutter. It can detect tangential targets with zero Doppler that MTI would reject. Air traffic and air surveillance radars use clutter maps widely.","c":"Radar","r":["CFAR","MTI","Clutter"]},{"t":"CMC","x":"Central Military Commission","s":"Central Military Commission, the party body that commands the PLA","d":"The Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, chaired by Xi Jinping, which commands the PLA and the People's Armed Police. Formally there is also a state CMC with identical membership. Since 2023 several senior CMC members and Rocket Force leaders have been removed in anti-corruption purges, including CMC vice chairman He Weidong in 2025.","c":"Organizations","w":"Central Military Commission (China)","r":["PLA"]},{"t":"CME","x":"Coronal Mass Ejection","s":"Huge cloud of solar plasma that can trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth","d":"A coronal mass ejection is a large release of magnetized plasma from the Sun's corona. If it hits Earth, typically one to four days later, it can drive a geomagnetic storm that disturbs the ionosphere, degrades GNSS and HF, increases satellite drag and charging, and stresses power grids. Monitors at Sun-Earth L1 give tens of minutes of final warning.","c":"Space","k":["coronal mass ejection"],"w":"Coronal mass ejection","r":["Geomagnetic storm","Space weather","Solar flare"]},{"t":"CMF","x":"Cyber Mission Force","s":"USCYBERCOM's operational cyber teams supplied by the services","d":"The Cyber Mission Force is the set of teams, provided by the services, that conduct cyberspace operations for USCYBERCOM, totaling over 140 teams. Team types include National Mission Teams, Combat Mission Teams, Cyber Protection Teams and support teams. It is the main operational user of military cyber tools.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["USCYBERCOM","CPT","CNMF"]},{"t":"CMMC","x":"Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification","s":"DoD certification that contractors protect FCI and CUI, phased in from November 2025","d":"CMMC 2.0 has three levels: Level 1 for Federal Contract Information (annual self-assessment of 15 requirements), Level 2 for CUI (110 NIST SP 800-171 requirements, assessed by a certified third-party assessor or by self-assessment for some contracts) and Level 3 for higher-priority CUI (government assessment against NIST SP 800-172 controls). The program rule (32 CFR 170) took effect in December 2024 and the DFARS contract rule in November 2025, starting a phased rollout in which third-party Level 2 certifications become a common requirement from November 2026.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification","CMMC 2.0","C3PAO","32 CFR 170","Cyber AB"],"w":"Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification","r":["NIST SP 800-171","DFARS 7012","CUI","SPRS","FCI"]},{"t":"CMMC 2.0","x":"Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification","s":"DoD program verifying contractor cybersecurity for FCI and CUI","d":"CMMC 2.0 is the DoD program requiring defense contractors to meet and be assessed against cybersecurity requirements at three levels: Level 1 (FAR basic safeguarding for FCI, self-assessed), Level 2 (NIST SP 800-171 for CUI, self or C3PAO assessment) and Level 3 (adding 800-172, government assessed). The program rule took effect in December 2024 and the DFARS contract rule took effect November 10, 2025, starting a phased rollout. Phase 2, beginning in November 2026, makes Level 2 third-party certification a common contract requirement.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["CMMC","Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification","32 CFR 170"],"w":"Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification","r":["NIST SP 800-171","C3PAO","DFARS 252.204-7012","DIB"]},{"t":"CMOSS","x":"C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards","s":"US Army open standards for shared C5ISR and EW hardware on vehicles","d":"A US Army suite of open standards, led by DEVCOM C5ISR Center, that lets multiple C5ISR and EW capabilities share common chassis, cards, timing and RF resources on a platform instead of each bringing its own box. It builds on OpenVPX, SOSA, VITA 49 and MORA, and the Army requires alignment for many new mission command and EW products.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards","C4ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards"],"r":["SOSA","VICTORY","OpenVPX","MOSA","MORA","VITA 49"]},{"t":"CNMF","x":"Cyber National Mission Force","s":"USCYBERCOM subordinate command defending the nation in cyberspace","d":"The Cyber National Mission Force conducts operations to disrupt and defeat adversary cyber actors that threaten the US, including hunt forward operations with partner nations. It was elevated to a subunified command in 2022. It publishes malware samples to sharing platforms from some operations.","c":"Organizations","r":["USCYBERCOM","Hunt forward","CMF"]},{"t":"CNS","x":"Capability Needs Statement","s":"Short, high-level requirements document used by the Software Acquisition Pathway","d":"The CNS replaces the ICD and CDD for software programs, describing mission deficiencies and needed capabilities at a high level so that detailed requirements can evolve through user feedback. It is meant to be living and brief.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Capability Needs Statement"],"r":["Software Acquisition Pathway","MVP","User Agreement"]},{"t":"CNSA","x":"Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite","s":"NSA list of public algorithms approved for national security systems","d":"The Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite is the NSA-specified set of public algorithms for protecting national security systems up to top secret. CNSA 1.0 specifies AES-256, SHA-384, RSA 3072 and above, ECDH and ECDSA on P-384, and DH 3072. It underpins CSfC and many commercial products sold into classified programs.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["CNSA 1.0"],"w":"Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite","r":["CNSA 2.0","CSfC","Suite B"]},{"t":"CNSA 2.0","s":"NSA quantum-resistant algorithm suite and transition timeline","d":"CNSA 2.0, announced by NSA in 2022, adds quantum-resistant algorithms: ML-KEM-1024 for key establishment, ML-DSA-87 for signatures, LMS and XMSS for firmware and software signing, alongside AES-256 and SHA-384/512. NSA set a timeline requiring vendors to support and prefer CNSA 2.0 in categories such as software signing, networking equipment, browsers and operating systems over roughly 2025 to 2033. Products for national security systems now need a post-quantum roadmap.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["CNSA","PQC","ML-KEM","ML-DSA"]},{"t":"CNSSI 1253","s":"Security categorization and control selection for national security systems","d":"CNSSI 1253 is the Committee on National Security Systems instruction that specifies how to categorize national security systems by confidentiality, integrity and availability and select NIST SP 800-53 controls and overlays. DoD uses it in RMF. Overlays such as the classified information overlay add requirements.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["NIST SP 800-53","RMF"]},{"t":"CNSSP 12","s":"US policy setting cybersecurity requirements for national security space systems","d":"CNSS Policy 12 is the Committee on National Security Systems policy that sets information assurance requirements for space systems used by national security systems, including encryption of command links (TT&C) with NSA-approved cryptography. Programs flying payloads or operating satellites for DoD must address it, and it affects commercial hosts carrying government payloads.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["Space cyber","TT&C","Hosted payload"]},{"t":"CO","x":"Contracting Officer","s":"The only government official who can legally bind the government to a contract","d":"A Contracting Officer holds a warrant with a dollar limit and is the sole person who can award, modify or terminate a contract. Direction from anyone else, including the program manager, is not binding and can lead to unpaid work. Army and some other communities write it KO to avoid confusion with commanding officer.","c":"Acquisition","k":["KO","Contracting Officer","warranted contracting officer"],"r":["PCO","ACO","COR"],"h":"CO – Contracting Officer"},{"t":"CO","x":"Commanding Officer","s":"Commanding officer: the officer in command of a unit","d":"CO is the commander of a unit, especially in the Navy and Marine Corps; the Army more often says commander. The CO has legal authority and responsibility for everything the unit does or fails to do. CO also abbreviates company, as in \"Alpha Co.\"","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Commander","CDR"],"w":"Commanding officer","r":["XO","Chain of command"],"h":"CO – Commanding Officer"},{"t":"COA","x":"Course of Action","s":"A possible way to accomplish the mission, developed and compared during planning","d":"A course of action is one candidate solution to the mission. Staffs typically develop two or three, test them against enemy actions in wargaming, compare them against criteria, and recommend one to the commander. Decision-support and simulation tools are often pitched as speeding up COA development and comparison.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["COA analysis","Wargaming","MDMP"]},{"t":"COA analysis","s":"Testing each course of action against likely enemy actions, usually by wargaming","d":"COA analysis is the planning step where staffs walk each course of action through time against expected enemy responses to find strengths, weaknesses, decision points and resource needs. Its main products are a synchronization matrix and a decision support template. It is one of the most labor-intensive steps and a common target for AI and modeling tools.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["COA wargaming"],"r":["Wargaming","COA","Decision point","Synchronization matrix"]},{"t":"Coalition","s":"An ad hoc arrangement between nations for common action","d":"A coalition is a temporary arrangement, while an alliance such as NATO is a formal, long-term relationship. Coalition operations require releasable information and interoperable equipment. Mission partner environments exist to share data with coalition members.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["Alliance"],"r":["Joint","Interoperability"]},{"t":"Coaxial cable","s":"Shielded transmission line with a center conductor inside a tubular shield","d":"A transmission line with a center conductor surrounded by dielectric and a tubular outer conductor, typically 50 ohms in RF systems. Loss rises with frequency and length, so long coax runs are a significant link budget item above a few GHz. Connectors such as SMA, N, TNC and 2.92 mm are chosen by frequency and power.","c":"RF","k":["coax","SMA","N-type"],"w":"Coaxial cable","r":["Waveguide","Insertion loss","Impedance"]},{"t":"Cobra Dane","s":"AN/FPS-108 L-band phased array radar on Shemya Island, Alaska","d":"Cobra Dane is a large L-band phased array built in the 1970s to observe Soviet missile tests, now also used for missile warning, missile defense and space domain awareness. It is operated by the US Space Force on Eareckson Air Station, Shemya. Its age makes sustainment and replacement a recurring budget topic.","c":"Radar","k":["AN/FPS-108"],"w":"Cobra Dane","r":["UEWR","LRDR"]},{"t":"COCOM authority","x":"Combatant Command (Command Authority)","s":"Combatant command authority: nontransferable command held by a combatant commander","d":"Combatant command (command authority) is the authority of a combatant commander to organize and employ forces, assign tasks and direct all aspects of operations, training and logistics needed for the mission. It cannot be delegated. People also use \"COCOM\" loosely to mean the command itself, though doctrine prefers CCMD for that.","c":"Organizations","k":["COCOM"],"r":["OPCON","TACON","ADCON","CCMD"]},{"t":"Cognitive EW","s":"EW systems that learn and adapt to unknown signals in real time","d":"Electronic warfare systems that use machine learning and decision algorithms to characterize unknown emitters, choose countermeasures and assess their effect in real time, without a preprogrammed threat library entry. DARPA's ARC and BLADE programs in the 2010s launched the field, and the services now fund cognitive capabilities on platforms including the EA-18G and Army systems. Engineering challenges include verification, training data and certifying adaptive behavior.","c":"EW","k":["cognitive electronic warfare","adaptive EW"],"r":["AI/ML EW","Reprogramming","Threat library"]},{"t":"Cognitive radar","s":"Radar that adapts its waveform, scheduling and processing based on what it senses","d":"Cognitive radar closes a perception-action loop: the radar learns about the environment, targets and spectrum and changes transmit parameters, beam scheduling and processing to improve performance. Applications include spectrum sharing with commercial users, adaptive countermeasures against jamming, and target-specific waveforms. It is an active research area at DARPA, AFRL and allied labs, with some techniques already in fielded multifunction radars.","c":"Radar","k":["adaptive radar","fully adaptive radar"],"r":["Radar resource management","Spectrum sharing","Waveform diversity"]},{"t":"Cognitive warfare","s":"Targeting how people perceive, think and decide","d":"A concept, used by NATO's Allied Command Transformation and in PLA writing on cognitive domain operations, describing activities that aim to alter how a target population or decision makers perceive, reason and decide, using information, technology and psychology together. NATO has been developing it as a concept since around 2020. The term is still debated and lacks a single agreed doctrinal definition.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["cognitive domain operations"],"w":"Cognitive warfare","r":["Information warfare","Influence operations"]},{"t":"Coherent integration","s":"Summing echoes with phase to gain SNR proportional to the number of pulses","d":"Coherent integration adds pulses in phase, typically with an FFT across a CPI, giving SNR gain equal to the number of pulses. It requires a stable transmitter and local oscillator (low phase noise) and a target that stays within one range and Doppler cell. Non-coherent integration after detection is less efficient but tolerant of phase errors.","c":"Radar","r":["Non-coherent integration","CPI","Phase noise"]},{"t":"COIN","x":"Counterinsurgency","s":"Military and civilian actions to defeat an insurgency and address its causes","d":"Counterinsurgency combines security, governance and development efforts to defeat an insurgency and win support of the population. The Army and Marine Corps manual FM 3-24 was rewritten in 2006 and influenced operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many current fielded systems and habits were shaped by two decades of COIN in permissive airspace.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Counterinsurgency","r":["Irregular warfare","FID","ASCOPE"]},{"t":"Cold atom","s":"Laser-cooled atoms used as the sensing element in quantum sensors and clocks","d":"Cold-atom technology uses lasers to cool atoms to near absolute zero, where their quantum wave behavior can be measured precisely. Atom interferometers built this way measure acceleration and rotation with very low drift, and cold atoms are the basis of the most accurate clocks. Making them compact and robust enough for vehicles is an active area of defense research.","c":"PNT","k":["cold atom interferometer"],"r":["Quantum navigation","Atomic clock"]},{"t":"Collateral","s":"Classified information at Confidential, Secret or TS without SCI or SAP controls","d":"Collateral refers to classified information protected under the general classification system without additional compartmentation. A collateral Secret clearance does not grant access to SCI or SAP material. Collateral work can generally be done in approved closed areas rather than SCIFs.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["collateral classified","GENSER"],"r":["Classification levels","SCI","SAP"]},{"t":"Collection management","s":"Turning requirements into collection tasks and tracking what is satisfied","d":"The process of converting intelligence requirements into collection requirements, establishing priorities, tasking or coordinating with collection sources, and monitoring results. Collection managers (CMs) build the collection plan and the ISR synchronization matrix, and they decide which sensor goes where. Software in this space, such as tasking and requirement tracking tools, must handle competing priorities across scarce assets.","c":"Intelligence","k":["CM","CRM","COM"],"r":["PIR","EEI","NAI","ISR synchronization"]},{"t":"Collision avoidance","s":"Maneuvering a satellite to reduce the risk from a predicted conjunction","d":"Collision avoidance (COLA) is the process of screening, assessing and, when risk exceeds a threshold, maneuvering to increase miss distance. Proliferated constellations automate it; Starlink satellites, for example, plan avoidance maneuvers autonomously from screening data. Coordination is needed when both objects can maneuver, so neither moves into the other's new path.","c":"Space","k":["COLA","CAM","collision avoidance maneuver"],"r":["Conjunction","CDM","TraCSS"]},{"t":"Colonel","s":"O-6 in the Army, Air Force, Marines and Space Force","d":"A colonel commands a brigade, regiment, wing or large organization, or leads major staff directorates and program offices. Lieutenant colonel (O-5) is one grade below and is often shortened to \"light colonel\" or called \"colonel\" in speech. The Navy equivalent of colonel is captain.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["COL","Col","LTC","Lt Col","Lieutenant colonel"],"r":["Captain","Field grade"]},{"t":"Colors of money","s":"Informal term for appropriation types, which cannot be freely mixed","d":"Each appropriation, such as RDT&E, Procurement, O&M and MILCON, may be used only for its intended purpose and time period. Using the wrong color can violate the Purpose Statute and the Antideficiency Act. This is why a program office with money may still be unable to buy your product: it may have the wrong color for that purchase.","c":"Acquisition","k":["color of money","appropriation type"],"r":["RDT&E","Procurement appropriation","O&M","MILCON","Antideficiency Act","BA 08"]},{"t":"Columbia class","s":"Next US ballistic missile submarine replacing the Ohio class","d":"The Columbia class, built by General Dynamics Electric Boat with HII, will replace the Ohio-class SSBNs with 12 boats carrying 16 Trident II D5 missiles each. It is the Navy's top acquisition priority. The lead boat has slipped about a year or more behind schedule.","c":"Naval","k":["SSBN-826"],"w":"Columbia-class submarine","r":["SSBN","Trident II D5","Triad"]},{"t":"Combat assessment","s":"BDA, MEA and reattack recommendation taken together","d":"The determination of the overall effectiveness of force employment during military operations, made up of battle damage assessment, munitions effectiveness assessment and reattack recommendation. It closes the targeting cycle by telling planners whether objectives were met. In fast-moving operations, combat assessment from FMV and commercial imagery has become much quicker.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["BDA","MEA","Joint targeting cycle"]},{"t":"Combat Forces Command","s":"Space Force field command that presents combat-ready space forces, formerly SpOC","d":"Combat Forces Command (CFC) is the Space Force field command that generates and presents combat-ready space, cyber, intelligence and combat support forces to the combatant commands, organized into Mission Deltas. It was Space Operations Command (SpOC) until it was redesignated on 3 November 2025, and is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado.","c":"Organizations","w":"Space Operations Command","r":["USSF","Mission Delta","USSPACECOM"],"k":["CFC","SpOC","Space Operations Command","USSF CFC"]},{"t":"Combat identification","s":"Process of characterizing contacts as friend, foe or neutral to support engagement","d":"Combat identification (CID) combines cooperative sources (IFF, data link PPLI) and non-cooperative sources (NCTR, ESM, EO/IR, behavior) to assign identity with enough confidence to engage or hold fire. Fratricide incidents, including Patriot engagements of friendly aircraft in 2003, keep it a priority. It is distinct from detection and tracking but depends on both.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["CID"],"r":["IFF","NCTR","Mode 5"]},{"t":"Combat net radio","s":"Single-channel voice and data radio nets used by tactical units","d":"Combat net radio (CNR) refers to the single-channel radio nets, typically VHF SINCGARS, UHF and HF, used for tactical voice and low-rate data. It contrasts with networking waveforms that route IP traffic. Many C2 messages, such as VMF calls for fire, still travel over CNR.","c":"Comms","k":["CNR"],"r":["SINCGARS","MANET"]},{"t":"Combat outpost","s":"A small, fortified position, smaller than a FOB, near the population or enemy","d":"A combat outpost (COP) is a reinforced position, often company-sized or smaller, pushed out from larger bases. In C2 contexts COP more often means common operational picture, so clarify which is meant.","c":"Ground","k":["COP"],"r":["FOB","Patrol base"]},{"t":"Combined arms","s":"Using different arms such as infantry, armor and fires together so each covers the others","d":"Combined arms means synchronizing several arms to achieve effects greater than each alone, so an enemy defending against one becomes vulnerable to another. It is the foundation of Army and Marine ground tactics. New capabilities such as drones are now being integrated as part of combined arms.","c":"Ground","r":["Maneuver warfare","MDO"]},{"t":"COMINT","x":"Communications Intelligence","s":"Intelligence from intercepted communications of foreign parties","d":"Technical information and intelligence derived from foreign communications by other than the intended recipients, including voice, data, text and network traffic. COMINT work includes signal acquisition, demodulation, traffic analysis, decryption and translation. Tactical COMINT systems on vehicles, aircraft and drones feed ground units directly.","c":"SIGINT","k":["communications intelligence"],"r":["SIGINT","Traffic analysis","ExDF"]},{"t":"Commander's intent","s":"A clear statement of the purpose and desired result of an operation","d":"Commander's intent states why an operation is being done and what conditions mark success, so subordinates can act sensibly when the plan breaks down. It is central to mission command: if the radio goes silent, troops still know what the boss wants. Systems that degrade gracefully and let lower echelons act on intent without constant connectivity fit this model.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Intent (military)","r":["End state","Mission command","CONOPS"]},{"t":"Comm check","s":"A test of radio or network connectivity among stations","d":"A comm check or radio check confirms that stations can hear each other before an operation. Answers follow a set scale (loud and clear, weak, broken, unreadable). Comm checks are a recurring task that network monitoring tools aim to automate.","c":"Comms","k":["Commo check","Radio check"],"r":["Lima Charlie","Net"]},{"t":"Commercial imagery","s":"Satellite and aerial imagery bought from private operators","d":"Imagery acquired from commercial operators such as Maxar (now Vantor), Planet, Airbus, BlackSky and SAR providers, which the US government buys through NRO contracts like EOCL and NGA analytics contracts. It can be shared with allies and the public far more freely than national imagery, which has made it central to coalition operations and public reporting on Ukraine and Gaza. US remote sensing operators are licensed by NOAA.","c":"Sensors","k":["EOCL","commercial remote sensing"],"r":["NRO","NGA","GSD","SAR"]},{"t":"Commercial software license","s":"DoD takes commercial software on the vendor's customary license where lawful","d":"DFARS 227.7202 directs DoD to acquire commercial computer software under the licenses customarily provided to the public, unless inconsistent with federal law or the government's needs. Terms such as indemnification, governing law and auto-renewal often need to be modified to comply with federal rules.","c":"Acquisition","k":["commercial license","EULA"],"r":["Restricted rights","FAR Part 12"]},{"t":"Commercial SSA","s":"Space tracking data and analytics sold by private companies","d":"Commercial SSA providers operate their own radars, telescopes and RF sensors and sell tracking data, conjunction assessments and characterization. Examples include LeoLabs (LEO radars), ExoAnalytic Solutions (GEO telescopes) and Slingshot Aerospace. The Space Force buys these data and analytics to augment its own network and feeds them to tools through the UDL.","c":"Space","r":["UDL","SSA","Space Surveillance Network"]},{"t":"Commissioned officer","s":"An officer holding a presidential commission, grades O-1 to O-10","d":"Commissioned officers are appointed through service academies, ROTC or officer candidate school and generally need a bachelor's degree. They hold command authority and legal responsibilities that enlisted members do not. Officers are saluted and addressed as sir or ma'am.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Officer"],"r":["O-1 to O-10","NCO"]},{"t":"Commit","s":"Brevity: intent to engage or intercept, continuing until terminated","d":"COMMIT tells others that a fighter or flight is engaging or intercepting a group; controllers continue to provide information. It is a key decision call in air intercepts. The flight remains committed until it calls otherwise.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Merged","Bandit"]},{"t":"Commodity jurisdiction","s":"DDTC determination of whether an item falls under ITAR or the EAR","d":"A commodity jurisdiction request asks DDTC to rule formally on whether an item is on the USML. Companies may also self-determine using the order of review and the specially designed definition. A CJ ruling gives certainty for products near the boundary.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["CJ","CJ request","DS-4076","self-classification","specially designed"],"r":["USML","ITAR","EAR"]},{"t":"Company","s":"A unit of about 80 to 200 people, led by a captain with a first sergeant","d":"A company is typically three or four platoons plus a headquarters, led by a captain (O-3) with a first sergeant as the senior enlisted leader. In artillery the equivalent is a battery, and in cavalry a troop. The company commander is often the first person who can say yes to trying new equipment.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Co"],"w":"Company (military unit)","r":["Platoon","Battalion","Battery","Troop"]},{"t":"Company grade","s":"Officers in grades O-1 to O-3: lieutenants and captains","d":"Company grade officers are second lieutenants, first lieutenants and captains (Navy ensigns, lieutenants junior grade and lieutenants). They lead platoons, command companies and fill staff jobs. They are often the most direct users of planning and C2 tools.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["CGO","Junior officer","JO"],"r":["O-1 to O-10","Field grade"]},{"t":"Competition continuum","s":"Joint model of relations as cooperation, competition below conflict, and armed conflict","d":"The competition continuum describes the strategic environment as a mix of cooperation, competition below armed conflict, and armed conflict, which can occur at the same time with the same actor. Joint doctrine uses it in place of the old phased peace-to-war model. It explains why planners talk about operations in \"competition.\"","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Phasing","Campaigning","Gray zone"]},{"t":"Composite track","s":"Single track built from measurements of multiple sensors on different platforms","d":"A composite track fuses raw measurements from several networked sensors into one track that every participant shares, as in the US Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability. It gives better accuracy and continuity than any single sensor and enables engage-on-remote. It requires precise time and registration and high-bandwidth, low-latency links.","c":"Sensors","k":["CEC composite track"],"r":["Track fusion","Sensor fusion"]},{"t":"Compressive receiver","s":"Receiver that uses dispersive delay lines to sweep a band very fast","d":"A receiver, also called a microscan receiver, that uses a fast-swept local oscillator and a dispersive delay line to compress signals at different frequencies into short pulses at different times, effectively performing a Fourier transform in analog hardware. It offers wide band coverage with fine resolution and good probability of intercept and was common before wideband digitization became practical.","c":"EW","k":["microscan receiver","chirp-transform receiver"],"r":["Channelized receiver","Digital receiver"]},{"t":"COMSATCOM","x":"Commercial SATCOM","s":"Satellite communications bought from commercial operators","d":"COMSATCOM is DoD's term for commercial satellite services leased or bought as a service, which carry a large share of military traffic for ISR backhaul, deployed bases and ships. The Space Force's Commercial Satellite Communications Office (CSCO) runs acquisition, including the PLEO and other contract vehicles. Commercial links usually lack anti-jam protection, so they are paired with encryption and diversity.","c":"Comms","k":["commercial SATCOM","CSCO","Commercial Satellite Communications Office"],"r":["PLEO SATCOM","CASR","WGS"]},{"t":"COMSEC","x":"Communications Security","s":"Measures that protect communications from interception and exploitation","d":"Communications security covers cryptographic security, transmission security, emissions security and physical security of communications equipment and keying material. In the US, COMSEC for national security systems is governed by NSA and CNSS policy. Products handling classified communications must use NSA-approved cryptography and follow COMSEC accounting and handling rules.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["communications security"],"r":["TRANSEC","EMSEC","Type 1","CCI"]},{"t":"COMSEC account","s":"Formal account responsible for holding and tracking COMSEC material","d":"A COMSEC account is an administrative entity, managed by a COMSEC manager or custodian, responsible for receiving, storing, accounting for and destroying COMSEC material such as key and CCI. Companies working on Type 1 equipment need a COMSEC account through their sponsor. Accounting errors are treated as security incidents.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["COMSEC custodian","COMSEC manager"],"r":["CCI","KMI"]},{"t":"Concurrent multi-netting","s":"Link 16 ability to receive several nets in the same time slot","d":"Concurrent multi-netting lets a Link 16 terminal operate on multiple nets at the same time, increasing effective capacity in dense networks. It is supported by MIDS-JTRS. It matters most in large exercises and coalition operations with many participants.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["CMN"],"r":["Link 16","MIDS-JTRS"]},{"t":"CONEMP","x":"Concept of Employment","s":"How a specific capability or system will be employed by the force that owns it","d":"A concept of employment describes how a particular capability, unit type or system is meant to be used, sitting below a broader CONOPS. It is common in Marine Corps and acquisition writing, for example a CONEMP for a new unmanned system or a new formation. Vendors are often asked to show that their product supports an existing CONEMP or to help draft one.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["CONOPS","Doctrine"]},{"t":"Confidence levels","s":"High, moderate or low: how solid the evidence behind a judgment is","d":"In IC assessments, confidence expresses the quality of the information and reasoning behind a judgment, separate from its stated likelihood. High confidence generally means high-quality information from multiple sources; moderate means credible sourcing with gaps or alternative views; low means fragmentary or questionable sourcing. A judgment can be likely with low confidence, so interfaces that present assessments should keep both fields.","c":"Intelligence","k":["analytic confidence"],"r":["Words of estimative probability","ICD 203"]},{"t":"Configuration management","s":"Disciplined control of a system's design and documentation over its life","d":"CM identifies configuration items, controls changes, records status and audits conformance. DoD references the EIA-649 standard and MIL-HDBK-61. Strong CM is essential to pass audits, manage ECPs and support fielded units with the right parts and software versions.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["CM","EIA-649","MIL-HDBK-61","CCB","configuration control board","CI","CSCI"],"w":"Configuration management","r":["Baseline","ECP","FCA","PCA"]},{"t":"Conformal antenna","s":"Antenna shaped to the surface of an aircraft, vehicle or munition","d":"An antenna designed to follow the curved surface of the platform it is mounted on, reducing drag and radar cross section. Conformal arrays are used on aircraft, missiles and drones, and their design must account for curvature effects on gain and polarization.","c":"RF","k":["conformal array"],"w":"Conformal antenna","r":["Patch antenna","Phased array"]},{"t":"Conformal array","s":"Phased array shaped to follow a curved platform surface","d":"Conformal arrays are built into aircraft skins, missile bodies, masts or vehicle surfaces to reduce drag and RCS and gain wider fields of view. Element patterns and polarization vary across the curved surface, complicating calibration and beamforming. They are an active development area for smart skins and multifunction apertures.","c":"Radar","k":["conformal antenna","smart skin"],"w":"Conformal antenna","r":["Tile architecture","Phased array"]},{"t":"Conical scan","s":"Older tracking method spinning a beam around the target axis to measure angle error","d":"Conical scan rotates a slightly offset beam around the boresight and measures the amplitude modulation of the echo to find the angle error. It needs several pulses per measurement and is easily deceived by jammers that modulate at the scan rate (inverse gain jamming). Monopulse replaced it in most systems, though lobe-on-receive-only variants persisted.","c":"Radar","k":["con-scan","CONSCAN","con scan","lobe switching"],"w":"Conical scanning","r":["Monopulse","Inverse gain jamming","Lobe on receive only"]},{"t":"Conjunction","s":"Predicted close approach between two space objects","d":"A conjunction is a predicted close approach between two objects, assessed by miss distance and probability of collision. The US Space Force's 18th and 19th Space Defense Squadrons screen the catalog and send Conjunction Data Messages (CDMs) to operators, who decide whether to maneuver. Large constellations now perform many collision avoidance maneuvers each year, so automated conjunction handling is a core ground system function.","c":"Space","k":["close approach"],"r":["CDM","Probability of collision","Collision avoidance","Space-Track.org","TraCSS"]},{"t":"CONOPS","x":"Concept of Operations","s":"How a commander or user intends an operation or system to be employed","d":"A statement, often a few pages and a graphic, of how a commander intends to accomplish a mission: the sequence of actions, the forces involved and how they fit together. In acquisition the term also covers a document describing how a system will be used in the field by its operators. For a product team the CONOPS is the closest thing to a user story at the scale of the whole mission, and features that do not fit it tend to go unused.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["CONOP","Concept of operations"],"w":"Concept of operations","r":["CONEMP","OPORD","Commander's intent"]},{"t":"CONPLAN","x":"Concept Plan","s":"A contingency plan in abbreviated form, less detailed than an OPLAN","d":"A concept plan is a joint plan that would need more detail before it could be executed, typically lacking a full force flow. Commands use CONPLANs for scenarios that are less likely or less demanding than OPLAN scenarios. Like OPLANs they are usually classified.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["OPLAN","JPP"]},{"t":"Consortium","s":"Industry group that manages OT agreements on behalf of a government sponsor","d":"Many DoD prototype OTs are awarded to a consortium management firm, which then issues project awards to member companies. Examples include the C5 consortium for C4ISR and cyber, the National Armaments Consortium and the Space Enterprise Consortium. Membership usually requires a fee and gives access to solicitations not posted elsewhere.","c":"Acquisition","k":["OT consortium","CMF","consortium management firm","C5","NAC","SpEC"],"r":["OTA","Prototype"]},{"t":"Contested logistics","s":"Sustaining forces when adversaries can attack supply lines, bases and networks","d":"Contested logistics planning assumes that ports, airfields, fuel and communications will be attacked, especially in a Pacific conflict, requiring distributed stocks, autonomy, additive manufacturing and reduced fuel demand. It is a major investment theme and a common framing for logistics technology pitches.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["contested logistics environment","distributed logistics"],"r":["APS","Supply chain","Additive manufacturing","Lines of communication","Culminating point"]},{"t":"Continuous vetting","s":"Ongoing automated monitoring of cleared people, replacing periodic reinvestigations","d":"Under the Trusted Workforce 2.0 reforms, cleared individuals are enrolled in continuous vetting, with automated checks of criminal, financial, terrorism and other records instead of reinvestigation every five or ten years. DCSA runs it for DoD and most agencies. Cleared individuals must still self-report reportable events.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["CV","Trusted Workforce 2.0","TW 2.0","continuous evaluation","CE"],"r":["PCL","DCSA","Tier 3","Tier 5"]},{"t":"Contractor business systems","s":"The six contractor systems DoD can review and withhold payments over","d":"DFARS 252.242-7005 covers accounting, estimating, purchasing, earned value management, material management and accounting, and property management systems. Significant deficiencies can lead to payment withholds of up to 5 percent. These apply mainly to larger contractors on CAS-covered contracts.","c":"Acquisition","k":["business systems","252.242-7005"],"r":["DCAA","DCMA","EVMS","CPSR"]},{"t":"CONUS","x":"Continental United States","s":"Continental United States, the 48 contiguous states","d":"CONUS means the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia; Alaska and Hawaii are OCONUS despite being US states. The distinction affects allowances, shipping, travel rules and support. Tech support plans should state CONUS and OCONUS coverage.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["OCONUS"]},{"t":"Cooled detector","s":"IR detector chilled to cryogenic temperatures for high sensitivity","d":"Cooled photon detectors such as InSb, HgCdTe and T2SL are kept around 77 K (or higher for HOT designs) by Stirling or other cryocoolers to suppress dark current. They provide much higher sensitivity and faster response than uncooled sensors, enabling long-range targeting and IRST. Cryocoolers add cost, power, cooldown time and a lifetime limit, often quoted in thousands of hours.","c":"Sensors","k":["cooled thermal imager","cryogenic detector"],"r":["Uncooled detector","Cryocooler","HOT detector"]},{"t":"Co-orbital ASAT","s":"Satellite that maneuvers near a target to attack it in orbit","d":"A co-orbital ASAT is placed in orbit and maneuvers close to a target, then attacks with a kinetic strike, a released projectile, a robotic arm, jamming or directed energy. Russian satellites have released objects near other spacecraft, and in 2024 the US said a Russian satellite was placed in an orbit near a US government satellite. These capabilities overlap with legitimate RPO and servicing technology.","c":"Weapons","r":["RPO","ASAT","Kosmos"]},{"t":"COP","x":"Common Operational Picture","s":"Single shared display of relevant operational information across commands","d":"A common operational picture is a single identical display of relevant operational information, such as friendly and enemy positions and key infrastructure, shared by more than one command. It is built from track and status data fed by many systems, for example GCCS-J at the joint level. Keeping a COP consistent requires track correlation, deduplication and clear data ownership.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Common operational picture","r":["CTP","UDOP","GCCS-J","RAP"]},{"t":"Copy","s":"Informal radio and spoken term for received and understood","d":"\"Copy\" or \"copy all\" means the message was received and understood; strictly, in some procedures it means you heard a transmission addressed to someone else. \"Solid copy\" means clearly received. It is used constantly in everyday speech among service members and defense workers.","c":"Comms","k":["Copy all","Solid copy","Good copy"],"r":["Roger","Lima Charlie"]},{"t":"COR","x":"Contracting Officer's Representative","s":"Government technical monitor who oversees contract performance for the CO","d":"The COR is designated in writing by the contracting officer to monitor technical performance, review deliverables and certify invoices. A COR cannot change the contract's scope, price or schedule. In older documents the role is called COTR.","c":"Acquisition","k":["COTR","Contracting Officer's Technical Representative"],"r":["CO","PWS","CDRL"]},{"t":"Corps","s":"A unit of two or more divisions, led by a lieutenant general","d":"A corps is a large formation of divisions and supporting units, led by a lieutenant general (O-9), often serving as a joint task force or land component headquarters. The Army has several active corps, including V Corps in Europe. Corps also refers to a branch or service, as in Marine Corps or Signal Corps.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Corps","r":["Division","Field army","JFLCC"]},{"t":"Co-site interference","s":"Interference between transmitters and receivers on the same platform","d":"Interference between emitters and receivers located on the same platform or site, such as a jammer desensitizing its own aircraft's radios or a vehicle's radios interfering with each other. It is a major integration problem for EW-equipped platforms, addressed with frequency planning, filtering, antenna placement and blanking.","c":"RF","k":["self-interference"],"r":["Interference","Blanking","Desensitization"]},{"t":"Cost-exchange ratio","s":"Cost of a defender's shot compared with the cost of the threat it defeats","d":"Cost-exchange ratio compares what the defender spends per engagement with what the attacker spent. Firing multi-million-dollar interceptors at drones costing tens of thousands is unsustainable, which drives demand for guns, lasers, HPM and cheap interceptor drones. Defense analyses also weigh the value of what is being protected, not only the threat cost.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["cost exchange","cost-per-kill","cost curve"],"r":["OWA drone","Interceptor drone","Directed energy"]},{"t":"Cost-plus","s":"Family of contract types that reimburse allowable costs plus a fee","d":"Cost-reimbursement contracts pay allowable, allocable and reasonable costs up to a funded ceiling plus a fee, which can be fixed, incentive-based or award-based. They are used when uncertainty is too high for fixed prices, typically in development. They require an adequate accounting system and expose the contractor to audits.","c":"Acquisition","k":["cost reimbursement","cost type","cost-reimbursable"],"r":["CPFF","CPIF","CPAF","DCAA"]},{"t":"COTS in space","s":"Using commercial off-the-shelf electronics in satellites with mitigation","d":"New-space and proliferated military constellations widely fly commercial or automotive-grade electronics instead of rad-hard parts, relying on radiation testing, shielding, redundancy and short design lives to manage risk. This is a large part of how they cut cost and schedule. The trade-off is more frequent upsets and less predictable failure, which software and fault management must absorb.","c":"Space","k":["COTS parts","upscreened parts"],"r":["Rad-hard","SEU","Smallsat"]},{"t":"Counter-battery","s":"Finding and destroying enemy artillery after it fires","d":"Counter-battery fire uses weapon locating radars (such as AN/TPQ-53), acoustic sensors and drones to backtrack incoming rounds to their launch point and return fire quickly. Fast counter-battery is why artillery units now shoot and move immediately. It is a classic sensor-to-shooter latency problem.","c":"Weapons","k":["counter-battery fire","CB","counter-fire"],"w":"Counter-battery fire","r":["Artillery","HIMARS"]},{"t":"Counter-battery radar","s":"Radar that tracks incoming artillery, rockets and mortars to locate firing positions","d":"Counter-battery, or counter-fire, radars detect projectiles in flight, estimate their trajectories and back-calculate the launch point for return fire, and predict impact points for warning. US examples are the AN/TPQ-50 and AN/TPQ-53, and allied examples include COBRA and ARTHUR. Newer versions also detect and track small UAS.","c":"Radar","k":["counter-fire radar","weapon locating radar","WLR","counter-mortar radar"],"w":"Counter-battery radar","r":["AN/TPQ-53","AN/TPQ-50","C-RAM"]},{"t":"Counter Communications System","s":"US Space Force ground-based jammer for adversary satellite links","d":"The Counter Communications System (CCS) is a transportable ground-based system operated by the US Space Force to reversibly jam adversary satellite communications. It was declared operational in 2020 and upgraded through the Meadowlands program, built by L3Harris. It is one of the few openly acknowledged US counterspace systems.","c":"EW","k":["CCS","Meadowlands"],"r":["Counterspace","Remote Modular Terminal"]},{"t":"Counterforce","s":"Nuclear targeting of an adversary's military forces, especially its nuclear forces","d":"A targeting strategy aimed at an adversary's military capabilities, particularly nuclear forces, command and control and leadership. Highly accurate weapons make counterforce more feasible, which can be destabilizing if one side fears losing its forces in a first strike. US nuclear employment guidance has long emphasized counterforce targets.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","w":"Counterforce","r":["Countervalue","Second-strike capability"]},{"t":"Counterspace","s":"Capabilities to deny, degrade or destroy an adversary's space systems","d":"Counterspace covers offensive and defensive means of gaining space superiority: kinetic ASAT missiles, co-orbital weapons, directed energy, jamming of uplinks and downlinks, cyberattack on satellites and ground segments, and attack on ground stations. Non-kinetic, reversible effects such as jamming are the most common in practice. The Secure World Foundation and CSIS publish annual open-source counterspace assessments.","c":"Space","k":["space control"],"r":["ASAT","DA-ASAT","Co-orbital ASAT","Counter Communications System","Space cyber"]},{"t":"Counter-stealth","s":"Sensors and techniques for detecting low observable aircraft","d":"Counter-stealth approaches include low-band radars, bistatic and multistatic networks, passive radar, IRST, and fusing many sensors to build tracks from weak detections. Most low-band detection is too imprecise for weapons, so the challenge is handing off to fire control sensors. Russia and China market VHF radars and passive systems as counter-stealth assets.","c":"Radar","k":["counter-LO","anti-stealth"],"r":["Low-band radar","Passive radar","IRST","Multistatic radar"]},{"t":"Counter-UAS radar","s":"Short-range radar designed to detect and track small drones among birds and clutter","d":"Counter-UAS radars are typically X- or Ku-band AESA or FMCW sensors with high update rates, sensitivity to small RCS (around -20 to -30 dBsm) and classification using micro-Doppler and track behavior to separate drones from birds. Examples include Echodyne EchoGuard and EchoShield, Raytheon KuRFS, SRC and Blighter systems. They usually feed a C2 node that fuses RF detection, EO/IR and effectors.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["C-UAS radar","drone detection radar"],"r":["Micro-Doppler","KuRFS","MESA"]},{"t":"Counter-UAS RF defeat","s":"Jamming or taking over drone control, video and navigation links","d":"Electronic attack against small drones by jamming their command, video and GNSS links or by cyber takeover of the control protocol. RF defeat is the most widespread non-kinetic counter-UAS method, but drones in Ukraine increasingly use fiber-optic control, frequency agility and autonomy that reduce its effect. Products range from handheld jammer guns to vehicle and site systems.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["drone jamming","C-UAS jamming","RF cyber takeover"],"r":["GNSS jamming","Reactive jamming","High-power microwave"]},{"t":"Countervalue","s":"Nuclear targeting of an adversary's cities, population and economy","d":"A targeting strategy aimed at what an adversary values most, such as cities, industry and population centers. It is associated with deterrence by punishment and with smaller arsenals that cannot reliably destroy hardened military targets. The US states that its nuclear plans do not intentionally target civilian populations.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","w":"Countervalue","r":["Counterforce","Deterrence by punishment"]},{"t":"Coyote","s":"Raytheon expendable jet interceptor used against drones","d":"Coyote is a small tube-launched jet-powered interceptor from Raytheon. The Block 2 kinetic version is the Army's main interceptor for drones on M-LIDS and FS-LIDS, and it has been used in combat in the Middle East; a Block 3 non-kinetic variant can be recovered and reused. It costs far less than a Stinger or Patriot interceptor but much more than the drones it often faces.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Coyote Block 2","Coyote Block 3"],"r":["M-LIDS","FS-LIDS","Interceptor drone"]},{"t":"Coyote brown","s":"A common tan-brown color for tactical gear","d":"Coyote brown is a standard color for webbing, pouches and equipment, matching many camouflage patterns. Ranger green, tan and black are other common options. Product color selection should match what users wear.","c":"Ground","k":["Coyote","Ranger green","Coyote 498"],"r":["MultiCam","OCP"]},{"t":"CPAF","x":"Cost-Plus-Award-Fee","s":"Cost-reimbursement contract with fee earned through subjective government evaluation","d":"CPAF pays a base fee, possibly zero, plus an award fee determined periodically against an award fee plan. It suits work where performance is hard to measure objectively. Award fee practices have drawn GAO criticism when fees were paid despite poor results.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Cost Plus Award Fee","award fee"],"r":["Cost-plus","CPIF"]},{"t":"CPARS","x":"Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System","s":"System where government evaluators rate contractor performance for future source selection","d":"Contracting officers and program staff enter performance assessments into CPARS on quality, schedule, cost control, management and small business subcontracting, and contractors can comment before finalization. Ratings flow into past performance evaluations, so they are worth monitoring and rebutting when wrong.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System","PPIRS"],"r":["Past performance","Source selection"]},{"t":"CPCE","x":"Command Post Computing Environment","s":"Army software environment consolidating command post mission command apps","d":"CPCE is the Army's common software and server infrastructure for command posts, consolidating mission command functions such as situational awareness, chat and planning onto one framework. It was a key part of the Common Operating Environment. Army NGC2 is intended to supersede much of this approach with a data-centric architecture.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["NGC2","Mission command"]},{"t":"CPD","x":"Capability Production Document","s":"Requirements document that supports the production decision","d":"Historically the CPD refined the CDD for the production increment and supported Milestone C. Later JCIDS revisions folded much of its function into an updated CDD for many programs. It still appears on legacy programs.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Capability Production Document"],"r":["CDD","Milestone C","JCIDS"]},{"t":"CPFF","x":"Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee","s":"Cost-reimbursement contract with a fee fixed at award","d":"CPFF reimburses allowable costs and pays a fixed dollar fee that does not change with actual cost. It is common for R&D and early development. Fee on CPFF development contracts is capped by statute at 15 percent of estimated cost for experimental work and 10 percent otherwise.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Cost Plus Fixed Fee"],"r":["Cost-plus","CPIF","CPAF"]},{"t":"CPI","x":"Coherent Processing Interval","s":"Block of pulses processed together coherently, e.g. for one Doppler FFT","d":"A CPI, or dwell, is a set of pulses at a fixed frequency and PRF that the signal processor integrates coherently. Its length sets Doppler resolution and integration gain, and the number of CPIs per beam position affects revisit timeline. Multifunction radars schedule CPIs as the basic unit of radar time.","c":"Radar","k":["dwell","coherent dwell"],"r":["Coherent integration","Doppler resolution","Radar resource management"]},{"t":"CPIF","x":"Cost-Plus-Incentive-Fee","s":"Cost-reimbursement contract with fee adjusted by cost performance","d":"CPIF sets a target cost and target fee, adjusting the fee by a share ratio between a minimum and maximum. It rewards cost control while keeping the government bearing cost risk. It is popular for development programs with measurable cost goals.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Cost Plus Incentive Fee"],"r":["Cost-plus","CPFF","FPIF"]},{"t":"CPS","x":"Conventional Prompt Strike","s":"Navy boost-glide hypersonic missile for Zumwalt destroyers and Virginia subs","d":"CPS is the Navy's hypersonic strike missile, sharing its glide body and booster with the Army's LRHW. It is being integrated first on Zumwalt-class destroyers, whose gun mounts are being replaced with large missile tubes, and later on Block V Virginia-class submarines.","c":"Weapons","r":["LRHW","HGV","Zumwalt"]},{"t":"CPSR","x":"Contractor Purchasing System Review","s":"DCMA review of a contractor's purchasing system","d":"A CPSR evaluates how a contractor buys from its subcontractors, including competition, pricing and flowdowns. It is generally required for contractors whose sales to the government exceed $25 million annually in non-exempt contracts. An approved purchasing system eases subcontract consent requirements.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Contractor Purchasing System Review"],"r":["DCMA","Subcontractor","Contractor business systems"]},{"t":"CPT","x":"Cyber Protection Team","s":"CMF team that hunts for and responds to threats on friendly networks","d":"Cyber Protection Teams are Cyber Mission Force teams that defend priority DoD networks and systems by hunting for adversaries, assessing defenses and responding to incidents. Services also field service-retained CPTs and National Guard units. They use deployable kits with network sensors and analytics software.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["CMF","DCO","Hunt forward"]},{"t":"CR","x":"Continuing Resolution","s":"Stopgap funding law that holds spending at the prior year's level and bars new starts","d":"When Congress has not passed appropriations by 1 October, a CR keeps the government funded, typically at the prior year's rate. CRs normally prohibit new starts and production rate increases without specific exceptions. Long CRs, which have become routine, delay contract awards and are a major schedule risk for new programs.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Continuing Resolution"],"w":"Continuing resolution","r":["New start","PPBE","Reprogramming"]},{"t":"C-RAM","x":"Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar","s":"Systems that detect and shoot down incoming rockets and shells","d":"C-RAM combines radars, warning systems and short-range guns such as the Land-based Phalanx Weapon System to protect bases from indirect fire. It was fielded in Iraq and Afghanistan and is now part of base defense against drones as well. Its sense-and-warn component alerts personnel even when interception is not possible.","c":"Weapons","k":["counter-RAM","LPWS"],"w":"C-RAM","r":["Counter-battery radar","AN/TPQ-50","Phalanx CIWS","IFPC","Mortar"]},{"t":"C-rating","s":"Overall readiness level of a unit, from C-1 (fully ready) down to C-4, plus C-5","d":"C-ratings summarize a unit's readiness to perform its designed missions: C-1 fully ready, C-2 substantially ready, C-3 marginally ready, C-4 not ready, and C-5 for units undergoing service-directed actions such as reorganization. Separate ratings exist for personnel, equipment on hand, equipment condition and training. Commanders watch these closely.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["C-1","C-5"],"r":["Readiness","DRRS"]},{"t":"CREW","x":"Counter Radio-Controlled IED Electronic Warfare","s":"Jammers that block radio signals used to detonate IEDs","d":"Electronic warfare systems that protect vehicles and dismounted troops by jamming the radio links (such as phones, key fobs and radios) used to trigger improvised explosive devices. CREW systems were fielded in huge numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan and combine active and reactive jamming. Frequency planning with friendly radios is a constant integration challenge.","c":"EW","k":["counter-RCIED","C-RCIED","CREW system"],"w":"Counter-IED efforts","r":["Duke","JCREW","Reactive jamming","Active jamming"]},{"t":"Critical inclination","s":"Inclinations of about 63.4 or 116.6 degrees at which an orbit's apogee does not drift","d":"Earth's equatorial bulge (the J2 term) rotates the argument of perigee of an elliptical orbit over time, except at inclinations of about 63.4 and 116.6 degrees, where the effect cancels. Molniya and Tundra orbits use this so apogee stays over the intended hemisphere without fuel.","c":"Space","r":["Molniya orbit","J2 perturbation","Inclination"]},{"t":"Cross-banding","s":"Linking two radio nets on different bands or waveforms","d":"Cross-banding connects two radio channels, such as VHF SINCGARS and UHF SATCOM, so that traffic received on one is retransmitted on the other. Two-channel radios such as the PRC-158 and PRC-163 can do this internally. It must be coordinated with COMSEC classifications on both nets.","c":"Comms","k":["cross-band"],"r":["Retransmission","AN/PRC-158"]},{"t":"Cross-domain solution","s":"Controlled interface that moves data between security domains","d":"A cross-domain solution (CDS) is an assured system that transfers or provides access to information between networks at different classification levels or releasability domains, enforcing filtering and inspection rules. CDS products are assessed and listed through the NCDSMO baseline. Nearly every coalition, tactical-to-enterprise or unclassified-to-classified data flow requires one, and accreditation takes significant time.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["CDS","NCDSMO"],"w":"Cross-domain solution","r":["Guard","Data diode","MLS"]},{"t":"Cross-eye jamming","s":"Angle deception using two phase-opposed sources to distort the radar wavefront","d":"An angle deception technique for monopulse radars in which two widely spaced antennas retransmit the radar signal with near equal amplitude and 180 degree phase difference, distorting the wavefront so the radar measures a false angle. It is effective against monopulse trackers that resist simpler angle deception but needs precise phase and amplitude matching across the aircraft.","c":"EW","k":["cross-eye","crosseye"],"r":["Cross-polarization jamming","Deception jamming","Monopulse"]},{"t":"Cross-polarization jamming","s":"Angle deception using a signal polarized orthogonally to the radar","d":"An angle deception technique that transmits a strong signal in the polarization orthogonal to the victim radar's. Many antennas, especially parabolic dishes, have cross-polar responses that put the peak off boresight, so a monopulse tracker steers to a false angle. Antennas with good cross-polar rejection and polarization filters counter it.","c":"EW","k":["cross-pol jamming","Condon lobe jamming"],"r":["Cross-eye jamming","Polarization"]},{"t":"CRPA","x":"Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna","s":"GPS antenna array that steers nulls toward jammers","d":"A CRPA is a multi-element antenna with electronics that adaptively shape its reception pattern, placing nulls in the direction of jammers and, in beam-steering versions, gain toward satellites. Typical military arrays have 4 to 7 elements, with each element allowing roughly one more jammer to be nulled. Examples include the GAS-1 on many aircraft and newer M-code-compatible digital CRPAs; size, weight and cost are the constraints for small platforms.","c":"PNT","k":["anti-jam antenna","adaptive nulling antenna","null-steering antenna","GAS-1","FRPA"],"r":["GNSS jamming","Adaptive nulling","Electromagnetic protection","Anti-jam","M-code"]},{"t":"Cryocooler","s":"Miniature refrigerator, usually Stirling-cycle, that cools IR detectors","d":"Tactical cooled IR sensors use integral or split Stirling cryocoolers to bring detectors to cryogenic temperatures, while space sensors may use pulse tube coolers. Cooler reliability, vibration, acoustic noise and power are key integration concerns. Some missiles use Joule-Thomson coolers fed by stored gas.","c":"Sensors","k":["Stirling cooler","dewar"],"r":["Cooled detector","HOT detector"]},{"t":"Crypto modernization","s":"DoD and NSA effort to replace aging cryptographic devices and algorithms","d":"Crypto modernization is the long-running DoD and NSA program to replace outdated cryptographic equipment, algorithms and key material across radios, datalinks, encryptors and satellites. Specific drivers include Link 16 crypto modernization, KMI and the CNSA 2.0 transition. NSA sets end-of-life dates for algorithms, after which equipment must be upgraded or replaced.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["CM"],"r":["Link 16 crypto modernization","CNSA 2.0","KMI"]},{"t":"Crystal video receiver","x":"CVR","s":"Simple wideband detector receiver used in basic radar warning","d":"A receiver that uses a diode (crystal) detector directly after filtering to produce a video pulse whenever RF energy is present across a wide band. It is simple, small and has 100 percent probability of intercept within its band, but it has poor sensitivity and gives no frequency information on its own. Early RWRs were crystal video designs, often paired with an IFM.","c":"EW","k":["CVR","crystal video"],"r":["IFM receiver","Radar warning receiver"]},{"t":"CSAC","x":"Chip-Scale Atomic Clock","s":"Matchbox-sized, low-power atomic clock for portable equipment","d":"A chip-scale atomic clock is a miniature atomic frequency reference, developed under DARPA funding in the 2000s, using about 120 mW in roughly 17 cubic centimeters. Microchip's SA.45s is the best-known product. CSACs give radios, GPS receivers and sensors long holdover when GPS is denied, and help receivers reacquire faster.","c":"PNT","k":["SA.45s","chip scale atomic clock"],"r":["Holdover","Atomic clock","PTTI"]},{"t":"CSfC","x":"Commercial Solutions for Classified","s":"NSA program allowing layered commercial products to protect classified data","d":"Commercial Solutions for Classified is an NSA program that lets organizations protect classified information using two independent layers of commercial encryption products, such as an IPsec VPN inside a TLS or MACsec layer, built according to published Capability Packages. Components must be on the CSfC Components List and meet NIAP protection profiles. It enables classified mobile devices, wireless and data-at-rest solutions at lower cost and faster refresh than Type 1.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["Commercial Solutions for Classified","Capability Package"],"r":["CNSA","Type 1","NIAP","Black core"]},{"t":"CSG","x":"Carrier Strike Group","s":"Aircraft carrier with its air wing, escorts and usually a submarine","d":"A CSG is built around a nuclear aircraft carrier with its carrier air wing, one or more cruisers or destroyers, and often an attack submarine and supply ship. It is the Navy's main instrument of sea control and power projection. Its vulnerability to long-range anti-ship missiles drives debates about carrier relevance and concepts like DMO.","c":"Naval","k":["CVN","Strike group","carrier strike group","carrier battle group"],"r":["Fleet","MEU","ARG","DMO","DDG-51"],"w":"Carrier strike group"},{"t":"CSM","x":"Command Sergeant Major","s":"Command sergeant major: senior enlisted adviser to an Army battalion or higher commander","d":"A command sergeant major is the senior NCO of an Army battalion, brigade, division or larger unit and the commander's adviser on enlisted matters, training and standards. Sergeant Major of the Army is the service's top enlisted position. A CSM's opinion of a product carries real weight.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["SGM","Sergeant major"],"w":"Command sergeant major","r":["SgtMaj","1SG","SNCO"]},{"t":"CSO","x":"Commercial Solutions Opening","s":"Competitive procedure for buying innovative commercial items and technologies","d":"Made permanent in 10 USC 3458, a CSO lets DoD solicit innovative solutions through a general announcement and evaluate proposals on their merits, much like a BAA, for FAR-based contracts or OTs. DIU's process is the best-known example, and in 2025 DoD leadership pushed CSOs and OTs as default approaches for software and commercial technology.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Commercial Solutions Opening","CSO process"],"r":["BAA","OTA","DIU","Area of Interest"]},{"t":"CSpOC","x":"Combined Space Operations Center","s":"Coalition space operations center at Vandenberg SFB","d":"The Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, plans and executes space operations for USSPACECOM with allied partners. It produces space tasking, coordinates satellite operations and oversees conjunction and SSA services. Allied liaison officers from Five Eyes and other partners work there under the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) initiative.","c":"Organizations","k":["JSpOC"],"r":["USSPACECOM","NSDC","SSA"]},{"t":"CSSP","x":"Cybersecurity Service Provider","s":"Organization accredited to provide defensive cyber services to DoD systems","d":"A cybersecurity service provider delivers monitoring, incident response and vulnerability management for DoD systems, and every DoD system must be aligned with one. Examples include DISA and service-level security operations centers. A new system's ATO typically requires a CSSP agreement.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["ATO","SOC"]},{"t":"C-sUAS","x":"Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems","s":"Defeating Group 1 to 3 drones specifically","d":"C-sUAS focuses on Group 1 to 3 UAS, the class that is hard to see on radar and cheap enough to use in large numbers. DoD designated the Army as executive agent for C-sUAS in 2019. Products in this space must be cheap per engagement and fit on vehicles, at fixed sites or in a soldier's kit.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["counter-small UAS"],"r":["C-UAS","JCO","M-LIDS"]},{"t":"CT","x":"Counterterrorism","s":"Actions to neutralize terrorists, their networks and their support","d":"Counterterrorism covers actions to neutralize terrorists and their organizations and networks so they cannot use violence. It dominated US operations after 2001 and remains a SOF priority. Many targeting and network analysis tools were developed for CT.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Counterterrorism","r":["F3EAD","HVT","Irregular warfare"]},{"t":"CTP","x":"Common Tactical Picture","s":"Tactical-level picture of tracks and units, a feeder to the COP","d":"The common tactical picture is the accurate and complete display of relevant tactical data in an area, integrating tactical information from many sources. It is typically built from datalink tracks and local sensors and then feeds the higher-level COP. Navy usage is common, where the CTP is maintained by the force track coordinator.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["COP","RAP","RMP"]},{"t":"CTR","x":"Contractor","s":"Contractor, the label used in email signatures and badges for non-government staff","d":"Contractor staff are marked CTR in DoD email display names and on some badges so recipients know they cannot direct government work or commit funds. Contractors must not appear to speak for the government. Expect to see \"(CTR)\" after names in DoD email.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Contractor"],"r":["SETA","DoD civilian"]},{"t":"C-UAS","x":"Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems","s":"Systems and tactics to detect, track, identify and defeat hostile drones","d":"C-UAS covers the full chain of sensors, command and control and effectors used against drones, from handheld jammers to lasers and missiles. It is now one of the fastest-growing defense markets because of the drone war in Ukraine and attacks on US forces in the Middle East. Most fielded systems layer several sensors and defeat methods because no single one handles every threat.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["counter-drone","counter-UAS"],"r":["C-sUAS","DTID","JIATF-401","Kinetic defeat","Non-kinetic defeat"]},{"t":"Cubesat","s":"Satellite built from standard 10 cm cubes called units (U)","d":"A cubesat is a satellite built to a standard form factor of 10 cm cubes (1U), with common sizes of 3U, 6U, 12U and 16U, deployed from standardized dispensers. The standard, originating at Cal Poly and Stanford in 1999, makes launch integration cheap and predictable. Militaries use cubesats for experiments, RF sensing and training, though power, aperture and propulsion are limited.","c":"Space","k":["1U","3U","6U","12U"],"w":"CubeSat","r":["Smallsat","Rideshare"]},{"t":"CUI","x":"Controlled Unclassified Information","s":"Unclassified information requiring safeguarding under law or policy","d":"Controlled unclassified information is government-created or owned information that requires safeguarding or dissemination controls under law, regulation or policy but is not classified, such as export-controlled technical data or sensitive operational details. It is governed by 32 CFR 2002 and DoDI 5200.48, with markings such as CUI and category labels. Handling it drives NIST SP 800-171, CMMC and cloud IL4/IL5 requirements.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Controlled Unclassified Information","CTI","controlled technical information","DoDI 5200.48","CUI//SP-EXPT","CDI","covered defense information"],"w":"Controlled Unclassified Information","r":["FOUO","CMMC","DFARS 7012","NIST SP 800-171","FCI","Impact levels"]},{"t":"Culminating point","s":"The point where a force can no longer continue its attack or defense","d":"The culminating point is where a force lacks the strength to continue offensive operations successfully or to keep defending, usually because of losses and stretched logistics. Planners try to reach objectives before their own culmination and to push the enemy past theirs. It ties directly to sustainment and contested logistics.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Culmination"],"r":["Center of gravity","Contested logistics"]},{"t":"Cursor on Target","s":"Simple XML schema for sharing what, when, where between systems","d":"Cursor on Target (CoT) is an XML message schema developed by MITRE for the Air Force that describes an event with a type, a point (latitude, longitude, altitude, error), time stamps and optional detail. It is the native messaging language of TAK. Its simplicity makes it the easiest way to get a sensor or app onto a TAK display, and a protobuf encoding is used for efficiency on constrained links.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["CoT"],"r":["TAK","TAK Server","ATAK"]},{"t":"Custody Layer","s":"Planned PWSA layer for tracking time-sensitive targets on the ground and sea","d":"The Custody Layer was one of the original National Defense Space Architecture layers, intended to provide continuous tracking of time-sensitive surface targets such as mobile launchers and ships. As SDA consolidated its layers, much of this mission has been pursued through other programs, including Space Force and NRO ground and air moving target indication efforts.","c":"Space","r":["PWSA","GMTI from space"]},{"t":"CVE","x":"Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures","s":"Public identifier system for known security vulnerabilities","d":"CVE is the program, run by MITRE with CISA sponsorship, that assigns identifiers such as CVE-2024-3400 to publicly disclosed vulnerabilities. Scanners, advisories and SBOM tools key on CVE IDs. A 2025 funding scare over the MITRE contract raised concern about the program's continuity, and CISA extended the contract.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","w":"Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures","r":["CVSS","KEV","Vulnerability"]},{"t":"CVSS","x":"Common Vulnerability Scoring System","s":"0 to 10 severity score for vulnerabilities","d":"The Common Vulnerability Scoring System, maintained by FIRST, rates vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 based on exploitability and impact metrics. Version 4.0 was released in 2023, though version 3.1 scores remain common. Severity alone does not reflect exploitation, so it is often combined with KEV or EPSS for prioritization.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["CVSS 4.0","EPSS"],"w":"Common Vulnerability Scoring System","r":["CVE","KEV"]},{"t":"CWIX","x":"Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXercise","s":"NATO's annual Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXercise","d":"Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXploration, eXperimentation, eXamination eXercise: an annual NATO event, run by ACT at the Joint Force Training Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where nations and industry test system interoperability against standards such as FMN specifications. Thousands of tests are run in a few weeks. Participating is a common route to proving a product works with allied systems.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["FMN","ACT"]},{"t":"CW radar","x":"Continuous Wave radar","s":"Radar that transmits continuously, measuring Doppler but not range unless modulated","d":"An unmodulated CW radar measures radial velocity very precisely but gives no range. It needs separate or well-isolated transmit and receive antennas. CW illuminators supported semi-active missiles for decades, and CW is used in speed guns, proximity fuzes and short-range sensors.","c":"Radar","k":["continuous-wave radar"],"w":"Continuous-wave radar","r":["FMCW radar","Illuminator"]},{"t":"CYA","x":"Cover Your Assets","s":"Cover your assets (politely): documenting to protect yourself from blame","d":"CYA is a polite rendering of a cruder phrase. It describes defensive documentation, extra approvals and paper trails. Bureaucratic processes in program offices often reflect it.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Tasker"]},{"t":"CYBERCOM","x":"United States Cyber Command","s":"US Cyber Command, the combatant command for military cyberspace operations","d":"US Cyber Command directs, synchronizes and coordinates cyberspace operations to defend DoD networks and conduct offensive operations, headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland. It became a full combatant command in 2018. Its commander has traditionally also been Director of the National Security Agency, an arrangement known as the dual hat.","c":"Organizations","k":["USCYBERCOM"],"w":"United States Cyber Command","r":["CCMD"]},{"t":"Cyber kill chain","s":"Lockheed Martin model of the stages of a cyber intrusion","d":"The Cyber Kill Chain is a model published by Lockheed Martin in 2011 describing intrusion stages: reconnaissance, weaponization, delivery, exploitation, installation, command and control, and actions on objectives. Defenders use it to plan detections at each stage. MITRE ATT&CK provides a more detailed technique-level alternative.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain"],"r":["Kill chain","MITRE ATT&CK"]},{"t":"Cyberspace Force","s":"PLA arm for cyber operations, formed from the SSF in 2024","d":"The PLA Cyberspace Force, established in April 2024 from the Network Systems Department of the dissolved Strategic Support Force, responsible for cyber operations and likely technical reconnaissance. US agencies attribute campaigns such as Volt Typhoon, aimed at pre-positioning in US critical infrastructure, to PRC state actors.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["PLA Cyberspace Force"],"r":["Information Support Force","Strategic Support Force"]},{"t":"Cyberspace operations","s":"Employment of cyberspace capabilities to achieve objectives in or through cyberspace","d":"Cyberspace operations, defined in Joint Publication 3-12, include offensive cyberspace operations, defensive cyberspace operations and DODIN operations. Doctrine treats cyberspace as a warfighting domain alongside land, sea, air and space. The terms matter for authorities, funding and who may do what on a network.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["JP 3-12","cyber operations"],"r":["OCO","DCO","DODIN operations"]},{"t":"Cyber survivability","s":"A system's ability to prevent, mitigate and recover from cyber attacks","d":"Cyber survivability is the ability of a weapon or mission system to prevent, mitigate and recover from cyber attacks and still accomplish its mission. The Joint Staff Cyber Survivability Endorsement defines cyber survivability attributes that requirements documents include. Test programs assess them through cooperative and adversarial assessments.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["CSE","cyber survivability endorsement"],"r":["Weapon system cybersecurity","Red team"]},{"t":"CYBINT","x":"Cyber Intelligence","s":"Intelligence about adversary cyber actors, infrastructure and tooling","d":"Intelligence derived from or about cyberspace: adversary cyber actors, their infrastructure, malware and intent. Usage varies; some treat it as a discipline, others as an application of SIGINT, OSINT and HUMINT to cyber threats. Commercial cyber threat intelligence feeds and indicator sharing standards such as STIX and TAXII overlap heavily with it.","c":"Intelligence","k":["CYBERINT"],"r":["SIGINT","OSINT","OIE"]},{"t":"D3A","x":"Decide, Detect, Deliver, Assess","s":"Decide, detect, deliver, assess: the Army's targeting methodology","d":"Decide, Detect, Deliver and Assess: the US Army targeting methodology. In decide, the staff produces the high-payoff target list, target selection standards and attack guidance matrix; detect executes the collection plan; deliver engages targets; assess measures effects. It is the frame Army fires software such as AFATDS is built around.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["HPTL","AGM","TSS","Targeting cycle","F2T2EA","BDA"]},{"t":"DA","x":"Direct Action","s":"Short-duration strikes and small-scale offensive actions by special operations forces","d":"Direct action is a SOF mission consisting of raids, ambushes, assaults and similar short-duration offensive actions against specific targets. It requires precise intelligence and fast execution. Product use in DA tends to emphasize small size, low signature and reliability.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Direct action (military)","r":["SR","F3EAD","SOF"]},{"t":"DA-ASAT","x":"Direct-Ascent Anti-Satellite weapon","s":"Missile launched from Earth to strike a satellite","d":"A direct-ascent ASAT is a ground, sea or air-launched missile that intercepts a satellite directly, usually by hit-to-kill. China destroyed its Fengyun-1C weather satellite in 2007, India its Microsat-R in 2019 (Mission Shakti), and Russia the defunct Kosmos 1408 in 2021 with a Nudol missile, each creating debris. Destructive tests are now subject to a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium, which the US and many others support.","c":"Weapons","k":["direct ascent ASAT","Mission Shakti"],"r":["ASAT","Nudol","Space debris"]},{"t":"DAC","x":"Digital-to-Analog Converter","s":"Converts digital samples to an analog signal","d":"A device that converts digital samples to an analog waveform. High-speed DACs generate arbitrary waveforms for radars, jammers and DRFMs, and their spurious performance determines how clean a synthesized signal is.","c":"RF","k":["D/A","digital to analog converter"],"w":"Digital-to-analog converter","r":["ADC","DRFM","DUC"]},{"t":"DAE","x":"Defense Acquisition Executive","s":"The top DoD acquisition official, the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment","d":"The Defense Acquisition Executive is the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, who sets acquisition policy and is MDA for the largest programs retained at OSD level. Since 2021 most MDAP decision authority has been delegated to the services.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Defense Acquisition Executive"],"r":["USD(A&S)","CAE","MDA"]},{"t":"DAF Battle Network","s":"Department of the Air Force's system of systems for C2 and battle management","d":"The DAF Battle Network is the Department of the Air Force's name for the integrated set of sensors, communications, data and C2 applications that support Air Force and Space Force operations, and its contribution to CJADC2. It is managed by PEO C3BM with an integrating architecture effort. ABMS lines of effort such as cloud-based C2 and data transport are folded into it.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["ABMS","PEO C3BM","CJADC2"]},{"t":"DAGR","x":"Defense Advanced GPS Receiver","s":"Handheld SAASM military GPS receiver, AN/PSN-13","d":"The DAGR (AN/PSN-13), built by Rockwell Collins (now Collins Aerospace), is the handheld SAASM-based dual-frequency GPS receiver used across the US military since the early 2000s, succeeding the PLGR. Hundreds of thousands were fielded, and it also serves as a PNT source for other equipment. It is being replaced by M-code devices.","c":"PNT","k":["AN/PSN-13","PLGR"],"r":["SAASM","DAPS","MGUE"]},{"t":"DAMA","x":"Demand Assigned Multiple Access","s":"Assigning satellite channel capacity to users only when they need it","d":"DAMA allocates satellite time slots or channels to terminals on request instead of dedicating them permanently, so many users share scarce capacity. In military UHF SATCOM the standards MIL-STD-188-182 and -183 define 5 kHz and 25 kHz DAMA, later improved by the Integrated Waveform. The trade-off is setup delay and dependence on a channel controller.","c":"Comms","r":["IW waveform","TDMA","UHF SATCOM"]},{"t":"Danger close","s":"Fires delivered close enough to friendly forces to risk friendly casualties","d":"Danger close is announced when friendly forces are within a defined distance of the target, such as 600 meters for mortars and cannon artillery, or within risk-estimate distances for air-delivered weapons. It requires the ground commander's acceptance of the risk. Fire control and CAS tools must flag it.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["9-line CAS","FSCM"]},{"t":"DAPS","x":"Dismounted Assured PNT System","s":"Army soldier-worn assured PNT system replacing the DAGR","d":"DAPS is the Army's dismounted assured PNT capability, giving soldiers an M-code GPS with sensor fusion and distribution to other devices such as Nett Warrior. It succeeds the handheld DAGR and is being fielded in generations.","c":"PNT","r":["DAGR","MAPS","A-PNT"]},{"t":"DARC","x":"Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability","s":"Three-site radar network to track GEO objects day and night in any weather","d":"DARC is a Space Force program building ground radars to track objects in deep space, including GEO, regardless of weather or daylight. It is planned for three sites under the AUKUS partnership: Australia (the first site, at Exmouth), the United Kingdom and the United States. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor.","c":"Space","r":["GEODSS","Space Surveillance Network","SDA (space domain awareness)"]},{"t":"DAS","x":"Defense Acquisition System","s":"The management framework DoD uses to buy weapons, software, services and business systems","d":"The Defense Acquisition System is the policy structure, set out in DoD Directive 5000.01 and the DoDI 5000 series, under which the Department develops, buys, fields and sustains capability. It defines who decides, which documents are needed, and how programs are reviewed. For a vendor, the program's place in this system determines its schedule, its funding pace and the paperwork your contract will carry. In late 2025 DoD leadership announced it would be reorganized and renamed the Warfighting Acquisition System.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Defense Acquisition System","DoD 5000","DoDD 5000.01"],"w":"Military acquisition","r":["Warfighting Acquisition System","Adaptive Acquisition Framework","PPBE","JCIDS"],"h":"DAS – Defense Acquisition System"},{"t":"DAS","x":"Distributed Aperture System","s":"Set of IR cameras around an aircraft giving spherical coverage, as on the F-35","d":"A distributed aperture system uses several fixed IR sensors around an airframe to provide 360 degree missile warning, situational awareness and imagery projected into the pilot's helmet. The F-35's AN/AAQ-37 DAS was originally from Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon was selected in 2018 to provide the next-generation DAS for later production. The concept is spreading to helicopters and ground vehicles.","c":"Sensors","k":["AN/AAQ-37","distributed aperture"],"r":["EOTS","Missile warning system"],"h":"DAS – Distributed Aperture System"},{"t":"DASA","x":"Defence and Security Accelerator","s":"UK Defence and Security Accelerator funding innovative ideas from industry","d":"The Defence and Security Accelerator: a UK government body, hosted by Dstl, that funds innovative proposals from industry and academia through open calls and themed competitions, similar in spirit to US SBIR. Following the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, the MOD set up UK Defence Innovation as a new organization with a ring-fenced budget for innovation funding.","c":"Organizations","k":["UK Defence Innovation","UKDI"],"r":["Dstl","SDR 2025"]},{"t":"Data association","s":"Assigning measurements to tracks in multi-target tracking","d":"Data association decides which detection belongs to which track, the hardest part of multi-target tracking in clutter. Approaches include nearest neighbor, global nearest neighbor (GNN), joint probabilistic data association (JPDA) and multiple hypothesis tracking (MHT). Choice of method drives tracker performance in dense air pictures and drone swarms.","c":"Sensors","k":["measurement-to-track association","GNN","JPDA"],"r":["MHT","Gating","Track correlation"]},{"t":"Data-centric security","s":"Protecting data itself with labels and policy, independent of the network","d":"Data-centric security attaches classification and access attributes to data objects and enforces policy wherever the data goes, rather than relying solely on network boundaries. It underpins zero trust data pillar goals and coalition sharing. Standards such as ABAC policies and trusted data formats are used.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["DCS","ABAC"],"r":["Zero trust","MLS"]},{"t":"Data decrees","s":"2021 DoD memo directing data sharing, standards and access across the department","d":"The data decrees are five directives from a May 2021 Deputy Secretary of Defense memo, Creating Data Advantage. They direct maximizing data sharing, publishing data assets in a federated catalog, using automated interfaces, storing data in a way that separates it from applications, and implementing industry best practices for secure authentication. They are often cited to require that vendors avoid locking data into proprietary formats.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["DoD Data Strategy","VAULTIS"]},{"t":"Data diode","s":"Hardware device that permits data to flow in one direction only","d":"A data diode enforces one-way data flow, usually by physical means such as a fiber transmitter with no return path, so information can move from low to high side without any path back. It is common for feeding sensor or unclassified data into classified systems. Applications must work without acknowledgments, so protocols are proxied on each side.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["one-way transfer","unidirectional gateway"],"w":"Data diode","r":["Cross-domain solution","Guard"]},{"t":"Data fabric","s":"Integration layer that connects distributed data sources through common services","d":"A data fabric is a set of technologies and services that connect distributed data sources so users and applications can find and access data consistently, regardless of where it is stored. In military programs it often refers to a middleware layer that brokers data between sensors, C2 applications and networks. The term overlaps with data mesh, which is more about ownership and organization.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Internet of Military Things","r":["Data mesh","Data integration layer"]},{"t":"Data integration layer","s":"Shared data layer that C2 applications read from and write to","d":"A data integration layer is a common data service that ingests feeds from many sources, normalizes them and exposes them to applications through APIs. CJADC2 and Army NGC2 both center on such a layer so that applications do not each build their own point-to-point integrations. Vendors are typically asked to publish to and consume from it using defined schemas.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["DIL"],"r":["Data fabric","NGC2","CJADC2"]},{"t":"Datalink gateway","s":"System that translates and forwards messages between different datalinks","d":"A datalink gateway receives messages on one link, translates them and retransmits on another, for example between Link 16, Link 11, JREAP, MADL and IFDL. Gateways such as BACN are essential for fifth-generation fighters, which use stealthy links that legacy platforms cannot hear. Translation is lossy and requires careful track number and filter management.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["gateway","multi-link gateway"],"r":["BACN","MADL","IFDL","ADSI"]},{"t":"Data mesh","s":"Decentralized data architecture where domains own and publish data as products","d":"A data mesh is an architecture in which individual domain teams own their data and publish it as discoverable, well-described data products, with shared governance and self-service infrastructure. DoD and service data strategies use the concept to avoid one central data lake for all mission data. In practice it requires catalogs, common metadata and access controls applied at the data level.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Data mesh","r":["Data fabric","VAULTIS","DoD Data Strategy"]},{"t":"Data rights","s":"The license the government gets in technical data and computer software","d":"In DoD, the government's rights are set by DFARS Part 227 based largely on funding source: developed exclusively at private expense, exclusively with government funds or with mixed funding. The categories are unlimited, government purpose, limited (for data) or restricted (for software), SBIR, specially negotiated and commercial licenses. Contractors keep ownership and grant licenses, and must assert and mark restrictions to preserve them.","c":"Acquisition","k":["technical data rights","IP rights","rights in technical data","DFARS 227"],"r":["Unlimited rights","Government purpose rights","Limited rights","Restricted rights","SBIR data rights","Data rights markings"]},{"t":"Data rights markings","s":"Required legends on data and software to preserve restrictions on government use","d":"DFARS prescribes exact legends for limited, restricted, government purpose and SBIR rights, and restrictions must be listed in a pre-award assertions table under 252.227-7017. Unmarked or incorrectly marked data can be challenged and treated as unlimited. Marking discipline in engineering tools and document templates pays for itself.","c":"Acquisition","k":["restrictive markings","assertions list","252.227-7017","legend"],"r":["Data rights","SBIR data rights","Limited rights"]},{"t":"Datum","s":"Reference model of the Earth's shape that coordinates are measured against","d":"A geodetic datum defines the size and shape of a reference ellipsoid and its position relative to the Earth, so that latitude, longitude and height have a defined meaning. Mixing data from different datums, such as WGS 84 and an old local datum like ED50 or Tokyo, can introduce errors of hundreds of meters. Vertical datums (such as EGM2008 geoid heights versus ellipsoid heights) cause a separate class of errors.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["geodetic datum","vertical datum"],"w":"Geodetic datum","r":["WGS 84","MGRS"]},{"t":"DAU","x":"Defense Acquisition University","s":"DoD's training institution for the acquisition workforce","d":"DAU trains and certifies the DoD acquisition workforce, and its online glossary and Adaptive Acquisition Framework site are standard references. In November 2025 leadership announced it would be renamed the Warfighting Acquisition University as part of the acquisition overhaul. Many courses and references are open to industry.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Defense Acquisition University","Warfighting Acquisition University","WAU"],"w":"Defense Acquisition University","r":["Warfighting Acquisition System","Adaptive Acquisition Framework"]},{"t":"Davidson window","s":"Admiral Davidson's 2021 warning that China could move on Taiwan by 2027","d":"The period identified by Admiral Philip Davidson, then commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, who told the Senate in March 2021 that the threat of a Chinese move against Taiwan could manifest within the next six years, that is by 2027. The date coincides with the PLA's centenary goal and is widely cited in arguments for urgent capability fielding. US officials have described 2027 as a PLA readiness goal and have said it does not mean Beijing has decided to attack.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["2027"],"r":["Taiwan contingency","Hellscape","First island chain"]},{"t":"David's Sling","s":"Israeli medium-range interceptor system by Rafael and RTX","d":"David's Sling covers the tier between Iron Dome and Arrow, against heavy rockets, cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles, using the Stunner interceptor. It was co-developed by Rafael and Raytheon. It saw first combat use in 2023.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Stunner","Magic Wand"],"w":"David's Sling","r":["Iron Dome","Arrow 3"]},{"t":"Dazzler","s":"Laser that temporarily blinds or saturates an optical sensor","d":"A dazzler uses a laser well below destructive power to overwhelm a camera or seeker so it cannot see. It is used against drone cameras and missile seekers. Eye safety rules and protocols on blinding laser weapons constrain how they are used against people.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["laser dazzler"],"r":["ODIN","HEL"]},{"t":"dB","x":"Decibel","s":"Logarithmic unit expressing a ratio of two power levels","d":"A logarithmic unit expressing the ratio of two powers as 10 times the base-10 logarithm (or 20 times for voltages). Decibels let RF engineers add gains and losses instead of multiplying them: 3 dB is about double, 10 dB ten times, 20 dB a hundred times. Suffixes such as dBm, dBW, dBi and dBc name the reference.","c":"RF","k":["decibel","dB ratio"],"w":"Decibel","r":["dBm","dBW","dBi","dBc"]},{"t":"D band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 1 to 2 GHz, equivalent to IEEE L band","d":"NATO EW band D covers 1 to 2 GHz, the same range as IEEE L band, including long-range air surveillance radars, IFF, Link 16 and GNSS.","c":"RF","k":["D-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","L band"]},{"t":"dBc","s":"Level in decibels relative to the carrier","d":"A level expressed in decibels relative to the carrier power, used for spurs, harmonics, sidebands and phase noise (dBc/Hz). For example, harmonics at -60 dBc are a million times weaker than the carrier.","c":"RF","k":["dB relative to carrier","dBc/Hz"],"r":["Phase noise","Spurious emissions","Harmonics"]},{"t":"dBd","s":"Antenna gain in decibels relative to a half-wave dipole","d":"Antenna gain expressed relative to a half-wave dipole; add 2.15 to convert dBd to dBi. It appears mainly in VHF/UHF land mobile and broadcast specifications and goes with ERP figures.","c":"RF","k":["decibels dipole"],"r":["dBi","ERP"]},{"t":"dBFS","s":"Level in decibels relative to an ADC or DAC's full scale","d":"Signal level expressed in decibels relative to the maximum a digital converter or system can represent; 0 dBFS is full scale and all real signals are negative. Digital receiver specs often quote noise and spurs in dBFS, which must be referred back to the antenna through the front end gain.","c":"RF","k":["decibels full scale"],"w":"DBFS","r":["ADC","Dynamic range","ENOB"]},{"t":"dBi","s":"Antenna gain in decibels relative to an ideal isotropic radiator","d":"Antenna gain expressed in decibels relative to a hypothetical isotropic antenna that radiates equally in all directions. A half-wave dipole has about 2.15 dBi. Using dBi consistently avoids errors when combining gains in EIRP and link budget calculations.","c":"RF","k":["decibels isotropic"],"r":["dBd","Antenna gain","EIRP"]},{"t":"dBm","s":"Power in decibels relative to one milliwatt","d":"Absolute power expressed in decibels relative to 1 milliwatt: 0 dBm is 1 mW, 30 dBm is 1 W, and -100 dBm is 0.1 picowatt. It is the usual unit on spectrum analyzer screens, receiver sensitivity specs and link budgets.","c":"RF","k":["dBmW"],"w":"DBm","r":["dB","dBW","Sensitivity"]},{"t":"DBS","x":"Defense Business Systems","s":"Pathway for ERP, finance, HR, logistics and other DoD business IT systems","d":"The Defense Business Systems pathway, governed by DoDI 5000.75, covers information systems that support business operations such as financial management, human resources, contracting and logistics. It emphasizes business process reengineering and the use of commercial software with minimal customization. Many enterprise software sales to DoD fall here rather than under the Software Acquisition Pathway.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Defense Business Systems","DoDI 5000.75","BCAC"],"r":["Adaptive Acquisition Framework","GCSS-Army","Software Acquisition Pathway"]},{"t":"dBsm","x":"Decibels relative to one square meter","s":"RCS on a log scale: 0 dBsm = 1 m², -20 dBsm = 0.01 m²","d":"dBsm expresses radar cross section as 10·log10(σ / 1 m²). Specs for counter-UAS and air defense radars typically quote detection range against a stated dBsm target, such as -20 dBsm for a small quadcopter. Always check the stated RCS, Pd and Pfa when comparing range claims across vendors.","c":"Radar","k":["dBm2","dB square meters"],"r":["RCS","Probability of detection"]},{"t":"dBW","s":"Power in decibels relative to one watt","d":"Absolute power expressed in decibels relative to 1 watt; 0 dBW equals 30 dBm. It is common in satellite and high power transmitter work, where EIRP figures such as 50 dBW are easier to handle than milliwatts.","c":"RF","k":["decibel-watt"],"r":["dBm","EIRP"]},{"t":"DC3","x":"DoD Cyber Crime Center","s":"DoD center for digital forensics and DIB cyber incident reporting","d":"The DoD Cyber Crime Center provides digital forensics, cyber training, vulnerability disclosure and the DIB Collaborative Information Sharing Environment. Contractors report incidents under DFARS 7012 through its DIBNet portal. It also runs the DoD Vulnerability Disclosure Program.","c":"Organizations","k":["DIBNet"],"r":["DIB","DFARS 252.204-7012"]},{"t":"DCA","x":"Defensive Counterair","s":"Defending against air and missile attack once it is underway","d":"DCA covers active air and missile defense (fighters, SAMs) and passive defense such as hardening, dispersal and camouflage. It is the doctrinal home of IAMD in the air domain. DCA can also mean dual-capable aircraft in nuclear contexts.","c":"Aviation","k":["defensive counter-air"],"r":["OCA","IAMD","CAP"]},{"t":"DCAA","x":"Defense Contract Audit Agency","s":"DoD agency that audits contractor costs, accounting systems and proposals","d":"DCAA performs incurred cost audits, proposal audits, forward pricing reviews and accounting system audits for DoD contractors. Firms pursuing cost-type contracts typically need an accounting system DCAA would find adequate. DCAA reports advise but do not bind the contracting officer.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Defense Contract Audit Agency","incurred cost submission","adequate accounting system","SF 1408"],"w":"Defense Contract Audit Agency","r":["DCMA","CAS","Cost-plus","Indirect rates"]},{"t":"DCGS","x":"Distributed Common Ground System","s":"Distributed Common Ground System: US family of ISR processing systems","d":"Distributed Common Ground/Surface System: the family of DoD systems that receive, process, exploit and disseminate ISR data from many sensors, with service versions: DCGS-A (Army), AF DCGS (Air Force), DCGS-N (Navy) and DCGS-MC (Marine Corps). The systems share standards for data interchange so that products can move among them. Several are being replaced or rebuilt around commercial software and cloud.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Distributed Common Ground System","r":["DCGS-A","AF DCGS","DCGS-N","PED"]},{"t":"DCGS-A","x":"Distributed Common Ground System-Army","s":"The Army's intelligence processing and analysis system","d":"Distributed Common Ground System-Army: the Army's system of record for intelligence processing, analysis and dissemination, from brigade to theater. It became a well-known acquisition controversy in the 2010s, when units asked for Palantir software instead and Palantir sued the Army in 2016 over how requirements were written, winning a ruling that the Army had to consider commercial products. The Army has since moved to commercial-based software capability drops and ground stations such as TITAN.","c":"Intelligence","r":["DCGS","TITAN","Palantir"]},{"t":"DCGS-N","x":"Distributed Common Ground System-Navy","s":"Navy's ISR processing system for afloat and ashore intelligence","d":"Distributed Common Ground System-Navy: the Navy's system for processing and fusing ISR for fleet and strike group intelligence, installed on carriers, large-deck amphibious ships and ashore. Increment 2 has focused on a modernized, software-based maritime intelligence capability. It connects with the broader naval C2 and targeting architecture.","c":"Intelligence","r":["DCGS"]},{"t":"DCMA","x":"Defense Contract Management Agency","s":"DoD agency that administers contracts and oversees contractor quality and delivery","d":"DCMA provides administrative contracting officers, quality assurance, property oversight, earned value surveillance and production monitoring at contractor facilities worldwide. DCMA quality representatives may inspect product at your facility before acceptance.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Defense Contract Management Agency","QAR"],"w":"Defense Contract Management Agency","r":["ACO","DCAA","EVMS","DD250"]},{"t":"DCO","x":"Defensive Cyberspace Operations","s":"Operations to defend friendly networks and missions against cyber threats","d":"Defensive cyberspace operations are missions to preserve the ability to use friendly cyberspace, split into internal defensive measures (DCO-IDM), such as hunting within own networks, and response actions (DCO-RA) taken outside them. They are conducted by Cyber Protection Teams and service cyber forces. DCO differs from routine DODIN operations, which secure and operate networks.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["DCO-IDM","DCO-RA"],"r":["OCO","CPT","DODIN operations"]},{"t":"DCS","x":"Direct Commercial Sale","s":"Export sold directly from a US company to a foreign buyer under an export license","d":"In a DCS the company negotiates directly with the foreign customer and obtains an ITAR or EAR license. It is often faster and more flexible than FMS but the company bears more risk. Some customers mix FMS and DCS on the same program.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Direct Commercial Sale","Direct Commercial Sales"],"r":["FMS","Export license"]},{"t":"DCSA","x":"Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency","s":"DoD agency that conducts background investigations and oversees cleared industry","d":"DCSA, formed in 2019 from the Defense Security Service with investigative functions moved from OPM, conducts most federal background investigations, adjudicates clearances, runs continuous vetting and oversees cleared contractor facilities under the NISP. Its Center for Development of Security Excellence provides free security training.","c":"Organizations","k":["Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency","DSS","CDSE"],"w":"Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency","r":["NISPOM","FCL","PCL","Continuous vetting"]},{"t":"DD250","x":"DD Form 250, Material Inspection and Receiving Report","s":"Form documenting government inspection and acceptance of delivered supplies","d":"The DD250 records inspection and acceptance of delivered items, and acceptance on it is what allows payment and passes title. Today it is generally submitted electronically as a receiving report in WAWF. The phrase DD250 a unit is still used to mean formal acceptance.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["DD Form 250","MIRR","receiving report"],"r":["WAWF","DCMA","First article test"]},{"t":"DD254","x":"DD Form 254, DoD Contract Security Classification Specification","s":"Form attached to a classified contract specifying its security requirements","d":"The DD254 states the classification levels involved, required facility clearance, access to special categories, safeguarding capability and guidance sources. It flows down to subcontractors through subcontract DD254s. A contract with a DD254 is what allows a company to be sponsored for a facility clearance.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["DD Form 254","254","Contract Security Classification Specification"],"r":["FCL","SCG","NISPOM"]},{"t":"DDC","x":"Digital Downconverter","s":"DSP block that tunes, filters and decimates a digitized band to baseband IQ","d":"A digital signal processing function that mixes a digitized signal with a numerically controlled oscillator, filters it and decimates it to produce lower-rate baseband IQ for a channel of interest. DDCs are built into modern ADCs and RFSoCs and let one wideband digitizer feed many narrowband channels.","c":"RF","k":["digital down converter","digital downconversion"],"w":"Digital down converter","r":["DUC","Direct RF sampling","IQ data"]},{"t":"DD Form 1494","s":"DoD application for equipment frequency allocation (spectrum certification)","d":"The DoD form, titled Application for Equipment Frequency Allocation, used to submit a system's technical characteristics (transmitter, receiver and antenna data) for spectrum certification. Program offices and vendors prepare it early and update it at each certification stage; gaps in it are a common cause of delay. It is now usually submitted through electronic tools rather than as a paper form.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DD 1494","1494"],"r":["Spectrum certification","J/F-12","Stages of spectrum certification"]},{"t":"DDG-51","s":"Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the Navy's main surface combatant","d":"The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers carry the Aegis combat system and 90 or 96 VLS cells, serving in air defense, BMD, strike and ASW. More than 70 have been commissioned, making it the largest US surface combatant class. Flight III ships carry the SPY-6 radar.","c":"Naval","k":["Arleigh Burke","DDG","destroyer"],"w":"Arleigh Burke-class destroyer","r":["DDG-51 Flight III","Aegis","VLS"]},{"t":"DDG-51 Flight III","s":"Latest Arleigh Burke destroyers with the SPY-6 radar and more power and cooling","d":"Flight III destroyers carry Raytheon's AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar, which is far more sensitive than the SPY-1D, plus upgraded power and cooling. The first, USS Jack H. Lucas, was commissioned in 2023. They are the Navy's main BMD-capable surface ships until a future destroyer, DDG(X), arrives.","c":"Naval","k":["Flight III","AMDR","SPY-6"],"r":["DDG-51","Aegis","DDG(X)"]},{"t":"DDG(X)","s":"Navy's planned next-generation large surface combatant","d":"DDG(X) is the planned successor to the Arleigh Burke class, with room for more power, sensors, larger missiles and future directed energy weapons. Design work is ongoing and construction is planned for the 2030s.","c":"Naval","k":["next-generation destroyer"],"r":["DDG-51 Flight III"]},{"t":"DDIL","x":"Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited","s":"Network conditions where connectivity is jammed, degraded or unavailable","d":"DDIL describes communications environments that are denied, disrupted (or degraded), intermittent and limited in bandwidth. It is a standard requirement for tactical software, which must function offline, queue and prioritize traffic, and synchronize when links return. Some documents expand the second D as degraded.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["denied degraded intermittent limited"],"r":["Tactical edge","PACE plan"]},{"t":"DDTC","x":"Directorate of Defense Trade Controls","s":"State Department office that administers ITAR","d":"DDTC registers manufacturers and exporters, issues export licenses and agreements, rules on commodity jurisdiction and enforces ITAR. Registration is required for any US manufacturer of defense articles even if it never exports, and filings go through the DECCS system.","c":"Organizations","k":["Directorate of Defense Trade Controls","DECCS","ITAR registration","DS-2032"],"w":"Directorate of Defense Trade Controls","r":["ITAR","Export license","Commodity jurisdiction"]},{"t":"DEAD","x":"Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses","s":"SEAD aimed at physically destroying air defense systems","d":"The subset of SEAD intended to physically destroy enemy air defense radars, launchers and command posts rather than suppress them temporarily. It typically relies on precise geolocation from ES receivers and weapons such as AARGM-ER and stand-off missiles.","c":"EW","k":["destruction of enemy air defences"],"r":["SEAD","AARGM-ER"]},{"t":"Dead reckoning","s":"Estimating position from a known start, heading, speed and elapsed time","d":"Dead reckoning computes current position by advancing a known starting point using measured heading and speed or distance, for example from a compass and odometer or Doppler velocity log. It drifts without external fixes. Inertial navigation is a sophisticated form of it.","c":"PNT","w":"Dead reckoning","r":["INS"]},{"t":"Death by PowerPoint","s":"Excessively long, dense slide briefings","d":"Military culture runs heavily on PowerPoint briefings, and death by PowerPoint describes the result. Leaders have periodically criticized it. Vendors presenting to military audiences do better with fewer, clearer slides.","c":"Slang & Brevity","w":"Microsoft PowerPoint","r":["Quad chart","BLUF"]},{"t":"Debriefing","s":"Government explanation of a proposal's evaluation after award","d":"Offerors may request a debriefing after award, and for DoD contracts over set thresholds an enhanced debriefing with redacted source selection documents. Requesting one promptly preserves protest timelines and is the best source of feedback for the next bid.","c":"Acquisition","k":["debrief","enhanced debriefing"],"r":["Source selection","Bid protest"]},{"t":"Decentralized execution","s":"Delegating execution authority to subordinate commanders","d":"Air Force doctrine pairs centralized command (or control) with distributed or decentralized execution: one air commander plans and allocates air power while units execute with latitude. Current Air Force doctrine uses \"centralized command, distributed control, decentralized execution\" to plan for degraded communications. The idea also applies broadly to mission command.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Centralized control","Centralized command, distributed control, decentralized execution"],"r":["Mission command","JFACC","ACE"]},{"t":"Deception jamming","s":"Jamming that injects false target information into a sensor","d":"Jamming that radiates signals designed to mislead rather than mask, creating false targets or false range, velocity or angle so the victim tracks the wrong thing. Coherent deception against modern radars usually relies on DRFM to replicate the radar's own pulses. It needs much less power than noise jamming but depends on knowing the victim waveform.","c":"EW","k":["deceptive jamming"],"r":["DRFM","Range gate pull-off","Velocity gate pull-off","Electromagnetic deception"]},{"t":"Decision advantage","s":"Ability to make and act on better decisions faster than an adversary","d":"Decision advantage is the goal of seeing, understanding, deciding and acting faster and better than an opponent. It appears in DoD data, AI and JADC2 strategies as the purpose of data and analytics investments. Product proposals are often framed around how they improve it.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["OODA loop","JADC2"],"k":["Decision superiority"]},{"t":"Decision point","s":"A point in time or space where the commander expects to make a key decision","d":"A decision point is where the commander anticipates choosing a branch or course of action, linked to specific information needs (CCIR) and often to a named area of interest. Decision support templates and matrices track them. Planning tools often visualize decision points on a timeline or map.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["DP"],"r":["Branch","DSM","CCIR"]},{"t":"Decisive point","s":"A place, event or factor that gives a marked advantage when acted upon","d":"A decisive point is a key terrain feature, event, critical factor or function that, when acted upon, gives a commander a marked advantage over an adversary. Decisive points are the stepping stones toward attacking a center of gravity. A bridge, a port or a radar network can all be decisive points.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Center of gravity","Line of operation"]},{"t":"Declare","s":"Brevity: a request for the identity of a specified track","d":"DECLARE asks a controller for the identification of a track, answered as FRIENDLY, BANDIT, HOSTILE, BOGEY, NEUTRAL or FURBALL (a mixed group of friends and enemies). It ties air combat to the ID authority in the air control system. C2 systems must support fast declarations.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Furball","Neutral"],"r":["Bogey","Bandit"]},{"t":"Decon","x":"Decontamination","s":"Removing or neutralising CBRN contamination from people and equipment","d":"Decontamination ranges from immediate individual decon with kits to thorough decon of vehicles and equipment. Materials and electronics need to survive decon chemicals such as bleach solutions, which affects equipment design and specification.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["decontamination","RSDL"],"w":"Decontamination","r":["CBRN","MOPP"]},{"t":"Decoy","s":"Device that imitates a platform's signature to draw enemy sensors and weapons","d":"A device that imitates the signature of a real platform to attract or confuse enemy sensors and weapons. RF decoys may be passive (reflectors, chaff) or active (transmitting), and may be towed, air-launched, ship-launched or ground-based. Decoys force an adversary to spend sensors and weapons on false targets.","c":"EW","k":["active decoy","passive decoy"],"r":["MALD","Towed decoy","Nulka"]},{"t":"Deemed export","s":"Release of controlled technology to a foreign person inside the US, treated as an export","d":"Showing or giving controlled technical data or source code to a foreign national in the United States is deemed an export to that person's country. Companies hiring foreign nationals for work on ITAR or EAR controlled programs may need licenses and technology control plans. Under ITAR the concept also covers dual and third-country nationals.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["deemed re-export","foreign person","TCP","technology control plan"],"r":["ITAR","EAR","Technical data"]},{"t":"DEERS","x":"Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System","s":"The database of people eligible for military benefits and ID cards","d":"The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System holds records of service members, retirees, dependents and eligible civilians and contractors, and feeds ID card issuance and benefits. Identity systems such as the CAC depend on it. It is run by the Defense Manpower Data Center.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["CAC"]},{"t":"DEFCON","x":"Defense Readiness Condition","s":"US alert posture scale from DEFCON 5 (normal) to DEFCON 1 (maximum readiness)","d":"DEFCON is the US military's graduated alert system, set by the President and Secretary of Defense through the Joint Chiefs, running from DEFCON 5, normal peacetime readiness, to DEFCON 1, maximum readiness for imminent nuclear war. Levels can be set for specific commands rather than the whole force. In UK procurement the same abbreviation means a Defence Condition, a standard MOD contract clause.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["defense condition"],"w":"DEFCON","r":["DEFCON (UK)","FPCON","INFOCON"]},{"t":"DEFCON (UK)","x":"Defence Condition","s":"UK MOD standard contract conditions, such as DEFCON 658 on cyber","d":"Defence Conditions: the standard clauses used in UK MOD contracts, numbered like DEFCON 658 (cyber security), DEFCON 703 (intellectual property, vesting) and DEFCON 705 (IP in research). They are the UK analog of US DFARS clauses. In US usage DEFCON instead means the defense readiness condition scale, so context matters.","c":"Acquisition","k":["DEFCON 658","DEFCONs"],"r":["Def Stan","MOD"]},{"t":"Defence Investment Pledge","s":"NATO spending targets: 2% of GDP from 2014, 5% by 2035 from 2025","d":"The commitment by NATO allies on defense spending. The 2014 Wales summit set the goal of 2 percent of GDP on defense, with 20 percent of that on major equipment, within a decade. At the June 2025 Hague summit, allies agreed to reach 5 percent of GDP by 2035, split into at least 3.5 percent on core defense and up to 1.5 percent on defense and security related investment such as infrastructure, resilience and the industrial base, with Spain securing flexibility on the path. The pledge drives European procurement growth.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["2 percent target","5 percent target","Hague commitment","3.5 percent"],"r":["Burden sharing","NDPP","ReArm Europe"]},{"t":"Defense Innovation Board","s":"Advisory board of outside experts that advises the Secretary of Defense on innovation","d":"The Defense Innovation Board, created in 2016, publishes recommendations on topics such as software acquisition, AI ethics principles and talent. Its 2019 Software Acquisition and Practices study shaped the Software Acquisition Pathway.","c":"Organizations","k":["DIB"],"w":"Defense Innovation Board","r":["Software Acquisition Pathway","DIU"]},{"t":"Defense service","s":"ITAR term for assistance to foreign persons with defense articles","d":"Under ITAR, a defense service includes furnishing assistance, including training, to foreign persons in the design, development, engineering, manufacture, production, assembly, testing, repair, maintenance, modification, operation, demilitarization or use of defense articles. Providing such help, even with public information, can require a TAA.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["defense services"],"r":["Technical Assistance Agreement","ITAR","Technical data"]},{"t":"Defense Spectrum Organization","x":"DSO","s":"DISA organization that leads DoD spectrum planning and engineering","d":"The organization within the Defense Information Systems Agency responsible for DoD spectrum planning, engineering support, spectrum databases and tools, and interference resolution, including the former Joint Spectrum Center at Annapolis. It supports program offices with EMC analyses and spectrum supportability assessments.","c":"Organizations","k":["DSO","Joint Spectrum Center","JSC"],"r":["Joint Spectrum Interference Resolution","Spectrum management"]},{"t":"Def Stan","x":"Defence Standard","s":"UK Defence Standards, the MOD counterpart of US MIL-STDs","d":"Defence Standards: the UK MOD's technical standards, published by the UK Defence Standardization office (DStan), covering items such as Def Stan 00-35 environmental testing, 00-56 safety management and 00-970 aircraft airworthiness. They play the role that MIL-STDs and MIL-SPECs play in the US and are frequently called up in UK contracts.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DStan","Def Stan 00-56"],"r":["DEFCON","STANAG"]},{"t":"Deinterleaving","s":"Sorting a mixed stream of intercepted pulses into individual emitters","d":"The process of separating a stream of interleaved pulses from many radars into trains belonging to individual emitters, using parameters such as frequency, angle of arrival, pulse width and PRI patterns. Classic algorithms use PRI histograms (CDIF, SDIF) and clustering; machine learning is now widely studied. Agile and dense environments make it the hardest step in ES processing.","c":"EW","k":["pulse sorting","pulse train deinterleaving"],"r":["Pulse descriptor word","PRI","Emitter identification"]},{"t":"Delta","s":"Ukraine's situational awareness and battlefield management system","d":"Delta is a Ukrainian situational awareness and battle management system developed by the Ministry of Defence's Centre for Innovation and Development of Defence Technologies. It runs in a browser and on mobile devices, gathering reports, drone video and sensor data onto a common operating picture, and its developers say it was built to NATO standards and tested in NATO exercises. It is widely cited as an example of rapid, software-first military C2 development.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["Brave1","Kropyva","Common operating picture"]},{"t":"Delta-v","s":"Change in velocity a spacecraft can produce, the currency of maneuvering","d":"Delta-v is the total velocity change a spacecraft or stage can achieve, set by its propellant mass and engine efficiency through the rocket equation. Every maneuver (orbit raising, plane change, station-keeping, rendezvous, deorbit) has a delta-v cost, so the delta-v budget bounds a satellite's useful life and how much it can maneuver. Dynamic space operations and refueling concepts are attempts to make delta-v less scarce.","c":"Space","k":["dV","ΔV"],"w":"Delta-v","r":["Specific impulse","Station-keeping","Dynamic space operations","Hohmann transfer"]},{"t":"DEM","x":"Digital Elevation Model","s":"Gridded model of terrain heights","d":"Digital Elevation Model: a raster grid of terrain heights. A digital surface model (DSM) includes buildings and trees, while a digital terrain model (DTM) represents bare earth. Sources range from SRTM and Copernicus DEM (about 30 m) to lidar and stereo satellite products at sub-meter spacing. DEMs drive orthorectification, line-of-sight and flight planning.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DSM","DTM"],"w":"Digital elevation model","r":["DTED","Orthorectification"]},{"t":"Demilitarization","s":"Destroying the military capability of equipment before disposal or sale","d":"Demilitarization removes or destroys military-specific features so equipment cannot be used as designed. Items are assigned demil codes that set required methods, and disposal of excess property goes through DLA Disposition Services.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["demil","demil code","DLA Disposition Services","DRMO"],"r":["DLA","Sustainment"]},{"t":"DE M-SHORAD","x":"Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense","s":"Army 50 kW-class laser on a Stryker for short-range air defense","d":"DE M-SHORAD put a 50 kW-class laser on Stryker vehicles, and four prototypes were sent to the Middle East for operational assessment in 2024. Soldiers reported difficulty with heat, dust and operating it, and the Army shifted toward other laser efforts. It remains a key lesson in moving lasers from tests to the field.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["HEL","M-SHORAD","IFPC-HEL"]},{"t":"Denial and deception","s":"Hiding true activity and showing false activity to mislead an adversary","d":"Denial is preventing an adversary from collecting accurate information, through concealment, camouflage, emissions control and secrecy. Deception is inducing the adversary to believe something false. Together, D&D is a standing concern in intelligence analysis, and Russian maskirovka and Chinese doctrine both treat it as integral to operations. Analysts are trained to consider whether observed indicators might be planted.","c":"Intelligence","k":["D&D","maskirovka"],"r":["CCD","MILDEC"]},{"t":"Deorbit","s":"Deliberately lowering a satellite so it reenters and burns up or lands","d":"Deorbiting is ending a mission by lowering perigee into the atmosphere, either with a controlled burn targeting an ocean area or by letting drag finish the job. US government guidance long held a 25-year post-mission disposal rule, and in 2022 the FCC adopted a five-year rule for licensed LEO satellites. Proliferated constellations plan for routine deorbit as satellites are refreshed by tranche.","c":"Space","k":["deorbiting","reentry","post-mission disposal"],"r":["Space debris","Atmospheric drag","Graveyard orbit"]},{"t":"Department of War","s":"Secondary name for DoD authorized by executive order in September 2025","d":"A September 2025 executive order authorized the Department of Defense to use \"Department of War\" and the Secretary to use \"Secretary of War\" as secondary titles in official communications. The statutory name remains Department of Defense unless Congress changes it, so both names appear in documents and websites. Expect solicitations and correspondence to use either name.","c":"Organizations","k":["DoW","Secretary of War"],"r":["DoD","SecDef"]},{"t":"Deployment","s":"Moving forces to an operational area, or the period spent there","d":"A deployment is a unit's movement into a theater and its time there, typically six to nine months for many units. Dwell time is the time at home between deployments. Equipment used on deployment must survive transport and austere conditions.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Deployed","Dwell time"],"r":["DEPORD","Rotation"]},{"t":"DEPORD","x":"Deployment Order","s":"An order directing forces to move or deploy","d":"A deployment order directs the transfer of forces between commands or their movement into a theater, and specifies the authority and timing. It is a common trigger for unit movement and logistics activity.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["EXORD","PCS"]},{"t":"Depot","s":"Facility performing the most extensive maintenance, overhaul and rebuild","d":"Depots, organic such as Army depots, Navy fleet readiness centers and Air Force air logistics complexes, or commercial, perform overhauls, major repairs, rebuilds and modifications. Law (10 USC 2464 and 2466) requires DoD to retain core organic depot capability and caps contractor depot work at 50 percent of funds, so programs often require data rights and public-private partnerships to enable organic depots.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["depot maintenance","50/50 rule","core logistics","organic depot","ALC","FRC","public-private partnership"],"r":["D-level","Sustainment","Data rights"]},{"t":"Derivative classification","s":"Classifying new material based on existing classified sources or guides","d":"Derivative classifiers, including cleared contractor staff, mark new documents based on classification guides or source documents, carrying forward the levels and markings. They must be trained every two years. Marking errors are a common inspection finding.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["derivative classifier","classified by","derived from"],"r":["OCA","SCG"]},{"t":"DE&S","x":"Defence Equipment and Support","s":"Defence Equipment and Support: the UK MOD's procurement and support body","d":"Defence Equipment and Support: the MOD's organization, headquartered at Abbey Wood in Bristol, that buys and supports equipment and services for the UK armed forces, from ships and aircraft to rations. It is the UK counterpart of the US program executive offices combined with parts of DLA. Following the 2025 SDR it reports into a new National Armaments Director role created to reform UK procurement.","c":"Organizations","w":"Defence Equipment and Support","r":["MOD","Dstl"]},{"t":"Desensitization","s":"Reduction of receiver sensitivity by a nearby strong signal","d":"Reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong nearby signal, through compression, reciprocal mixing with LO phase noise or added broadband noise from the transmitter. Desense from a platform's own jammers and radios is a primary co-site integration problem.","c":"RF","k":["desense"],"r":["Blocking","Phase noise","Co-site interference"]},{"t":"Detachment","s":"A small unit separated from its parent for a specific task or location","d":"A detachment is a part of a unit sent out on its own, such as a maintenance detachment or a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA, the 12-person A-team). Detachments often operate with minimal support. Abbreviated det.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Det","ODA"],"r":["SOF"]},{"t":"Detect and avoid","s":"Onboard or ground capability for a UAS to sense and steer clear of other aircraft","d":"Detect and avoid (DAA), previously sense and avoid, replaces the pilot's eyes for collision avoidance. It may use airborne radar, ADS-B receivers, transponders or ground-based radar. It is a prerequisite for larger UAS to fly routinely in civil airspace.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["DAA","sense and avoid","SAA"],"r":["BVLOS"]},{"t":"Detection threshold","s":"Signal level above which a radar declares a detection","d":"The threshold is set relative to estimated noise or clutter to achieve a desired Pfa. Fixed thresholds fail in varying clutter, so radars use CFAR or clutter maps to set thresholds adaptively per cell. Lowering the threshold for small targets raises false alarms, which track-before-detect methods try to manage.","c":"Radar","r":["CFAR","Probability of false alarm"]},{"t":"Deterrence","s":"Preventing an adversary from acting by shaping its cost and benefit calculation","d":"The prevention of action by the existence of a credible threat of unacceptable counteraction, or belief that the cost of action outweighs the perceived benefits. Deterrence depends on capability, credibility and communication, and is ultimately judged in the adversary's mind. US strategy documents describe integrated deterrence, combining military, economic and diplomatic tools across allies, as the organizing idea.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Deterrence theory","r":["Deterrence by denial","Deterrence by punishment","Extended deterrence","Integrated deterrence","STRATCOM"],"k":["Deterrence by denial","Deterrence by punishment"]},{"t":"Deterrence by denial","s":"Deterring by convincing an adversary its attack will fail","d":"Deterrence based on persuading an adversary that it cannot achieve its objectives, for instance that an amphibious invasion would be defeated at sea or that missiles would be intercepted. It favors defenses, resilience and forward-deployed combat power. Much current Indo-Pacific and NATO eastern flank planning is framed as denial, and many defense tech products, such as sensors, drones and air defense, are pitched in these terms.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Deterrence by punishment","Porcupine strategy","Hellscape"]},{"t":"Deterrence by punishment","s":"Deterring by threatening costs that outweigh any gain","d":"Deterrence based on the threat of severe retaliation, such as nuclear or long-range conventional strikes, that would impose costs greater than any gains an aggressor might achieve. Nuclear deterrence has traditionally rested on punishment. It does not require defeating the attack itself, only making the aftermath unacceptable.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Deterrence by denial","Second-strike capability","Countervalue"]},{"t":"DevSecOps","s":"Practice integrating security into automated development and operations pipelines","d":"DevSecOps integrates security testing, scanning and compliance into continuous integration and delivery pipelines, so that software is secured as it is built and deployed. DoD's DevSecOps Reference Design and Enterprise DevSecOps initiatives define expected tooling, such as hardened containers and Kubernetes. It is the basis for continuous ATO.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["DevSecOps reference design"],"w":"DevOps","r":["cATO","Software factory","SBOM","Platform One","Iron Bank"]},{"t":"DF-17","s":"Chinese medium-range missile carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle","d":"The Dongfeng-17 is a Chinese road-mobile medium-range ballistic missile that carries a hypersonic glide vehicle, often called DF-ZF, first shown publicly in the 2019 National Day parade. With a range estimated at 1,800 to 2,500 km, it is assessed as aimed at regional bases and missile defenses.","c":"Weapons","k":["Dongfeng-17","DF-ZF"],"w":"DF-17","r":["Avangard","HGV","PLARF"]},{"t":"DF-21D","s":"Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile, nicknamed the carrier killer","d":"The Dongfeng-21D is a Chinese road-mobile medium-range anti-ship ballistic missile, with a range of roughly 1,500 km or more, designed to strike large ships such as aircraft carriers with a maneuvering reentry vehicle. Combined with over-the-horizon targeting from satellites and other sensors it is central to China's A2/AD concept. The US designates the DF-21 family CSS-5.","c":"Weapons","k":["Dongfeng-21D","CSS-5","carrier killer"],"w":"DF-21","r":["DF-26","A2/AD","YJ-21"]},{"t":"DF-26","s":"Chinese intermediate-range missile able to reach Guam, nuclear or conventional","d":"The Dongfeng-26 is a Chinese road-mobile intermediate-range ballistic missile with a range of about 4,000 km, able to carry nuclear or conventional warheads and to swap between them, with an anti-ship variant. Its ability to reach Guam earned it the nickname Guam killer. Its dual-capable nature complicates escalation management.","c":"Weapons","k":["Dongfeng-26","Guam killer"],"w":"DF-26","r":["DF-21D","PLARF","Second island chain"]},{"t":"DF-41","s":"Chinese road-mobile MIRV-capable intercontinental ballistic missile","d":"The Dongfeng-41 is a Chinese solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, road-mobile and able to be silo-based, with a range estimated around 12,000 km and capacity for multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. It entered service around 2017 and is part of a rapid expansion of China's nuclear forces, including large silo fields in western China.","c":"Weapons","k":["Dongfeng-41","CSS-20"],"w":"DF-41","r":["PLARF","MIRV"]},{"t":"DFARS","x":"Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement","s":"DoD's supplement to the FAR, with defense-specific rules and clauses","d":"DFARS, at 48 CFR Chapter 2, adds DoD-specific policies and clauses on top of the FAR, including cybersecurity (252.204-7012), data rights (252.227-7013 and related), specialty metals and IUID marking. DFARS clauses flow down from primes to subcontractors in many cases. It was being revised in parallel with the FAR overhaul.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement","48 CFR Chapter 2","PGI"],"w":"Federal Acquisition Regulation","r":["FAR","DFARS 7012","Flowdown","DPCAP"]},{"t":"DFARS 252.204-7012","s":"DFARS clause requiring CUI safeguarding and 72-hour cyber incident reporting","d":"DFARS 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting, requires contractors to implement NIST SP 800-171, report cyber incidents to DoD within 72 hours, preserve images and use FedRAMP Moderate equivalent cloud services for CUI. Related clauses 7019 and 7020 require SPRS score submission and assessment access, and 7021 implements CMMC. It flows down to subcontractors handling CUI.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DFARS 7012","7012","DFARS 7019","DFARS 7020","DFARS 7021"],"r":["NIST SP 800-171","CMMC 2.0","SPRS","CUI"]},{"t":"DFARS 7012","x":"DFARS 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting","s":"Clause requiring NIST 800-171 controls, 72-hour incident reporting and FedRAMP-level cloud","d":"DFARS 252.204-7012 requires contractors handling covered defense information to implement NIST SP 800-171, report cyber incidents to DoD within 72 hours, preserve images for 90 days and use cloud services that meet the FedRAMP Moderate baseline or equivalent. It flows down to subcontractors handling CUI. It is the baseline that CMMC Level 2 verifies.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["252.204-7012","7012","DFARS 252.204-7012","CDI"],"r":["CMMC","NIST SP 800-171","CUI","SPRS"]},{"t":"DIA","x":"Defense Intelligence Agency","s":"Defense Intelligence Agency, DoD's all-source military intelligence agency","d":"Defense Intelligence Agency: the DoD combat support agency that produces all-source military intelligence for warfighters, policymakers and acquisition, and manages defense HUMINT, MASINT and foundational intelligence such as order of battle. It runs the JWICS network through its CIO.","c":"Organizations","w":"Defense Intelligence Agency","r":["Intelligence Community","MIDB","JWICS"]},{"t":"DIB","x":"Defense Industrial Base","s":"The companies and organizations that supply the US military","d":"The defense industrial base comprises the companies, from primes to small suppliers, that design, produce and maintain military systems. It is a frequent target of cyber espionage, which drives DFARS 7012, CMMC and the DoD DIB Cybersecurity Program run with the DoD Cyber Crime Center (DC3). Products for DIB companies often focus on CUI enclaves and compliance.","c":"Organizations","k":["DIB CS Program"],"r":["CMMC 2.0","DC3","DFARS 252.204-7012"]},{"t":"DID","x":"Data Item Description","s":"Standard template defining the content and format of a data deliverable","d":"DIDs, listed in the ASSIST database with numbers like DI-MISC-80508, define what a deliverable must contain. CDRLs reference DIDs and may tailor them. Reusing standard DIDs makes proposals and deliverables easier to price.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Data Item Description","DI-"],"r":["CDRL","ASSIST"]},{"t":"Digital beamforming","x":"DBF","s":"Forming antenna beams in software after digitizing signals from array channels","d":"In digital beamforming (DBF) each subarray or element has its own receiver and ADC, and beams are formed by weighting and summing samples digitally. It enables many simultaneous receive beams, adaptive nulling, STAP and flexible calibration, at the cost of data rates and power. Direct-RF-sampling ADCs and RF system-on-chip devices have made DBF practical in smaller systems.","c":"Radar","k":["DBF","element-level digital beamforming"],"r":["Beamforming","AESA","RFSoC","Element-level DBF","Subarray","Adaptive beamforming"],"w":"Beamforming"},{"t":"Digital engineering","s":"DoD's push to use authoritative models and data across the whole life cycle","d":"Digital engineering, set out in the 2018 DoD Digital Engineering Strategy and DoDI 5000.97 issued in 2023, uses authoritative sources of truth, digital threads and models from concept through sustainment. Programs such as the B-21 and Sentinel have been cited as examples. Vendors may be asked to deliver models and data in neutral formats.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["DE","digital thread","DoDI 5000.97","authoritative source of truth"],"r":["MBSE","Digital twin","SysML"]},{"t":"Digitally aided CAS","x":"Digitally Aided Close Air Support","s":"Digital exchange of CAS targeting data between JTACs and aircraft","d":"Digitally aided close air support uses VMF and Link 16 messages to pass target coordinates, nine-line data and confirmations between joint terminal attack controllers and aircraft, reducing voice errors. It is governed by a DoD interface standard for DACAS. Tablet tools used by JTACs implement these messages.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["DACAS"],"r":["VMF","Link 16"]},{"t":"Digital receiver","s":"Receiver that digitizes wide RF bandwidth early and processes it in software or FPGA","d":"A receiver that digitizes the signal at RF or IF and performs channelization, detection and parameter measurement digitally, typically in FPGAs or RFSoCs. Digital receivers allow wide instantaneous bandwidth, flexible processing and reprogramming in software, and have replaced most analog architectures in new EW systems. ADC dynamic range and processing power set their limits.","c":"EW","k":["wideband digital receiver","DRx"],"r":["ADC","RFSoC","Channelized receiver","Software-defined radio"]},{"t":"Digital twin","s":"A virtual representation of a specific physical system, updated with its real data","d":"A digital twin mirrors an individual product or fleet using design models plus sensor and maintenance data, supporting prognostics, test planning and what-if analysis. The term is used loosely in defense marketing, so ask what data actually feeds it.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["twin"],"w":"Digital twin","r":["Digital engineering","CBM+","Prognostics"]},{"t":"Dipole antenna","s":"Two-element antenna, often a half-wavelength long","d":"A simple antenna of two conductors fed at the center, most commonly a half-wavelength long, with a doughnut-shaped pattern and about 2.15 dBi gain. It is the reference for dBd and the basis of many arrays.","c":"RF","k":["half-wave dipole"],"w":"Dipole antenna","r":["Monopole antenna","dBd"]},{"t":"DIRCM","x":"Directional Infrared Countermeasures","s":"Laser that jams the seeker of an incoming infrared missile","d":"A system that points an infrared laser at an incoming infrared-guided missile's seeker to break its lock, cued by a missile warning system. DIRCM avoids the finite supply of flares and works against seekers that reject flares. US examples are LAIRCM (AN/AAQ-24) on large aircraft and CIRCM (AN/AAQ-45) on helicopters.","c":"EW","k":["IRCM"],"w":"Directional Infrared Counter Measures","r":["LAIRCM","CIRCM","Missile warning system","Flare"]},{"t":"Directed energy","x":"DE","s":"Weapons that use focused electromagnetic energy, such as lasers and microwaves","d":"Weapons and techniques that use concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles to damage or disrupt targets, chiefly high energy lasers and high power microwaves. Doctrine places directed energy within electromagnetic attack. DoD has fielded prototypes for counter-UAS and is working on power, thermal management and cost per engagement.","c":"Weapons","k":["DEW","directed energy weapon","DE"],"w":"Directed-energy weapon","r":["High-power microwave","Electromagnetic attack","HEL","HPM","DE M-SHORAD"]},{"t":"Direction finding","x":"DF","s":"Measuring the bearing to a radio emitter","d":"Measuring the bearing to a transmitter using antennas whose response varies with direction. Methods include rotating loops, Adcock and Watson-Watt systems, Doppler DF, amplitude comparison, interferometry and correlative or array-based techniques such as MUSIC. Bearings from several sites are intersected to fix a position.","c":"EW","k":["DF","radio direction finding","RDF"],"w":"Direction finding","r":["Angle of arrival","Watson-Watt","Interferometry","Triangulation"]},{"t":"Directivity","s":"Antenna's peak radiation intensity relative to isotropic, ignoring losses","d":"The ratio of an antenna's peak radiation intensity to that of an isotropic radiator with the same total radiated power. Gain equals directivity times radiation efficiency, so a lossy antenna has lower gain than its directivity.","c":"RF","w":"Directivity","r":["Antenna gain","Beamwidth"]},{"t":"Direct RF sampling","s":"Digitizing radar signals at RF without analog downconversion","d":"Direct RF sampling uses very fast ADCs and DACs to sample signals directly at L-, S- and in some cases C- or X-band, removing mixers and IF stages and simplifying wideband multichannel receivers. Devices such as RF system-on-chip FPGAs integrate many such converters with processing. It is a key enabler of affordable digital arrays.","c":"Radar","k":["RF sampling","direct sampling","RFSoC"],"r":["ADC","RFSoC","Digital receiver","DDC","Element-level DBF","Digital beamforming"]},{"t":"DIRLAUTH","x":"Direct Liaison Authorized","s":"Direct liaison authorized: permission to coordinate directly with another command","d":"Direct liaison authorized lets a commander or staff consult directly with another command or agency inside or outside the chain of command. It is a coordination relationship, not authority. Vendors encounter it when a program office allows them to talk directly to a user unit.","c":"Organizations","r":["OPCON"]},{"t":"Dirty bomb","s":"Conventional explosive packed with radioactive material","d":"A dirty bomb is the most common example of a radiological dispersal device. It is not a nuclear weapon and produces no nuclear explosion. Radiation portal monitors and handheld detectors at borders and events are meant to intercept the materials.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["RDD"],"w":"Dirty bomb","r":["Radiological weapon"]},{"t":"DISA","x":"Defense Information Systems Agency","s":"DoD combat support agency running enterprise networks and IT services","d":"The Defense Information Systems Agency provides DoD-wide information technology and communications, including the DISN backbone, SIPRNet and NIPRNet services, enterprise cloud brokering, GCCS-J, security guidance such as STIGs, and the DoD PKI. It also runs JFHQ-DODIN functions closely with USCYBERCOM. Many products must meet DISA requirements to connect to DoD networks.","c":"Organizations","w":"Defense Information Systems Agency","r":["DISN","STIG","JWCC","Thunderdome"]},{"t":"Discriminating Space Sensor","s":"MDA effort to tell warheads from decoys using sensors in space","d":"The Discriminating Space Sensor is a Missile Defense Agency program to develop a space-based sensor able to discriminate lethal objects from decoys and debris in midcourse, a task currently done mainly by ground and sea radars. It is intended to support homeland defense and fits into Golden Dome planning. Details of the design are not public.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["DSS"],"r":["HBTSS","Golden Dome","Tracking Layer"]},{"t":"Discrimination","s":"Separating real warheads from decoys and debris in a ballistic missile threat cloud","d":"Discrimination uses wideband radar imaging, motion features, RCS history and IR signatures to identify which objects in a threat complex are lethal. It is one of the hardest problems in midcourse missile defense and a main driver for high-bandwidth X- and S-band radars such as TPY-2, SBX and LRDR. Algorithms and signatures are mostly classified.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["object discrimination","midcourse discrimination"],"r":["LRDR","AN/TPY-2","Stretch processing"]},{"t":"Disinformation","s":"False information spread deliberately to deceive","d":"False or misleading information deliberately created and spread to deceive, as distinct from misinformation, which is false information spread without intent to deceive, and malinformation, which is true information used to harm. Russian active measures and state media networks are a widely studied source. Detection and attribution of disinformation has been politically contested in the US, which affected federal funding for work on it from 2025.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["misinformation","malinformation","active measures"],"w":"Disinformation","r":["Influence operations","Information warfare"]},{"t":"DISN","x":"Defense Information Systems Network","s":"DoD's global enterprise telecommunications backbone","d":"The Defense Information Systems Network is DISA's worldwide enterprise network providing data, voice, video and transport services, including the underlying transport for SIPRNet and NIPRNet. Connecting a system to DISN requires connection approval processes through DISA. It is the backbone of the DODIN.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Defense Information System Network","r":["DISA","SIPRNet","NIPRNet","DODIN"]},{"t":"Distinction","s":"LOAC principle: attack only combatants and military objectives, never civilians","d":"The LOAC principle requiring parties to a conflict to distinguish at all times between combatants and civilians and between military objectives and civilian objects, directing attacks only against the former. Indiscriminate weapons and attacks are prohibited. It is the principle most often discussed in relation to automatic target recognition and autonomy.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["principle of distinction"],"w":"Distinction (law)","r":["LOAC","Proportionality"]},{"t":"Distribution statement","s":"Marking on technical documents that defines who may receive them","d":"Under DoDI 5230.24, technical documents carry Distribution Statements A through F: A is approved for public release, B limits to government agencies, C to government and contractors, D to DoD and US DoD contractors, E to DoD components only and F as directed by the controlling office. Export controlled data also carries an export warning. Distribution markings are a frequent source of confusion on proposals and deliverables.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Distro A","Distribution A","Distribution D","DoDI 5230.24","public release"],"r":["CUI","Technical data","Data rights markings"]},{"t":"DIU","x":"Defense Innovation Unit","s":"DoD's Defense Innovation Unit, which brings commercial technology into the military fast","d":"The Defense Innovation Unit, headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices elsewhere, uses commercial solutions openings and Other Transaction agreements to prototype commercial technology quickly, then transition it to production. It has run efforts such as Replicator. It is often a first point of contact for startups.","c":"Organizations","k":["Defense Innovation Unit","DIUx"],"w":"Defense Innovation Unit","r":["CSO","OTA","Replicator","Blue UAS","CDAO","USD(R&E)"]},{"t":"Division","s":"A unit of about 10,000 to 20,000 people, led by a major general","d":"A division contains several brigades plus artillery, aviation and sustainment, led by a major general (O-8). The Army has made divisions the primary tactical warfighting formation for large-scale combat operations. The Marine Corps has three active divisions.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Div"],"w":"Division (military)","r":["Brigade","Corps","LSCO"]},{"t":"DJI","s":"Chinese drone maker dominant in commercial drones; barred from US defense use","d":"DJI is the world's largest commercial drone maker. DoD lists it as a Chinese military company, and federal law bars agencies from buying its products. The FY2025 NDAA set up a process that could put DJI equipment on the FCC Covered List, which restricts new equipment authorizations.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Da-Jiang Innovations"],"w":"DJI","r":["NDAA Section 848","American Security Drone Act","Blue UAS"]},{"t":"DLA","x":"Defense Logistics Agency","s":"DoD's combat support agency that buys and manages most consumable supplies","d":"DLA supplies fuel, food, clothing, medical supplies, construction materials and the majority of spare parts, and manages cataloging, disposition and strategic materials. It awards a huge number of contracts through DIBBS, many of them small parts buys that are accessible to small manufacturers.","c":"Organizations","k":["Defense Logistics Agency","DIBBS","DLA Land and Maritime","DLA Aviation","DLA Troop Support"],"w":"Defense Logistics Agency","r":["NSN","Cataloging","Class IX"]},{"t":"D-level","x":"Depot level maintenance","s":"The most extensive maintenance, performed at depots or by the OEM","d":"D-level maintenance includes overhaul, major repair, rebuild and manufacture of parts beyond lower levels' capability. It is the third level in the traditional O, I, D scheme.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["depot level maintenance"],"r":["Depot","I-level","O-level"]},{"t":"DMO","x":"Distributed Maritime Operations","s":"Navy concept of spreading the fleet out while massing effects through networking","d":"Distributed maritime operations is the Navy's operating concept for dispersing forces over large areas to complicate enemy targeting while integrating sensors and weapons to concentrate effects. It depends on resilient networks and long-range weapons. It pairs with Marine EABO and the Navy's Project Overmatch.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["EABO","Kill web","A2/AD","USV"],"k":["distributed maritime operations"]},{"t":"DMSMS","x":"Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages","s":"Loss of suppliers or parts for a system over its life, including obsolescence","d":"DMSMS covers parts and materials becoming unavailable, which for long-lived military systems is constant given commercial electronics life cycles. Programs manage it with monitoring, lifetime buys, redesign and emulation, per the DoD DMSMS Guidebook (SD-22). Designing for obsolescence management is a selling point.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages","lifetime buy","LTB","last time buy","SD-22","obsolescence","DMS"],"r":["Obsolescence","GIDEP","MOSA","SRM","Energetic materials"]},{"t":"DMTI","x":"Dismount Moving Target Indicator","s":"GMTI mode tuned to detect people moving on foot","d":"Dismount MTI targets the very low speeds and small RCS of walking people, needing low MDV and processing that can use micro-Doppler from limb motion. It was developed largely for counter-insurgency and border surveillance roles. Pods and UAS radars such as VADER demonstrated it, and many tactical radars now include a dismount mode.","c":"Radar","k":["dismount MTI","dismount moving target indication"],"r":["GMTI","MDV","Micro-Doppler"]},{"t":"DO-160","s":"Environmental and EMI test standard for airborne equipment","d":"RTCA DO-160, currently revision G, defines environmental conditions and test procedures for airborne equipment, including temperature, altitude, vibration, power input, lightning and RF susceptibility. Military aircraft programs often accept DO-160 testing for commercial-derivative equipment instead of MIL-STD-810 and 461.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DO-160G","ED-14"],"w":"DO-160","r":["MIL-STD-810","MIL-STD-461","DO-178C"]},{"t":"DO-178C","s":"Standard for airborne software certification, assigning rigor by Design Assurance Level","d":"RTCA DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, published in 2011, defines objectives for planning, development, verification and configuration management based on Design Assurance Level A (catastrophic) to E. It is required for civil certification and widely referenced for military airworthiness. Level A demands structural coverage including MC/DC.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DO-178","DAL","Design Assurance Level","ED-12C","MC/DC"],"w":"DO-178C","r":["DO-254","DO-160","MIL-HDBK-516"]},{"t":"DO-254","s":"Design assurance guidance for airborne electronic hardware such as FPGAs and ASICs","d":"RTCA DO-254 provides design assurance objectives for complex electronic hardware, applying Design Assurance Levels as DO-178C does for software. It is applied mainly to programmable logic devices and custom ICs in flight-critical functions.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["ED-80"],"w":"DO-254","r":["DO-178C","MIL-HDBK-516"]},{"t":"Doc","s":"Informal name for a medic or Navy corpsman","d":"Soldiers call their medic \"Doc\" and Marines call their Navy hospital corpsman \"Doc,\" regardless of rank. Medics and corpsmen are the primary users of field medical gear and casualty reporting tools. It is a term of respect.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Corpsman","Medic"],"r":["IFAK","9-line MEDEVAC"]},{"t":"Doctrine","s":"Fundamental principles that guide how military forces act","d":"Doctrine is authoritative but requires judgment in application. It defines common terms, processes and organizations so forces can work together. Learning the relevant doctrine publication is the fastest way for an engineer to understand how users are trained to work.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["JP","TTP","FM"]},{"t":"DoD","x":"Department of Defense","s":"The US Department of Defense, which runs the military services and defense agencies","d":"The Department of Defense includes the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the military departments (Army, Navy including the Marine Corps, Air Force including the Space Force), the combatant commands, and defense agencies and field activities. The Coast Guard sits in the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime. In 2025 an executive order authorized \"Department of War\" as a secondary name.","c":"Organizations","k":["Pentagon"],"w":"United States Department of Defense","r":["Department of War","OSD","Joint Staff"]},{"t":"DODAAC","x":"Department of Defense Activity Address Code","s":"Six-character code identifying a unit or activity for requisitions and shipping","d":"A DODAAC identifies an organization authorized to requisition, receive or pay for materiel and is used on requisitions, contracts and shipping documents. Contractors may be assigned DODAACs for handling government property. Incorrect DODAACs in contracts cause shipping and payment problems.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Department of Defense Activity Address Code"],"r":["WAWF","Government property"]},{"t":"DoD civilian","s":"A federal civil servant employed by the Department of Defense","d":"About 750,000 to 800,000 civilians work for DoD, in roles from engineers and program managers to logisticians and analysts, mostly on the GS or other federal pay scales. They provide continuity while uniformed members rotate. Many program office leads and engineers you meet will be civilians.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["DA civilian","Civil servant","Civilian"],"r":["GS grade","SES"]},{"t":"DoDD 3000.09","x":"DoD Directive 3000.09, Autonomy in Weapon Systems","s":"DoD policy governing development and fielding of autonomous weapon systems","d":"DoD Directive 3000.09, updated in January 2023, requires that autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force. Certain autonomous systems need senior-level review before formal development and again before fielding. Anyone building targeting autonomy should expect to support that review.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["3000.09","Autonomy in Weapon Systems","Department of Defense Directive 3000.09"],"r":["Autonomy levels","LAWS","Responsible AI","Human in the loop"]},{"t":"DoD Data Strategy","s":"2020 strategy treating data as a strategic asset, with the VAULTIS goals","d":"The DoD Data Strategy, released in 2020, sets the vision of a data-centric organization and defines goals that data should be visible, accessible, understandable, linked, trustworthy, interoperable and secure (VAULTIS). It was reinforced by the 2021 Deputy Secretary memo known as the data decrees. Program offices cite it when requiring open data access and government data rights.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["VAULTIS","Data decrees","CDAO"]},{"t":"DODIN","x":"Department of Defense Information Network","s":"All DoD networks, systems and services treated as one enterprise","d":"The DODIN is the set of DoD information capabilities and associated processes for collecting, processing, storing and disseminating information, covering owned and leased networks, systems and platforms. DODIN operations are the actions to design, build, secure and operate it. It replaced the term Global Information Grid.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["GIG","Global Information Grid"],"r":["DODIN operations","DISN","JFHQ-DODIN"]},{"t":"DODIN operations","s":"Actions to design, build, secure, operate and sustain DoD networks","d":"DODIN operations are the operational actions taken to design, build, configure, secure, operate, maintain and sustain DoD networks, including routine cybersecurity. They are distinct from DCO, which responds to threats that have bypassed or are attacking those protections. Most network administrators and cybersecurity service providers work in this space.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["DODIN ops"],"r":["DODIN","DCO","JFHQ-DODIN"]},{"t":"DoD Teleport","s":"DISA-run gateways connecting military SATCOM to the DoD Information Network","d":"The DoD Teleport system is a set of DISA-operated ground facilities that link military and commercial satellite services to the DoD Information Network, providing deployed users with access to classified and unclassified networks. Teleports support multiple bands, including X, Ka, Ku, C, UHF and EHF.","c":"Comms","k":["Teleport","STEP"],"r":["Ground entry point","WGS","COMSATCOM"]},{"t":"DoD Zero Trust Strategy","s":"2022 strategy requiring target-level zero trust across DoD by end of FY2027","d":"The DoD Zero Trust Strategy, released in November 2022, defines 152 activities across seven pillars, with 91 required for target level zero trust and the rest for advanced level. Components must reach target level by the end of fiscal year 2027. The DoD CIO has also published approaches using commercial cloud and private cloud as alternatives.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["target level zero trust","advanced level"],"r":["Zero trust","ICAM","Thunderdome"]},{"t":"DOMEX","x":"Document and Media Exploitation","s":"Exploitation of captured documents, media and devices","d":"Document and media exploitation: the processing and analysis of captured or seized documents, phones, computers and storage devices. DIA's National Media Exploitation Center coordinates it for the US. Forensic tools and triage software for DOMEX are a sizable contracting market, and the output is often fused with biometrics and HUMINT.","c":"Intelligence","r":["TECHINT","HUMINT"]},{"t":"DOP","x":"Dilution of Precision","s":"Factor showing how satellite geometry multiplies position error","d":"DOP expresses how the geometry of satellites in view amplifies ranging error into position error; values near 1 are excellent and above about 6 poor. Variants include GDOP, PDOP, HDOP, VDOP and TDOP. Obstructed sky, terrain and jamming of some signals raise DOP.","c":"PNT","k":["GDOP","PDOP","HDOP"],"w":"Dilution of precision","r":["Pseudorange","GNSS"]},{"t":"Doppler ambiguity","s":"Aliasing of target Doppler shift when it exceeds the PRF","d":"A pulse radar samples Doppler at the PRF, so shifts larger than PRF/2 (or PRF for one-sided processing) alias to wrong velocities. Low PRF radars are highly Doppler ambiguous, which creates blind speeds. Multiple PRFs and high PRF waveforms are used to recover true velocity.","c":"Radar","k":["velocity ambiguity","Doppler aliasing"],"r":["Blind speed","PRF","Range ambiguity"]},{"t":"Doppler DF","s":"Direction finding from the Doppler shift of a rotating (or commutated) antenna","d":"A direction finding method in which an antenna is rotated, or a circular array is electronically commutated, so the received signal gains a Doppler shift that varies with bearing. The phase of that modulation gives the bearing. It is simple and common in VHF and UHF DF equipment.","c":"EW","k":["pseudo-Doppler DF"],"r":["Direction finding","Watson-Watt"]},{"t":"Doppler filter bank","s":"Set of narrowband filters, usually an FFT, that sorts echoes by radial velocity","d":"A Doppler filter bank splits the returns in each range cell into velocity bins, usually via an FFT across the pulses in a CPI. Each bin gets its own threshold, so targets are detected where clutter is absent in Doppler. The output across range cells forms a range-Doppler map.","c":"Radar","r":["MTD","Range-Doppler map","CPI"]},{"t":"Doppler resolution","s":"Smallest velocity difference a radar can separate: about 1/CPI in Hz","d":"Doppler resolution is roughly the inverse of the coherent processing interval, so a 10 ms dwell resolves about 100 Hz, or 1.5 m/s at X-band. Longer dwells give finer velocity separation and more integration gain but cost timeline in a multifunction radar and smear accelerating targets.","c":"Radar","k":["velocity resolution"],"r":["CPI","Doppler shift"]},{"t":"Doppler shift","s":"Frequency change of an echo caused by target radial velocity: 2v/λ","d":"A target moving toward or away from the radar shifts the echo frequency by 2·v_r/λ, about 67 Hz per m/s at X-band (10 GHz). Doppler processing separates moving targets from stationary clutter and is the basis of MTI, pulse-Doppler, GMTI and micro-Doppler classification. Only the radial component is measured, so a target crossing at right angles shows little or no Doppler.","c":"Radar","k":["Doppler effect","Doppler frequency"],"w":"Doppler radar","r":["Pulse-Doppler radar","MTI","Micro-Doppler"]},{"t":"Dosimetry","s":"Measuring the radiation dose received by people or equipment","d":"Dosimetry uses personal dosimeters and survey meters to measure radiation dose, usually in grays or sieverts, or rads and rems in older units. Military units track dose to manage exposure. Electronics have their own total ionising dose ratings.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["dosimeter","rad","rem","sievert","gray"],"w":"Dosimetry","r":["Rad-hard","Radiological weapon"]},{"t":"DOT&E","x":"Director, Operational Test and Evaluation","s":"Independent OSD office that oversees operational and live fire testing","d":"DOT&E approves test plans and reports independently to the Secretary and Congress on the operational effectiveness and suitability of programs on its oversight list. Its annual report is public and often critical. In 2025 the Secretary of Defense directed a significant downsizing of DOT&E as part of acquisition reforms.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Director Operational Test and Evaluation"],"w":"Director, Operational Test and Evaluation","r":["OT&E","IOT&E","LFT&E","TEMP"]},{"t":"DOTMLPF-P","x":"Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy","s":"Checklist of ways to close a capability gap, with materiel as only one option","d":"DOTMLPF-P is used in requirements analysis to ask whether a gap can be closed by changing doctrine, organization, training and so on before buying something new. A materiel solution is pursued only if non-materiel changes are insufficient. The framework also reminds product teams that fielding a system requires training, facilities and doctrine changes.","c":"Acquisition","k":["DOTMLPF"],"w":"DOTMLPF","r":["JCIDS","Materiel","Capability gap"]},{"t":"Downrange","s":"Deployed to a combat zone; also in the direction of fire on a range","d":"Downrange means in the deployed theater, as in \"when I was downrange.\" On a firing range it means toward the targets, where nobody should be during firing. Context makes the meaning clear.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Outside the wire","Deployment"]},{"t":"DPAS","x":"Defense Priorities and Allocations System","s":"System under DPA Title I that makes rated defense orders take precedence","d":"DPAS, administered by the Commerce Department, requires contractors to accept and prioritize rated orders. DO-rated orders take priority over unrated ones and DX-rated orders, for the highest national priority programs, take priority over DO. Most DoD contracts carry a DO rating, which flows down to suppliers.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Defense Priorities and Allocations System","DO rating","DX rating","rated order"],"r":["DPA Title III","Industrial base"]},{"t":"DPA Title III","s":"Defense Production Act authority to fund domestic industrial capacity","d":"Title III of the Defense Production Act lets the government use grants, purchase commitments, loans and other incentives to create or expand domestic production of critical materials and technologies. DoD's DPA Title III office has funded areas such as rare earths, microelectronics, energetics, batteries and castings and forgings.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Defense Production Act","DPA","Title III"],"w":"Defense Production Act of 1950","r":["DPAS","Industrial base","OSC","NDIS"]},{"t":"DPCA","x":"Displaced Phase Center Antenna","s":"Clutter cancellation using two antenna phase centers that match platform motion","d":"DPCA times two receive phase centers along the flight direction so that one occupies the other's position a pulse later, making ground clutter appear stationary for cancellation. It is a simpler non-adaptive precursor of STAP and remains common in GMTI. Accuracy depends on matching the PRF, speed and channel calibration.","c":"Radar","k":["displaced phase centre antenna"],"r":["STAP","GMTI"]},{"t":"DPCAP","x":"Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy","s":"OSD office that writes DFARS, class deviations and pricing policy","d":"DPCAP, formerly DPAP, sits under USD(A&S) and is responsible for the DFARS, DoD class deviations, pricing policy and the DoD procurement toolbox. When a new clause or a temporary rule change appears in your contract, DPCAP usually issued it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["DPC","DPAP","Defense Pricing and Contracting"],"r":["DFARS","USD(A&S)","FAR"]},{"t":"DREN","x":"Defense Research and Engineering Network","s":"DoD high-performance network for research, test and HPC","d":"The Defense Research and Engineering Network is a DoD wide-area network operated for the High Performance Computing Modernization Program, connecting labs, test ranges and supercomputing centers. A classified counterpart, SDREN, carries secret traffic. Research and test programs often use it instead of NIPRNet.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["SDREN"],"r":["NIPRNet"]},{"t":"DRFM","x":"Digital Radio Frequency Memory","s":"Digitizes, stores and replays radar pulses to create coherent false targets","d":"A subsystem that digitizes an incoming RF signal, stores it and replays it with controlled delay, Doppler shift and amplitude so the victim radar sees coherent returns it believes are its own. DRFM is the core of modern deception jammers and false target generators and is also used in radar target simulators for test. Key design figures are instantaneous bandwidth, bit depth, latency and memory depth.","c":"EW","k":["digital RF memory"],"w":"Digital radio frequency memory","r":["Deception jamming","Range gate pull-off","Repeater jamming"]},{"t":"DRI","x":"Detection, Recognition, Identification","s":"Standard set of range figures for EO/IR sensors against a defined target","d":"DRI ranges state how far a sensor can detect (something is there), recognize (class, such as truck versus tank) and identify (specific type) a target of defined size, commonly a 2.3 m vehicle or 1.8 m by 0.5 m person, usually at 50 percent probability. They are usually derived from Johnson criteria, sometimes per NATO STANAG 4347. Weather, contrast and the assumed probability drastically change the numbers, so compare like with like.","c":"Sensors","k":["detection recognition identification","DRI range"],"r":["Johnson criteria","NVIPM"]},{"t":"Drone Dome","s":"Rafael counter-UAS system combining radar, EO/IR, jamming and an optional laser","d":"Drone Dome is Rafael's C-UAS system that detects drones with radar and electro-optics and defeats them with jamming or a laser. It has been sold to several countries, including the UK. It is a typical example of an integrated foreign C-UAS product.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["C-UAS","Iron Beam"]},{"t":"DRRS","x":"Defense Readiness Reporting System","s":"DoD's official system for reporting unit readiness","d":"The Defense Readiness Reporting System collects readiness data from units across the services, including C-ratings and mission-essential task assessments. Its data feeds senior leaders and Congress. Data from logistics and maintenance systems often feeds into it.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Readiness","C-rating"]},{"t":"DSCA","x":"Defense Support of Civil Authorities","s":"Military support to US civil authorities in domestic emergencies","d":"Defense support of civil authorities is DoD help to federal, state and local agencies for disasters, special events and other domestic needs, usually led by another agency. Northern Command handles it in most of the US. Legal limits such as the Posse Comitatus Act constrain what active forces can do domestically.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["NORTHCOM","Title 32","HADR"]},{"t":"DSCS","x":"Defense Satellite Communications System","s":"Legacy US military X-band SATCOM satellites, replaced by WGS","d":"The Defense Satellite Communications System provided US military super-high-frequency (X-band) wideband SATCOM from the 1970s, with the DSCS III series serving into the 2010s and beyond. It was replaced by WGS, and the last satellites have been retired.","c":"Comms","w":"Defense Satellite Communications System","r":["WGS","X-band"]},{"t":"DSM","x":"Decision Support Matrix","s":"A matrix linking decision points to the information and options for each","d":"A decision support matrix lays out each decision point with its trigger, the information needed, and the actions to take, and pairs with a decision support template overlay. It is built during COA analysis. It is a natural candidate for digitization in C2 software.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["DST","Decision support template"],"r":["Decision point","Synchronization matrix"]},{"t":"DSMAC","x":"Digital Scene Matching Area Correlator","s":"Missile terminal navigation that matches camera images to stored scenes","d":"DSMAC is an optical system on missiles such as Tomahawk that images the ground near the target and correlates it with stored reference scenes to make precise terminal position corrections. It complements TERCOM and GPS and is a precursor of modern vision-aided navigation.","c":"PNT","r":["TERCOM","Vision-aided navigation"]},{"t":"DSSS","x":"Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum","s":"Spreading a signal with a fast pseudorandom code to resist jamming and interception","d":"A spread spectrum technique that multiplies the data by a much faster pseudorandom chip sequence, spreading the signal across a wide band and often below the noise floor. The receiver despreads with the same code, gaining processing gain against noise and narrowband jamming. GPS, CDMA cellular and many military links use DSSS.","c":"Comms","k":["direct sequence"],"w":"Direct-sequence spread spectrum","r":["Frequency hopping","Processing gain","LPD"]},{"t":"DSTG","x":"Defence Science and Technology Group","s":"Defence Science and Technology Group, Australia's defense research organization","d":"Defence Science and Technology Group: the Australian Department of Defence's science and technology organization, with sites in Adelaide (Edinburgh), Melbourne (Fishermans Bend) and elsewhere. It is roughly equivalent to the UK's Dstl and works closely with US and UK labs through The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP).","c":"Organizations","w":"Defence Science and Technology Group","r":["ASCA","Dstl"]},{"t":"Dstl","x":"Defence Science and Technology Laboratory","s":"Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the UK MOD's research lab","d":"The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory: the MOD's executive agency for science and technology, with main sites at Porton Down and Portsdown West. It conducts and commissions research, provides technical advice and assurance on programs, and funds industry and academia. It plays a role similar to the US service research laboratories.","c":"Organizations","w":"Defence Science and Technology Laboratory","r":["MOD","DASA"]},{"t":"DT&E","x":"Developmental Test and Evaluation","s":"Testing to verify a system meets its technical specifications during development","d":"DT&E is conducted by the program and contractor to verify design maturity, technical performance and specification compliance, and to find problems early. It supports design reviews and readiness for operational test. DoDI 5000.89 governs T&E policy.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Developmental Test and Evaluation","DT","DoDI 5000.89"],"r":["OT&E","TEMP","TRR"]},{"t":"DTED","x":"Digital Terrain Elevation Data","s":"NGA's standard gridded terrain elevation data, Levels 0 to 2","d":"Digital Terrain Elevation Data: a standard format and product line of gridded elevation data originally produced by NIMA and now NGA. Level 0 has about 30 arc-second (roughly 1 km) posts, Level 1 about 3 arc-second (roughly 90 m) and Level 2 about 1 arc-second (roughly 30 m); higher levels have been defined for finer data. Mission planning, line-of-sight and radar coverage tools commonly read DTED.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DTED Level 0","DTED Level 1","DTED Level 2"],"w":"DTED","r":["DEM","Mensuration"]},{"t":"DTG","x":"Date-Time Group","s":"Date-time group: the military timestamp format, such as 101430Z NOV 26","d":"A date-time group writes day, hour, minute, time zone letter, month and year: 101430Z NOV 26 means 14:30 UTC on 10 November 2026. Messages and orders are identified by their DTG. Tools that parse or produce orders and reports need to handle this format correctly, including the zone letter.","c":"Comms","r":["Zulu time","Military time"]},{"t":"DTID","x":"Detect, Track, Identify, Defeat","s":"The four steps of the counter-UAS kill chain","d":"C-UAS systems work through detect (notice something is there), track (hold its position over time), identify (decide whether it is a threat) and defeat (stop it). Each step usually uses different sensors and effectors, joined by C2 software. Identification is often the weakest step, and errors there cause either fratricide or missed threats.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["detect-track-identify-defeat","DTID kill chain"],"r":["C-UAS","Kill chain","RF detection"]},{"t":"DUC","x":"Digital Upconverter","s":"DSP block that interpolates and shifts baseband IQ up for transmission","d":"The transmit counterpart of a DDC: it interpolates baseband IQ to a higher rate and mixes it to the desired frequency before a DAC. DUCs let one DAC synthesize multiple channels or jamming signals across a wide band.","c":"RF","k":["digital up converter"],"r":["DDC","DAC"]},{"t":"Ducting","s":"Trapping of radar waves in an atmospheric layer, extending range beyond the horizon","d":"Ducting happens when a strong negative refractivity gradient, such as an evaporation duct over the sea or a temperature inversion, bends rays back toward the surface so energy travels far beyond the normal horizon. It can give unexpected long-range detections and clutter while creating holes in coverage above the duct. Naval tactical decision aids model ducts from meteorological data to predict radar and ESM ranges.","c":"Radar","k":["evaporation duct","surface duct","superrefraction"],"w":"Atmospheric duct","r":["Anomalous propagation","Radar horizon"]},{"t":"Duke","s":"US Army vehicle-mounted counter-RCIED jammer family","d":"Duke is a family of vehicle-mounted CREW jammers fielded in large numbers by the US Army from the mid-2000s, with later versions such as Duke V3 adding capability. Duke systems use a mix of active and reactive jamming to defeat radio-controlled IEDs.","c":"EW","k":["Duke V3","CREW Duke"],"r":["CREW","JCREW"]},{"t":"DUNS","x":"Data Universal Numbering System","s":"Dun and Bradstreet's nine-digit ID, retired for federal awards in April 2022","d":"The DUNS number was the federal entity identifier until 4 April 2022, when the government switched to the SAM-issued UEI. Older contracts, forms and systems may still reference it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["DUNS number"],"w":"Data Universal Numbering System","r":["UEI","SAM.gov"]},{"t":"Duplexer","s":"Device that lets a transmitter and receiver share an antenna","d":"A device that allows simultaneous or alternating transmit and receive through one antenna, using filters for different frequencies (frequency-division duplexing) or switches and circulators for the same frequency. In radar, a duplexer protects the receiver during the transmit pulse.","c":"RF","k":["diplexer","T/R switch"],"w":"Duplexer","r":["Circulator","Limiter"]},{"t":"Duty cycle","s":"Fraction of time a radar is transmitting: pulse width times PRF","d":"Duty cycle is pulse width divided by PRI, and average power equals peak power times duty cycle. Solid-state transmitters such as GaN T/R modules have modest peak power and favor higher duty cycles with long coded pulses. Duty cycle also drives thermal design, since most of the input power that is not radiated becomes heat in the array.","c":"Radar","r":["Peak power","Average power","Pulse compression"]},{"t":"Dynamic range","s":"Span between the weakest and strongest signals a system handles","d":"The ratio between the largest signal a system can handle without unacceptable distortion and the smallest it can detect, in dB. Instantaneous dynamic range, with strong and weak signals present at once, is critical for EW receivers near powerful emitters and is often limited by ADC resolution and front end linearity.","c":"RF","k":["DR","instantaneous dynamic range"],"w":"Dynamic range","r":["SFDR","IP3","P1dB","ENOB"]},{"t":"Dynamic space operations","s":"Space Force concept of satellites maneuvering freely without fuel limits","d":"Dynamic space operations is the Space Force idea of being able to maneuver satellites often and unpredictably, the way aircraft maneuver, instead of rationing propellant over a fixed design life. It relies on refueling, more efficient propulsion and logistics in orbit. It is linked to concerns about adversaries maneuvering to evade tracking or approach US satellites.","c":"Space","k":["maneuver without regret"],"r":["Delta-v","On-orbit servicing","RPO"]},{"t":"Dynamic spectrum access","x":"DSA","s":"Systems that sense and use available spectrum on the fly","d":"Techniques that let radios or networks find and use available spectrum dynamically based on sensing, databases or policy, rather than holding fixed assignments. DSA is the basis of commercial sharing schemes such as CBRS and TV white space and of military goals for agile, interference-tolerant networks in contested spectrum. DARPA's XG and SC2 programs advanced the field.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DSA","cognitive radio","dynamic spectrum sharing"],"w":"Dynamic spectrum management","r":["Spectrum sharing","CBRS","Spectrum situational awareness"]},{"t":"Dynamic targeting","s":"Targeting of opportunity targets found during execution","d":"Dynamic targeting handles targets identified too late, or not selected in time, to be included in deliberate targeting, including time-sensitive targets. It follows F2T2EA and puts heavy demands on fast data flow and decision authorities. Deliberate targeting covers planned targets prosecuted on a schedule.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Deliberate targeting"],"r":["F2T2EA","TST","Targeting cycle"]},{"t":"DZ","x":"Drop Zone","s":"Drop zone: where personnel or supplies are delivered by parachute","d":"A drop zone is an area where troops, equipment or supplies are airdropped. Airdrop systems such as precision guided parafoils use computed release points over the DZ. DZ surveys document size and hazards.","c":"Aviation","w":"Drop zone","r":["LZ"]},{"t":"E-1 to E-9","s":"Enlisted pay grades, from the newest recruit (E-1) to the senior enlisted (E-9)","d":"Pay grades are shared across services even though rank titles differ. E-1 to E-3 are junior enlisted, E-4 to E-6 are junior NCOs or petty officers, and E-7 to E-9 are senior NCOs or chief petty officers. Using the pay grade (\"an E-5\") avoids confusion between service rank titles.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Enlisted pay grades","E-1","E-4","E-5","E-7","E-9"],"r":["NCO","SNCO","Enlisted"]},{"t":"E-7 Wedgetail","s":"Boeing 737-based AEW&C aircraft with the Northrop Grumman MESA radar","d":"The E-7 Wedgetail carries an L-band MESA electronically scanned radar in a dorsal fixed structure, giving 360 degree coverage without a rotodome. It serves with Australia, Turkey, South Korea and the UK. The US Air Force selected it to replace the E-3, and the program's future has been contested in recent US budget cycles, so check current status before relying on it.","c":"Aviation","k":["E-7A","Wedgetail","Peace Eagle","AEW&C"],"w":"Boeing E-7 Wedgetail","r":["MESA","AWACS","AEW&C"]},{"t":"EA-18G Growler","s":"US Navy carrier-based electronic attack aircraft based on the Super Hornet","d":"The Boeing EA-18G is the US Navy's airborne electronic attack aircraft, a two-seat F/A-18F derivative carrying jamming pods (ALQ-99 and the new NGJ), the ALQ-218 receiver, and HARM or AARGM missiles. It performs stand-off, escort and stand-in jamming and SEAD for joint forces. The Royal Australian Air Force also operates it.","c":"EW","k":["Growler","EA-18"],"w":"Boeing EA-18G Growler","r":["NGJ-MB","AN/ALQ-99","SEAD","AN/ALQ-218"]},{"t":"EA-6B Prowler","s":"Retired US Navy and Marine electronic attack aircraft","d":"The Grumman EA-6B Prowler was the US Navy and Marine Corps carrier-capable electronic attack aircraft from 1971 until the Marine Corps retired the last ones in 2019. It carried ALQ-99 pods and HARM and was replaced by the EA-18G.","c":"EW","k":["Prowler"],"w":"Grumman EA-6B Prowler","r":["EA-18G Growler","AN/ALQ-99"]},{"t":"EABO","x":"Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations","s":"Marine concept of small mobile units at austere sites inside enemy weapon range","d":"Expeditionary advanced base operations use small, dispersed Marine units to seize or use austere, temporary sites in contested maritime areas to support sea denial, sensing and fires. Marine Littoral Regiments are built around it. It drives requirements for small, mobile sensors and missiles with low signatures.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["MLR","Force Design 2030","DMO","A2/AD","NMESIS","Stand-in"],"k":["expeditionary advanced base operations","MLR","Force Design"]},{"t":"eApp","x":"Electronic Application","s":"DCSA's online system for completing the SF-86, replacing e-QIP","d":"eApp, part of the NBIS system, replaced e-QIP for submitting background investigation forms, with validation features that reduce rejected submissions. Applicants are invited by their facility security officer or government sponsor.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["NBIS","National Background Investigation Services"],"r":["SF-86","DCSA"]},{"t":"EAR","x":"Export Administration Regulations","s":"Commerce Department rules controlling dual-use and less sensitive military items","d":"The EAR, 15 CFR 730 to 774, administered by BIS, controls commercial, dual-use and some military items listed on the Commerce Control List, plus everything else subject to the EAR as EAR99. Licensing depends on the item's ECCN, destination, end user and end use. Since export control reform beginning in 2013, many less sensitive military parts moved from ITAR to the EAR's 600 series.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Export Administration Regulations","15 CFR 730"],"w":"Export Administration Regulations","r":["CCL","ECCN","BIS","600 series","EAR99","ITAR"]},{"t":"EAR99","s":"Designation for items subject to the EAR but not listed on the CCL","d":"EAR99 items can usually be exported without a license, except to embargoed destinations, prohibited end users such as Entity List parties, or prohibited end uses. Most commercial goods are EAR99.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["ECCN","EAR","Entity List"]},{"t":"E band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 2 to 3 GHz","d":"NATO EW band E covers 2 to 3 GHz, the lower part of IEEE S band, home to many surveillance and naval radars. (The term E-band is also used commercially for 71 to 76 and 81 to 86 GHz point-to-point links, which is unrelated.)","c":"RF","r":["NATO EW bands","S band"]},{"t":"Eb/N0","s":"Energy per bit divided by noise spectral density","d":"The ratio of energy per bit to noise power spectral density, a normalized SNR that lets modulation and coding schemes be compared independent of data rate and bandwidth. Bit error rate curves are plotted against Eb/N0; for example uncoded BPSK needs about 9.6 dB for a 10^-5 BER.","c":"Comms","k":["Eb/No","energy per bit to noise"],"w":"Eb/N0","r":["SNR","Bit error rate","Processing gain"]},{"t":"EBO","x":"Effects-Based Operations","s":"Planning focused on producing effects on an adversary system, beyond destroying targets","d":"Effects-based operations plan actions by the effects they produce on an adversary's systems and behavior, using systems analysis of the enemy. US Joint Forces Command dropped the term in 2008 after criticism that it promised too much predictability, but effects language (lethal and non-lethal effects, effects cells) remains common. Vendors often still describe their products in effects terms.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Effects-based operations","r":["Targeting cycle","Non-kinetic"]},{"t":"EC-130H Compass Call","s":"C-130-based communications jamming aircraft being replaced by the EC-37B","d":"The US Air Force's long-serving Compass Call electronic attack aircraft based on the C-130H, used since the 1980s to jam enemy communications and other systems. Its mission equipment is being transferred to the EC-37B and the EC-130H fleet is retiring.","c":"EW","k":["EC-130H"],"w":"Lockheed EC-130H Compass Call","r":["EC-37B Compass Call"]},{"t":"EC-37B Compass Call","s":"US Air Force communications jamming aircraft on a Gulfstream G550","d":"The EC-37B is the US Air Force's new Compass Call airborne electronic attack aircraft, rehosting the mission systems from the EC-130H onto a Gulfstream G550 with L3Harris as integrator. Compass Call disrupts adversary command and control communications, radar and navigation. The first aircraft was delivered in 2023 as the EC-130H fleet retires.","c":"EW","k":["EC-37B","Compass Call","EC-X"],"r":["EC-130H Compass Call","Stand-off jamming"]},{"t":"ECCM","x":"Electronic Counter-Countermeasures","s":"Radar features that resist jamming and deception; now usually called electronic protection","d":"ECCM covers techniques that keep a radar working against electronic attack: frequency agility, sidelobe blanking and cancellation, adaptive nulling, burn-through dwells, home-on-jam and waveform diversity. Current US doctrine calls this electronic protection (EP). Its effectiveness is a major differentiator in modern radar procurements.","c":"Radar","k":["electronic counter-countermeasures","EPM","electronic protection","EP","anti-jam"],"w":"Electronic counter-countermeasure","r":["Electromagnetic protection","ECM","Sidelobe blanking","Sidelobe cancellation","Frequency agility","Burn-through range"]},{"t":"ECCN","x":"Export Control Classification Number","s":"Five-character code identifying an item's entry on the Commerce Control List","d":"An ECCN such as 5A002 or 3A611 encodes the CCL category, product group and control regime. Classifying products correctly is the exporter's responsibility, though BIS will issue formal classifications on request. Items not on the CCL but subject to the EAR are EAR99.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Export Control Classification Number","CCATS"],"w":"Export Administration Regulations","r":["CCL","600 series","9x515","EAR99"]},{"t":"Echelon","s":"A level of command, such as battalion, brigade or division","d":"Echelon refers to a level in the military hierarchy. \"Echelons above brigade\" (EAB) means division, corps and higher. People speak of capabilities being pushed down to lower echelons, which affects product size, cost and training needs.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["EAB","Echelons above brigade"],"r":["Battalion","Brigade","Division"]},{"t":"ECM","x":"Electronic Countermeasures","s":"Legacy term for jamming and deception, now electromagnetic attack","d":"The Cold War era term for actions that prevent or reduce an enemy's effective use of the spectrum, chiefly jamming and deception. It was replaced in US doctrine by electronic attack in the 1990s and is still common in program names, equipment nomenclature (for example ECM pods) and NATO and industry usage.","c":"EW","k":["electronic countermeasures"],"w":"Electronic countermeasure","r":["Electromagnetic attack","ECCM","ESM"]},{"t":"Economy of force","s":"Using minimal combat power on secondary efforts to mass on the main one","d":"Economy of force allocates the minimum essential force to secondary efforts so the main effort can be weighted. It is one of the principles of war. An \"economy of force mission\" is a secondary mission done with deliberately limited resources.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Principles of war","Main effort"]},{"t":"ECP","x":"Engineering Change Proposal","s":"Formal proposal to change a baselined design, with cost and schedule impact","d":"An ECP documents a proposed change to a configuration item under government control, its rationale and its impact. Class I ECPs affect form, fit, function, cost or schedule and need government approval; Class II changes are minor. Value engineering change proposals can share savings with the contractor.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Engineering Change Proposal","Class I ECP","Class II","VECP","ECO"],"r":["Configuration management","Baseline"]},{"t":"EDA","x":"European Defence Agency","s":"European Defence Agency, the EU agency for defense capability cooperation","d":"The European Defence Agency: the EU agency, based in Brussels, that supports member states in developing defense capabilities and cooperation, runs the Capability Development Plan and the annual review of defense (CARD), and acts as secretariat for PESCO with the EU External Action Service. Its defense data is a standard source on European spending.","c":"Organizations","w":"European Defence Agency","r":["PESCO","European Defence Fund"]},{"t":"Edge processing","s":"Running detection, tracking or AI on or near the sensor instead of in the cloud","d":"Edge processing moves compute onto the platform or sensor so only detections, tracks or compressed products cross limited and contested data links. It enables ATR on small drones, onboard SAR image formation and onboard sensor fusion. SWaP, ruggedization, thermal limits and software update paths are the main engineering constraints.","c":"Sensors","k":["edge computing","tactical edge","onboard processing"],"r":["ATR","Sensor fusion"]},{"t":"EDIP","x":"European Defence Industry Programme","s":"European Defence Industry Programme for joint procurement and industrial ramp-up","d":"European Defence Industry Programme: an EU programme, proposed in March 2024 with an initial budget of 1.5 billion euros, to boost European defense industrial readiness by supporting joint procurement, production capacity and a Ukraine support instrument. It follows on from EDIRPA and the ammunition production act ASAP. Eligibility rules on the share of non-EU components were heavily negotiated.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["EDIRPA","ReArm Europe","European Defence Fund"]},{"t":"EDIRPA","x":"European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act","s":"EU instrument that subsidized joint defense procurement among member states","d":"European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act: a 2023 EU instrument with 300 million euros to incentivize member states to buy defense products together, aimed at replenishing stocks after aid to Ukraine. It funded joint purchases of ammunition, air defense and armored vehicles, and was a pilot for the larger EDIP.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["EDIP","European Defence Fund"]},{"t":"EEFI","x":"Essential Elements of Friendly Information","s":"Friendly information that must be protected from the adversary","d":"Essential Elements of Friendly Information: key questions an adversary is likely to ask about friendly intentions, capabilities and activities, which therefore need protection. EEFI feed the OPSEC program and influence what can be posted, emitted or disclosed. Operational software that logs or transmits location data may be governed by EEFI-driven rules.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["OPSEC","CCIR"]},{"t":"EEI","x":"Essential Elements of Information","s":"Specific piece of information needed to answer a PIR","d":"The most critical information requirements regarding the adversary and the environment needed by the commander to reach a decision. In practice EEIs are the indicators and specific questions that break a PIR into something a collector can observe. NATO and older US usage also refer to EEIs in collection tasking messages.","c":"Intelligence","r":["PIR","I&W"]},{"t":"EFP","x":"Explosively Formed Penetrator","s":"Charge that forges a metal plate into a slug able to pierce armor at range","d":"An EFP uses a shallow dish of metal that the explosion reforms into a dense, fast slug. It is less penetrating than a shaped charge jet but works at much greater standoff. It was used in deadly roadside bombs in Iraq and is used in top-attack submunitions.","c":"Weapons","k":["explosively formed projectile","self-forging fragment"],"w":"Explosively formed penetrator","r":["HEAT","IED","Top attack"],"h":"EFP – Explosively Formed Penetrator"},{"t":"eFP","x":"Enhanced Forward Presence","s":"Enhanced Forward Presence: NATO multinational battlegroups on the eastern flank","d":"Enhanced Forward Presence: NATO's deployment of multinational battlegroups to the eastern flank, begun in 2017 in Estonia (UK-led), Latvia (Canada-led), Lithuania (Germany-led) and Poland (US-led), and extended in 2022 to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Since 2024 NATO has referred to these as Forward Land Forces. Several are growing toward brigade size, and Germany is stationing a permanent brigade, Panzerbrigade 45, in Lithuania.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["Forward Land Forces","FLF","battlegroups"],"w":"NATO Enhanced Forward Presence","r":["NATO Force Model","Forward presence"],"h":"eFP – Enhanced Forward Presence"},{"t":"EHF","x":"Extremely High Frequency","s":"30 to 300 GHz, millimeter waves used for protected SATCOM and seekers","d":"The ITU band from 30 to 300 GHz, the millimeter-wave region. Military protected satellite communications such as AEHF use EHF uplinks for jam resistance and narrow beams, and millimeter-wave seekers and imaging radars operate here. Atmospheric absorption is high, with peaks near 60 and 183 GHz.","c":"RF","k":["extremely high frequency","millimeter band","Q-band","V-band"],"w":"Extremely high frequency","r":["mmWave","SHF","Ka band","AEHF","Milstar","Protected SATCOM"]},{"t":"EIRP","x":"Effective Isotropic Radiated Power","s":"Transmit power times antenna gain, referenced to an isotropic antenna","d":"The power an isotropic antenna would need to radiate to produce the same peak power density as the actual transmitter and antenna in its direction of maximum gain: transmitter power minus losses plus antenna gain in dBi. EIRP is the key measure of jammer and radar strength and is what regulators usually limit. Phased arrays achieve high EIRP by combining many elements' power and gain.","c":"RF","k":["effective isotropic radiated power","equivalent isotropically radiated power"],"w":"Effective radiated power","r":["ERP","dBi","Link budget","G/T","Link margin"]},{"t":"EKMS","x":"Electronic Key Management System","s":"Legacy NSA-led system for generating and distributing COMSEC key","d":"The Electronic Key Management System is the NSA-led system that generates, distributes and accounts for electronic COMSEC key and materials, operated through service tiers and local COMSEC accounts. It replaced paper key distribution in the 1990s. It is being replaced by the Key Management Infrastructure.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","w":"Electronic Key Management System","r":["KMI","COMSEC account"]},{"t":"Electric propulsion","s":"Thrusters that accelerate propellant electrically, efficient but low thrust","d":"Electric propulsion uses electrical power to ionize and accelerate propellant, usually xenon or krypton, giving specific impulses of 1,000 s or more at thrust of millinewtons. Hall-effect and gridded ion thrusters are the common types. It allows all-electric GEO satellites and Starlink-style constellations to raise and maintain orbits with little propellant, at the cost of slow maneuvers.","c":"Space","k":["Hall thruster","ion thruster","EP"],"w":"Spacecraft electric propulsion","r":["Specific impulse","Delta-v","Station-keeping"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic attack","x":"EA","s":"Use of EM energy, directed energy or anti-radiation weapons to attack forces or systems","d":"The division of EW that uses electromagnetic energy, directed energy or anti-radiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities or equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing or destroying combat capability. It covers jamming, electromagnetic deception, directed energy and anti-radiation missiles such as HARM. Older usage calls it electronic attack and, before that, electronic countermeasures (ECM).","c":"EW","k":["electronic attack","EA","ECM"],"r":["Jamming","Electromagnetic deception","Directed energy","AGM-88 HARM"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic battle management","x":"EMBM","s":"Dynamic monitoring, assessing, planning and directing of operations in the EMS","d":"The dynamic monitoring, assessing, planning and directing of joint operations in the electromagnetic spectrum in support of the commander's scheme of maneuver. EMBM software fuses sensor reports, spectrum plans and EW tasking into a common picture and is a major DoD software investment area, for example the Joint EMBM program. Products that feed spectrum data should expect to integrate with these tools.","c":"EW","k":["EMBM","EMBM-J"],"r":["EMSO","EWPMT","Spectrum situational awareness"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic deception","s":"Deliberate EM radiation to mislead an enemy: manipulative, simulative or imitative","d":"The deliberate radiation, reradiation, alteration, suppression, absorption or reflection of electromagnetic energy to convey misleading information. Doctrine names three types: manipulative (altering friendly emissions), simulative (simulating friendly forces that are not there) and imitative (introducing signals into enemy systems that imitate enemy emissions).","c":"EW","k":["electronic deception","manipulative deception","simulative deception","imitative deception"],"r":["Deception jamming","Meaconing","Electromagnetic intrusion"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic environmental effects","x":"E3","s":"Impact of the EM environment on equipment, systems and platforms","d":"The impact of the electromagnetic environment on the operational capability of military forces, equipment, systems and platforms, covering EMC, EMI, EMV, EMP, ESD, lightning, HERO, HERP, HERF and precipitation static. E3 requirements are imposed at system level by MIL-STD-464 and at equipment level by MIL-STD-461.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["E3"],"r":["EMC","EMI","MIL-STD-461","MIL-STD-464","HERO"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic hardening","s":"Protecting equipment from EM effects by shielding, filtering and design","d":"Action taken to protect personnel, facilities and equipment by blanking, filtering, attenuating, grounding, bonding and shielding against undesirable effects of electromagnetic energy. Hardening is how systems meet EMP, HPM, lightning and E3 requirements and is a form of electromagnetic protection.","c":"EW","k":["EM hardening","EMP hardening"],"r":["Electromagnetic protection","HEMP","High-power microwave"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic intrusion","s":"Inserting energy into enemy channels to mislead or confuse operators","d":"The intentional insertion of electromagnetic energy into transmission paths to deceive operators or cause confusion, for example injecting false messages onto an enemy radio net. It sits between EW and cyber, and cyber-enabled RF effects that deliver data over an adversary's own links are a current area of interest.","c":"EW","k":["electronic intrusion"],"r":["Electromagnetic deception","Meaconing"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic masking","s":"Controlling friendly emissions to hide them from enemy intercept","d":"The controlled radiation of electromagnetic energy on friendly frequencies in a way that protects friendly communications and electronic systems from enemy ES or SIGINT without significantly degrading the operation of friendly systems. It is listed in doctrine as an EP technique.","c":"EW","k":["electronic masking"],"r":["Electromagnetic protection","EMCON"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic operational environment","x":"EMOE","s":"All the emitters and conditions in the EMS where a force operates","d":"The background electromagnetic environment plus the friendly, neutral and adversary emitters in the area where a force operates. Planners characterize the EMOE before an operation to predict interference and EW threats, and test ranges try to reproduce it when evaluating systems.","c":"EW","k":["EMOE","electromagnetic environment","EME"],"r":["EMSO","Electromagnetic environmental effects"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic protection","x":"EP","s":"Actions that protect friendly use of the spectrum from enemy or friendly EW effects","d":"The division of EW covering actions taken to protect personnel, facilities and equipment from any effects of friendly, neutral or enemy use of the spectrum that degrade friendly combat capability. In practice it includes frequency agility, spread spectrum, sidelobe cancellation, emission control, hardening and good spectrum management. For product teams EP is a design property: anti-jam waveforms, adaptive nulling antennas and receivers that survive strong interferers. It replaced the older term ECCM.","c":"EW","k":["electronic protection","EP","ECCM"],"r":["ECCM","Frequency hopping","Sidelobe cancellation","EMCON"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic pulse","x":"EMP","s":"Intense burst of EM energy that can damage electronics over wide areas","d":"A short burst of intense electromagnetic energy, from a nuclear detonation (especially at high altitude), a non-nuclear device or natural sources such as lightning. EMP induces damaging currents in electronics and long conductors. Requirements for EMP protection appear in many DoD systems through MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-464 and MIL-STD-188-125.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["EMP","NNEMP","non-nuclear EMP"],"w":"Electromagnetic pulse","r":["HEMP","MIL-STD-464","High-power microwave"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic reconnaissance","s":"Detecting, locating and identifying foreign EM radiation, including radar","d":"The detection, location, identification and evaluation of foreign electromagnetic radiations. The term encompasses both ES and SIGINT collection activities and appears in doctrine as part of EMSO.","c":"EW","k":["electronic reconnaissance"],"r":["Electromagnetic warfare support","SIGINT"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic spectrum","x":"EMS","s":"The full range of electromagnetic frequencies, from below 1 Hz through gamma rays","d":"The range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation from zero to infinity, divided into named bands. Military usage treats the EMS as a contested operating domain shared with civil users, so access is granted by allocation and assignment rather than assumed. Most military RF systems operate between a few kHz and about 100 GHz, with electro-optical and infrared systems above.","c":"EW","k":["EMS","spectrum"],"w":"Electromagnetic spectrum","r":["EMSO","Spectrum management","Frequency allocation"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic warfare","x":"EW","s":"Military action using electromagnetic energy to control the spectrum or attack an enemy","d":"Military action involving the use of electromagnetic and directed energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum or to attack the enemy. US joint doctrine (JP 3-85, 2020) renamed electronic warfare to electromagnetic warfare while keeping the EW abbreviation and its three divisions: electromagnetic attack (EA), electromagnetic protection (EP) and electromagnetic support (ES). Products that emit, receive or depend on RF will be judged against all three, as possible targets, as tools and as sources of interference.","c":"EW","k":["electronic warfare","EW"],"w":"Electronic warfare","r":["Electromagnetic attack","Electromagnetic protection","Electromagnetic warfare support","EMSO"]},{"t":"Electromagnetic warfare support","x":"ES","s":"Searching for, intercepting and locating emitters for immediate threat recognition","d":"The division of EW that searches for, intercepts, identifies and locates sources of radiated electromagnetic energy for immediate threat recognition, targeting, planning and the conduct of operations. ES is tasked by an operational commander, which distinguishes it from SIGINT even when the same receiver does both. Radar warning receivers and ESM suites are ES systems. Older terms are electronic warfare support and ESM.","c":"EW","k":["electronic warfare support","ES","ESM"],"r":["ESM","Radar warning receiver","SIGINT","Geolocation"]},{"t":"Electronic order of battle","x":"EOB","s":"Inventory of an adversary's emitters, their locations and associated units","d":"A listing of all non-communications emitters (and often communications nodes) in an area, with their identification, location, mode and associated military units, maintained by intelligence and updated from ELINT and ES reports. Planners use the EOB to route aircraft, plan SEAD and load mission data. It is part of the broader order of battle.","c":"SIGINT","k":["EOB","electromagnetic order of battle"],"r":["ELNOT","ELINT","SEAD"]},{"t":"Electronic warfare officer","x":"EWO","s":"Officer specializing in EW, aboard aircraft or on staffs","d":"An officer trained in electronic warfare who operates EW systems on aircraft such as the EA-18G and RC-135, or plans and coordinates EW on joint and service staffs. In the US Army, EW officers lead CEMA sections; US Navy Growler EWOs are naval flight officers.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["EWO","electromagnetic warfare officer"],"r":["CEMA","EA-18G Growler"]},{"t":"Element-level DBF","s":"Digital beamforming with a digital receiver behind every array element","d":"Element-level digital beamforming digitizes every element, giving maximum flexibility for multiple beams, adaptive patterns, MIMO operation and simultaneous radar, EW and comms functions. It is the direction of next-generation arrays but demands high-throughput interconnects and careful power and thermal design. DARPA's ACT program and several industry efforts have pushed common element-level digital array building blocks.","c":"Radar","k":["elemental DBF","all-digital array","fully digital array"],"r":["Digital beamforming","Direct RF sampling"]},{"t":"ELF","x":"Extremely Low Frequency","s":"ITU band 3 to 30 Hz (other conventions vary), used to reach submerged submarines","d":"The ITU designates ELF as 3 to 30 Hz, though other conventions, including the former US Navy submarine system at 76 Hz, use the term more broadly. ELF penetrates seawater to useful depths, allowing one-way, very low data rate messages to submerged submarines from enormous antennas.","c":"RF","k":["extremely low frequency"],"w":"Extremely low frequency","r":["VLF"]},{"t":"ELINT","x":"Electronic Intelligence","s":"Intelligence from foreign non-communications emissions, chiefly radar","d":"Technical and geolocation intelligence derived from foreign non-communications electromagnetic radiation, other than nuclear detonations or radioactive sources, most often radars. Operational ELINT locates emitters to build the electronic order of battle, while technical ELINT characterizes their parameters in detail to support EW design and reprogramming.","c":"SIGINT","k":["electronic intelligence"],"r":["Technical ELINT","Operational ELINT","Electronic order of battle","ELNOT"]},{"t":"ELNOT","x":"ELINT Notation","s":"Five-character code assigned to a specific radar or non-communications emitter type","d":"A five-character alphanumeric designator used in the US and allied ELINT community to identify a specific type of non-communications emitter, such as a particular radar. ELNOTs index parametric data and appear in threat libraries, reports and mission data. Emitters with distinct modes may carry separate ELNOTs.","c":"SIGINT","k":["ELINT notation"],"r":["Parametric data","Electronic order of battle","ELINT"]},{"t":"eLoran","x":"enhanced Long Range Navigation","s":"High-power low-frequency terrestrial navigation and timing system","d":"eLoran is a modernized version of Loran-C, broadcasting high-power 100 kHz pulses from ground transmitters, with timing accuracy of tens of nanoseconds and positioning of tens of meters. Its strong low-frequency signals are very hard to jam over wide areas, making it a complement to GNSS. The US shut down Loran-C in 2010 and has debated reviving eLoran, while countries such as the UK, South Korea and others have pursued it.","c":"PNT","k":["Loran-C","LORAN"],"w":"Loran-C","r":["Alt-PNT","PTTI"]},{"t":"eMASS","x":"Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service","s":"DoD web system for managing RMF packages and authorizations","d":"eMASS is the DoD enterprise tool, managed by DISA, used to document RMF security controls, assessment results, POA&Ms and authorization decisions. Program security staff build and submit ATO packages in it. Vendors are often asked to provide artifacts formatted for eMASS import.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["RMF","ATO","POA&M"]},{"t":"Embrace the suck","s":"Accept unpleasant conditions and carry on","d":"Embrace the suck means acknowledging that a situation is miserable and pushing through anyway. It expresses the stoicism expected in the field. Users may use it ironically about bad equipment or processes.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Friction"]},{"t":"EMC","x":"Electromagnetic Compatibility","s":"Ability of equipment to work in its EM environment without causing or suffering EMI","d":"The ability of systems and equipment to function in their intended electromagnetic environment without suffering unacceptable degradation or causing it in others. EMC is achieved through design (grounding, shielding, filtering, layout) and verified by testing. Commercial products adapted for military use often need EMC redesign to meet MIL-STD-461.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["electromagnetic compatibility"],"w":"Electromagnetic compatibility","r":["EMI","MIL-STD-461","E3"]},{"t":"EMCON","x":"Emission Control","s":"Selective control of emitted energy to reduce detection and interference","d":"The selective and controlled use of electromagnetic, acoustic or other emitters to optimize command and control while minimizing detection by enemy sensors and mutual interference. EMCON conditions range from unrestricted to full silence and are set by the commander. Products should support EMCON states, including reliably suppressing all transmitters on command.","c":"EW","k":["emission control","EMCON condition","radio silence"],"r":["LPI","Signature management","Wartime reserve mode"]},{"t":"EMD","x":"Engineering and Manufacturing Development","s":"MCA phase that completes the detailed design and builds production-representative units","d":"The phase after Milestone B in which the full system is designed, integrated, built in production-representative form and tested. Critical Design Review, developmental test and early operational assessments happen here. It is typically the most expensive development phase and where most design changes should be locked down.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Engineering and Manufacturing Development","SDD"],"r":["Milestone B","CDR","DT&E","Milestone C"]},{"t":"EMI","x":"Electromagnetic Interference","s":"EM disturbance that degrades the performance of equipment","d":"Any electromagnetic disturbance, conducted or radiated, that interrupts, obstructs or degrades the performance of electronics. Military equipment must limit its own emissions and tolerate others' to the limits in MIL-STD-461. EMI failures are a common cause of late schedule slips in defense hardware programs.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Electromagnetic Interference","EMC","electromagnetic compatibility","electromagnetic interference"],"w":"Electromagnetic interference","r":["MIL-STD-461","MIL-STD-464","EMC","Interference"]},{"t":"Emitter identification","s":"Determining what type of emitter, and so platform, produced a signal","d":"The process of determining the type of emitter, and from it the likely platform and threat, by comparing measured parameters such as frequency, PRI, pulse width, scan and MOP with a threat library. It is what drives the symbol and warning an RWR or ES display shows. Ambiguity rises when many emitters share parameters or operate in reserve modes.","c":"EW","k":["emitter ID","EID","emitter classification"],"r":["Threat library","Specific emitter identification","ELNOT"]},{"t":"EMP","x":"Electromagnetic Pulse","s":"Burst of electromagnetic energy that can damage electronics","d":"An EMP is an intense pulse that can induce damaging currents in electronics and cables. Sources include nuclear detonations, HPM weapons and lightning. Military systems needing EMP protection are tested to standards such as MIL-STD-188-125 and MIL-STD-461.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["electromagnetic pulse"],"w":"Electromagnetic pulse","r":["HEMP","HPM","NC3"]},{"t":"EMSEC","x":"Emissions Security","s":"Protection against compromising emanations from equipment","d":"Emissions security is the component of COMSEC that prevents unintentional electromagnetic or acoustic emanations from revealing classified information. TEMPEST is the set of standards and testing used to achieve it. EMSEC requirements affect equipment design, installation separation and facility shielding.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["TEMPEST","Red/black separation"]},{"t":"EMSO","x":"Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations","s":"Coordinated military actions to exploit, attack, protect and manage the EM environment","d":"Coordinated military actions to exploit, attack, protect and manage the electromagnetic operational environment. EMSO is the umbrella that joins EW and spectrum management into one warfighting activity under JP 3-85. DoD treats the spectrum as a maneuver space, so EMSO planning now runs alongside fires and cyber planning.","c":"EW","k":["electromagnetic spectrum operations"],"r":["JEMSO","Electromagnetic battle management","Spectrum management","Electromagnetic warfare"]},{"t":"EMS superiority","s":"Freedom of action in the spectrum while denying it to the adversary","d":"The degree of control in the electromagnetic spectrum that permits friendly operations at a given time and place without prohibitive interference while affecting the adversary's ability to do the same. The 2020 DoD Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy set this as a department goal and drove investment in EMBM, spectrum sharing and EW modernization.","c":"EW","k":["electromagnetic spectrum superiority","EMS Superiority Strategy"],"r":["EMSO","Electromagnetic battle management"]},{"t":"EMV","x":"Electromagnetic Vulnerability","s":"Susceptibility of a system to degradation in its EM environment","d":"The characteristics of a system that cause it to suffer definite degradation (incapability to perform its mission) when exposed to a certain level of electromagnetic environmental effects. EMV analysis identifies which threats, including intentional jamming and HPM, a system cannot tolerate.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["electromagnetic vulnerability"],"r":["E3","EMC"]},{"t":"Endoatmospheric","s":"Inside the atmosphere, typically below about 100 km","d":"Endoatmospheric intercepts happen in the terminal phase within the atmosphere, where drag strips away light decoys. PAC-3, SM-6 and David's Sling work here; THAAD spans the upper endo and lower exo regions.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["endo"],"r":["Exoatmospheric","Terminal phase"]},{"t":"End state","s":"The set of conditions that defines success when an operation ends","d":"The end state describes the conditions a commander wants to exist when an operation concludes, such as a border restored or a region stabilized. Military end states nest inside broader national strategic end states. Planners work backward from it when designing lines of effort and phases.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Commander's intent","Line of effort","Operational design"]},{"t":"End user","s":"The person who will actually use a fielded system in operations","d":"In defense acquisition the end user is the soldier, sailor, airman, Marine or Guardian operating the system, as opposed to the program office that buys it or the requirements staff that defines it. Getting real end user feedback is often harder than it sounds and matters a great deal. Senior leaders in the user community may see priorities differently from the people who use the system daily.","c":"Acquisition","k":["User","Operational user"],"r":["Warfighter","Operator"]},{"t":"End user device","s":"Commercial smartphone or tablet used as a tactical computer","d":"An end user device (EUD) is a commercial smartphone or tablet hardened or configured for military use and connected to a tactical radio or network. EUDs run applications such as ATAK. Programs must address device management, data at rest encryption, power and the security of commercial operating systems.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["EUD"],"r":["ATAK","Nett Warrior","CSfC"]},{"t":"Energetic materials","s":"Explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics","d":"Energetic materials store chemical energy released rapidly: high explosives (such as RDX, HMX, TNT), propellants for guns and rockets, and pyrotechnics. The US industrial base for them is small and concentrated, which constrained munition production ramps after 2022. New production lines and alternative chemistries are a major investment area.","c":"Weapons","k":["energetics","explosives","propellants"],"r":["Insensitive munitions","SRM"]},{"t":"Enlisted","s":"Service members below officer grades, from recruits to senior NCOs","d":"Enlisted members make up about 80 percent of the force and do most of the hands-on operating and maintaining of equipment. Junior enlisted are often 18 to 22 years old, which shapes training and interface design. \"Joe\" is common shorthand for a junior soldier.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["E-1 to E-9","NCO","Joe"]},{"t":"ENOB","x":"Effective Number of Bits","s":"Actual resolution of a converter after noise and distortion","d":"The resolution an ADC actually achieves once noise and distortion are included, computed as (SINAD - 1.76) / 6.02. A 14-bit ADC might deliver 10 or 11 ENOB at high frequencies. ENOB is a better guide than nominal bit count to a digital receiver's dynamic range.","c":"RF","k":["effective number of bits","SINAD"],"w":"Effective number of bits","r":["ADC","Dynamic range","SFDR"]},{"t":"Entity List","s":"BIS list of foreign parties subject to extra export license requirements","d":"The Entity List, Supplement 4 to 15 CFR 744, names foreign companies, universities and individuals for whom exports of some or all items subject to the EAR require a license, usually with a presumption of denial. Screening customers and partners against it and other restricted party lists is standard compliance practice.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["BIS Entity List","restricted party screening","denied parties"],"w":"Entity List","r":["BIS","EAR","EAR99"]},{"t":"ENVG-B","x":"Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular","s":"US Army binocular night vision goggle fusing image intensification and thermal","d":"ENVG-B (AN/PSQ-42) combines dual white phosphor image intensifier tubes with a thermal overlay, and can wirelessly display imagery and reticles from the Family of Weapon Sights-Individual and receive data from Nett Warrior. It has been produced by L3Harris and Elbit America for close combat units.","c":"Sensors","k":["AN/PSQ-42","Enhanced Night Vision Goggle"],"r":["Image fusion","Night vision device","IVAS"]},{"t":"Environmental testing","s":"Testing hardware against temperature, shock, vibration, humidity and similar conditions","d":"Environmental testing exposes equipment to the conditions of its life cycle, such as transport, storage, operation and combat, typically per MIL-STD-810 for military systems or DO-160 for airborne equipment. Test tailoring should be based on a life cycle environmental profile. EMI testing is usually treated separately.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["environmental qualification","enviro testing"],"r":["MIL-STD-810","DO-160","Qualification test"]},{"t":"EOB","x":"Electronic Order of Battle","s":"Inventory and location of an adversary's emitters and electronic systems","d":"Electronic order of battle: a listing of all the electronic radiating equipment of a military force, giving location, type, function and other data. Built largely from ELINT, the EOB feeds radar warning receiver libraries, mission planning threat rings and EW reprogramming. Keeping it current is a large data management effort.","c":"Intelligence","r":["OB","ELINT"]},{"t":"EOD","x":"Explosive Ordnance Disposal","s":"Specialists who render safe and dispose of bombs, mines and unexploded ordnance","d":"EOD teams identify, render safe and dispose of explosive hazards including IEDs, unexploded ordnance and chemical munitions. They use robots, X-ray systems and specialised tools. EOD is also a market for UGVs and detection sensors.","c":"Ground","w":"Bomb disposal","r":["Left of boom","IED","UGV","Route clearance"],"k":["explosive ordnance disposal","UXO","bomb squad"]},{"t":"EO/IR","x":"Electro-Optical/Infrared","s":"Imaging sensors working in visible and infrared light, often combined in one turret","d":"EO/IR covers cameras and sensors operating from visible through long-wave infrared, frequently packaged together with laser rangefinders and designators in stabilized gimbals. They give passive detection and high-resolution identification that radar cannot, but are limited by weather, smoke and line of sight. EO/IR payloads are central to ISR aircraft, UAS, targeting pods, vehicle sights and counter-UAS systems.","c":"Sensors","k":["electro-optical infrared"],"r":["FLIR","Gimbal","MWIR","LWIR"]},{"t":"EOQ","x":"Economic Order Quantity","s":"Advance funding to buy parts in bulk across a multiyear contract","d":"In defense contracting, EOQ funding allows a contractor to purchase long-lead or common parts in larger lots across a multiyear procurement, reducing cost. It is distinct from the inventory-management formula of the same name. Recent munitions ramp-ups have used EOQ and advance procurement.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Economic Order Quantity","advance procurement","AP"],"r":["Multiyear procurement","Long lead"]},{"t":"EOTS","x":"Electro-Optical Targeting System","s":"F-35's internal targeting sensor combining FLIR, IRST and laser functions","d":"The F-35's AN/AAQ-40 EOTS, by Lockheed Martin, sits under the nose behind a faceted window and provides MWIR targeting, IRST, laser ranging and designation, and laser spot tracking without an external pod. Advanced EOTS adds improved sensors including SWIR and HDTV for later aircraft. It illustrates integrating targeting pod functions into a stealth airframe.","c":"Sensors","k":["AN/AAQ-40","Advanced EOTS"],"r":["DAS","Targeting pod","IRST"]},{"t":"EP-3E ARIES II","s":"Retired US Navy four-engine SIGINT reconnaissance aircraft","d":"The EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II was the US Navy's land-based SIGINT aircraft, a P-3 Orion derivative, best known for the 2001 Hainan Island incident. The Navy retired the fleet in 2023, shifting its SIGINT mission to the MQ-4C Triton, other manned systems and space and ship-based collection.","c":"SIGINT","k":["EP-3E","ARIES II","EP-3"],"w":"Lockheed EP-3","r":["MQ-4C Triton","SIGINT"]},{"t":"EPAWSS","x":"Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System","s":"BAE digital EW suite, AN/ALQ-250, for the F-15E and F-15EX","d":"The AN/ALQ-250 internal electronic warfare suite built by BAE Systems for the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II, replacing the 1980s-era TEWS. It integrates radar warning, geolocation, self-protection jamming and countermeasures control in an all-digital architecture. It has been in production since the early 2020s.","c":"EW","k":["AN/ALQ-250","ALQ-250"],"r":["Self-protection jamming","F-15EX","Radar warning receiver"]},{"t":"Ephemeris","s":"Table or model giving an object's position and velocity over time","d":"An ephemeris is a time series of predicted (or measured) positions and velocities for a satellite or celestial body. Operators exchange high-accuracy ephemerides for conjunction screening, often in the CCSDS Orbit Ephemeris Message format, and GPS satellites broadcast their own ephemeris so receivers can compute where each satellite is. In GNSS terms the ephemeris is precise and short-lived, the almanac coarse and long-lived.","c":"Space","w":"Ephemeris","r":["TLE","Almanac","Conjunction"]},{"t":"Epirus","s":"US company building solid-state high-power microwave weapons","d":"Epirus is a US defense company whose main product is the Leonidas family of HPM systems for counter-UAS and counter-electronics. It is often cited as an example of venture-funded firms winning Army directed energy prototypes.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["Leonidas","HPM"]},{"t":"EPLRS","x":"Enhanced Position Location Reporting System","s":"Army UHF networking radio for data and position reporting","d":"EPLRS is a UHF, TDMA, frequency-hopping networking radio used by the Army and Marine Corps since the 1980s for data distribution and position reporting, built by Raytheon. It formed the basis of SADL. It is being replaced by newer networking radios and waveforms.","c":"Comms","r":["SADL"]},{"t":"ERCA","x":"Extended Range Cannon Artillery","s":"Army 58-caliber howitzer program to reach 70 km, cancelled in 2024","d":"ERCA aimed to give the M109 Paladin a longer 58-calibre barrel and new rounds to reach about 70 km. The Army cancelled it in 2024 after barrel wear and other problems, and began looking at existing foreign and commercial self-propelled howitzers instead. The episode is often cited in discussions of artillery modernisation risk.","c":"Weapons","k":["XM1299","M1299"],"r":["155mm","Artillery"]},{"t":"ERP","x":"Effective Radiated Power","s":"Transmit power times gain, referenced to a half-wave dipole","d":"Radiated power referenced to a half-wave dipole rather than an isotropic antenna. Because a dipole has 2.15 dBi gain, ERP is 2.15 dB less than EIRP for the same transmitter, a frequent source of errors when comparing specs. Broadcast and land mobile regulations often use ERP, while EW and satellite work uses EIRP.","c":"RF","k":["effective radiated power","ERP vs EIRP"],"w":"Effective radiated power","r":["EIRP","dBd"]},{"t":"Error ellipse","x":"EEP","s":"Ellipse describing geolocation uncertainty at a given confidence","d":"The ellipse, defined by semi-major axis, semi-minor axis and orientation, within which the true emitter location lies at a stated probability, often called the elliptical error probable (EEP) at 50 percent or a 90 or 95 percent ellipse. Ellipse parameters are standard fields in geolocation reports and message formats, and targeting systems check them against weapon requirements.","c":"EW","k":["EEP","elliptical error probable","AOU","area of uncertainty"],"r":["CEP","Geolocation","TDOA"]},{"t":"ESAD","x":"Electronic Safe and Arm Device","s":"Solid-state safe and arm using electronic switching and insensitive initiators","d":"An ESAD replaces mechanical interrupters with electronic logic that charges a firing capacitor only after valid arming environments are detected. It pairs with in-line initiators such as exploding foil initiators that are insensitive to stray energy. ESADs require extensive safety analysis and review by fuze safety boards.","c":"Weapons","r":["S&A","Fuze","MIL-STD-1316"]},{"t":"ESAPI","x":"Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert","s":"Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert: US military rifle armor plate","d":"ESAPI plates are the ceramic composite plates issued in US military body armor, rated against armor-piercing rifle rounds and tested to military specifications. They succeeded the original SAPI and have later variants. Their sizes define standard plate pocket dimensions in carriers.","c":"Ground","k":["SAPI","XSAPI"],"r":["Plate carrier","Body armor protection levels"]},{"t":"ESB","x":"Expeditionary Signal Battalion","s":"Army signal unit providing deployable network connectivity","d":"An Expeditionary Signal Battalion provides communications and network services to units that lack their own, using satellite terminals, line-of-sight radios and network nodes. The Army has modernized these into Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced (ESB-E) units with lighter, commercial-based equipment. They are an example customer for deployable network kits.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["ESB-E"],"r":["ITN","Unified Network"]},{"t":"Escalation","s":"An increase in the intensity or scope of conflict","d":"An increase in the scope, intensity or geographic reach of a conflict, whether deliberate, inadvertent or accidental. Escalation management, ladders and thresholds are central to nuclear strategy and to debates over arming Ukraine, such as whether to allow long-range strikes into Russia. Herman Kahn's 44-rung escalation ladder is the classic framework.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["escalation ladder","horizontal escalation","vertical escalation"],"w":"Conflict escalation","r":["Escalation dominance","Red line"]},{"t":"Escalation dominance","s":"Being able to win at every level of escalation, so the rival backs down","d":"The condition in which one side can escalate a conflict in ways that disadvantage the adversary while the adversary cannot do the same, giving it the upper hand at each rung. US analysts argue Russia's nonstrategic nuclear weapons and China's growing arsenal aim to deny the US escalation dominance in regional conflicts.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Escalation dominance","r":["Escalation","Deterrence"]},{"t":"Escort jamming","s":"Jamming from a platform flying with the strike package","d":"Jamming from a support aircraft that accompanies the strike aircraft into the threat area, providing protection from within the formation. It gives better geometry than stand-off jamming because the jammer is close to the protected aircraft as seen by the radar. The EA-18G often performs escort as well as stand-off missions.","c":"EW","k":["escort jammer"],"r":["Stand-off jamming","Self-protection jamming"]},{"t":"ESM","x":"Electronic Support Measures","s":"Legacy term for passive intercept and emitter location, now ES","d":"Older term for passive intercept, identification and location of emitters, now electromagnetic support (ES) in US doctrine. The term survives widely in naval and allied usage and product names, where an ESM suite is the passive receiver system on a ship, aircraft or vehicle that builds an emitter picture. ESM data feeds threat warning, targeting and the electronic order of battle.","c":"EW","k":["electronic support measures","ESM suite"],"w":"Electronic warfare support measures","r":["Electromagnetic warfare support","ESM receiver","Electronic order of battle"]},{"t":"ESM receiver","s":"Wideband passive receiver that detects, measures and sorts emitter signals","d":"The passive receiver at the heart of an ES or ESM system, designed to detect signals over a wide frequency range, measure their parameters and pass pulse descriptor words or signal reports to a processor for sorting and identification. Architecture choices (superheterodyne, channelized, IFM, compressive or digital) trade probability of intercept, sensitivity, resolution and simultaneous signal handling.","c":"EW","k":["EW receiver","intercept receiver"],"r":["Probability of intercept","Pulse descriptor word","Channelized receiver","Digital receiver"]},{"t":"ESPA","x":"EELV Secondary Payload Adapter","s":"Ring adapter that mounts up to six small satellites below a primary payload","d":"The ESPA ring is a standard adapter, developed by AFRL and made by Moog, that fits between a launch vehicle upper stage and the primary payload and provides ports for several secondary satellites. ESPA-class (roughly 180 to 450 kg) has become a common size class for small military satellites. Variants such as ESPA Grande carry larger payloads, and ESPA rings themselves have been used as free-flying spacecraft buses.","c":"Space","k":["ESPA ring","ESPA-class","ESPA Grande"],"w":"EELV Secondary Payload Adapter","r":["Rideshare","Smallsat","NSSL"]},{"t":"ESS","x":"Environmental Stress Screening","s":"Production screening, usually thermal cycling and vibration, to catch workmanship defects","d":"ESS exposes every production unit to stresses within design limits to catch infant mortality failures from parts and workmanship before delivery. Profiles are commonly based on guidance such as MIL-HDBK-344 or contractor standards.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Environmental Stress Screening","burn-in"],"r":["HASS","Acceptance test"],"h":"ESS – Environmental Stress Screening"},{"t":"ESS","x":"Endpoint Security Solution","s":"DoD enterprise endpoint security suite, successor to HBSS","d":"Endpoint Security Solution is the DoD enterprise endpoint protection suite, based on Trellix (formerly McAfee) products, that replaced the Host Based Security System (HBSS). It provides host intrusion prevention, policy enforcement and reporting on DoD endpoints. Applications may need to be compatible with ESS agents.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["HBSS","Host Based Security System"],"r":["ACAS"],"h":"ESS – Endpoint Security Solution"},{"t":"ESS","x":"Evolved Strategic SATCOM","s":"Successor to AEHF for nuclear command and control communications","d":"Evolved Strategic SATCOM is the Space Force program to replace AEHF's strategic mission with survivable, protected communications for nuclear command, control and communications, including Arctic coverage. Boeing was awarded the space segment development contract in 2025. It is planned to begin fielding in the early 2030s.","c":"Comms","r":["AEHF","NC3","Protected SATCOM"],"h":"ESS – Evolved Strategic SATCOM"},{"t":"ESSM","x":"Evolved SeaSparrow Missile","s":"Medium-range ship self-defense missile, four per Mk 41 cell","d":"ESSM defends ships against anti-ship missiles and aircraft. Block 2 adds an active seeker. It is developed by an international consortium, which makes it common across allied navies.","c":"Naval","k":["RIM-162","ESSM Block 2"],"w":"RIM-162 ESSM","r":["VLS","AAW"]},{"t":"ETA","x":"Estimated Time of Arrival","s":"Estimated time of arrival; ETD is estimated time of departure","d":"ETA and ETD are used much as in civilian life but appear in movement reports and orders with DTG precision. Logistics and movement tracking tools center on them.","c":"Comms","k":["ETD","Estimated time of departure"],"r":["DTG"]},{"t":"ETS","x":"Expiration of Term of Service","s":"Expiration of term of service: the date a service member's enlistment ends","d":"ETS is when a service member's contract ends and they leave or reenlist. Officers more often speak of separation. A DD-214 documents release from active duty.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["DD-214","Separation"],"r":["PCS"]},{"t":"EUCOM","x":"United States European Command","s":"US European Command, the geographic command for Europe and Russia","d":"US European Command covers Europe, Russia, Turkey, the Caucasus and Greenland, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its commander is dual-hatted as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). It coordinates much of US support related to the war in Ukraine.","c":"Organizations","k":["USEUCOM"],"w":"United States European Command","r":["CCMD","SACEUR"]},{"t":"European Defence Fund","s":"EU fund for collaborative defense research and capability development","d":"The EU's fund, with about 8 billion euros for 2021 to 2027, that co-finances collaborative defense research and development projects involving companies and research bodies from several member states. Calls are issued annually through the European Commission's Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS). It is a major source of non-dilutive funding for European defense firms.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["EDF"],"w":"European Defence Fund","r":["EDIP","PESCO","EDIRPA"]},{"t":"EVM","x":"Earned Value Management","s":"Method that tracks cost and schedule performance against the value of work done","d":"EVM compares planned value, earned value and actual cost to compute variances and indices such as CPI and SPI and to forecast final cost. DFARS requires a compliant EVM system on cost or incentive contracts of $20 million or more, and a DCMA-validated system at $100 million or more. Data is reported through Integrated Program Management Data and Analysis Reports.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Earned Value Management","CPI","SPI","BCWS","BCWP","ACWP","IPMDAR"],"w":"Earned value management","r":["EVMS","WBS","IMS"]},{"t":"EVMS","x":"Earned Value Management System","s":"A contractor's management system that meets the EIA-748 earned value guidelines","d":"An EVMS is the set of processes and tools a contractor uses to perform EVM, judged against the 32 guidelines in the EIA-748 standard. DCMA validates and surveils these systems for large contracts. Building one is a significant investment, so small firms often avoid contract types and values that require it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Earned Value Management System","EIA-748","ANSI/EIA-748"],"r":["EVM","DCMA","Contractor business systems"]},{"t":"EWIR database","x":"Electronic Warfare Integrated Reprogramming database","s":"DoD's primary source of emitter parametric data for EW reprogramming","d":"The Electronic Warfare Integrated Reprogramming database is the DoD's authoritative source of intelligence and engineering data on friendly, neutral and adversary emitters, used to build threat libraries and mission data. Access is controlled and most content is classified, so contractors building EW systems typically work with it through government reprogramming labs.","c":"SIGINT","k":["EWIRDB","EWIR"],"r":["Parametric data","Reprogramming","Mission data file"]},{"t":"EWPMT","x":"Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool","s":"US Army software for planning, managing and visualizing EW and spectrum","d":"The US Army's program of record software, developed by Raytheon, that lets EW officers and spectrum managers plan EW missions, visualize the electromagnetic environment, manage EW assets and deconflict with spectrum plans. It is delivered in incremental capability drops and integrates sensor data from TLS and other systems. Its intended successor role is tied to Army EMBM efforts.","c":"EW","k":["EW Planning and Management Tool","Raven Claw"],"r":["Electromagnetic battle management","CEMA","TLS"]},{"t":"ExDF","x":"External Direction Finding","s":"Direction finding on communications emitters without exploiting content","d":"SIGINT or ES activity that locates communications emitters by direction finding without exploiting the content of the transmissions. ExDF lets tactical units find enemy radio positions under different authorities than full COMINT exploitation, and is common on ground and airborne tactical collectors.","c":"SIGINT","k":["external DF"],"r":["Direction finding","COMINT"]},{"t":"Exoatmospheric","s":"Outside the atmosphere, above about 100 km","d":"Exoatmospheric intercepts take place in space during midcourse, used by GBI, SM-3 and Arrow 3. With no air resistance, decoys and debris fly with the warhead, so discrimination is the central challenge. Endoatmospheric intercepts happen inside the atmosphere.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["exo"],"r":["Endoatmospheric","Midcourse","SM-3"]},{"t":"EXORD","x":"Execute Order","s":"An order to begin executing a plan, usually issued at the national or CCMD level","d":"An execute order is issued by or for the Secretary of Defense (directly or via the Chairman) to start a military operation, or by a commander to put a plan into effect. It typically names the authorities, forces and timing. In practice the EXORD is what turns a plan into an operation.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["PLANORD","OPLAN","DEPORD"]},{"t":"Expeditionary","s":"Able to deploy and operate away from home bases with limited support","d":"Expeditionary forces deploy quickly and sustain themselves in austere locations. The Marine Corps calls itself the nation's expeditionary force in readiness. Expeditionary equipment must be light, rugged, low power and easy to move.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["MEU","EABO","ACE"]},{"t":"Expendables","s":"Countermeasures released and used up: chaff, flares, decoys","d":"Countermeasures that are released from the platform and consumed, including chaff, flares, expendable active decoys and towed decoys. Expendable capacity limits how long a platform can survive in a high-threat area, which drives interest in reusable onboard jamming and in DIRCM.","c":"EW","k":["countermeasure expendables"],"r":["Chaff","Flare","Towed decoy","AN/ALE-47"]},{"t":"Export license","s":"Government authorization to export a controlled item, data or service","d":"ITAR licenses are issued by DDTC, such as the DSP-5 for permanent export of unclassified hardware and technical data, while EAR licenses come from BIS. Processing takes weeks to months, so licenses belong on the program schedule. Exemptions under ITAR and license exceptions under the EAR may apply in specific cases.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DSP-5","DSP-73","DSP-61","license exception","ITAR exemption","STA"],"r":["DDTC","BIS","Technical Assistance Agreement","MLA"]},{"t":"Extended deterrence","s":"A nuclear power's commitment to deter attacks on its allies","d":"The commitment by a state, above all the US, to deter attacks on its allies, backed ultimately by its nuclear forces, often called the nuclear umbrella. NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements, US commitments to Japan, South Korea and Australia, and consultative bodies such as the US-ROK Nuclear Consultative Group are expressions of it. Doubts about its credibility drive allied debates about independent nuclear capabilities.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["nuclear umbrella"],"r":["Deterrence","Burden sharing"]},{"t":"F-22 Raptor","s":"Lockheed Martin fifth-generation stealth air superiority fighter","d":"The F-22 is the US Air Force's stealth air superiority fighter, produced in limited numbers and never exported. It is being upgraded with new sensors and weapons to stay relevant until the F-47 arrives.","c":"Aviation","k":["F-22","Raptor"],"w":"Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor","r":["F-47","Fighter generations"]},{"t":"F2T2EA","x":"Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, Assess","s":"Dynamic targeting steps: find, fix, track, target, engage, assess","d":"F2T2EA is the joint dynamic targeting sequence: Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, Assess. It is the most common way to describe the kill chain, especially for time-sensitive targets. Companies often position sensors, data links and AI tools against one or more of these steps, for example claiming to shorten \"find to fix.\"","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Kill chain","Dynamic targeting","F3EAD"]},{"t":"F-35","s":"Lockheed Martin fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter, in A, B and C variants","d":"The F-35 Lightning II is a stealth fighter in three variants: F-35A conventional takeoff, F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing and F-35C carrier. It is operated by the US and many allies, and its sensor fusion and datalinks make it a networked sensor as much as a striker. Its sustainment cost and software upgrades are recurring issues.","c":"Aviation","k":["F-35A","F-35B","F-35C","Lightning II","JSF"],"w":"Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II","r":["TR-3","Block 4","Fighter generations"]},{"t":"F3EAD","x":"Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze, Disseminate","s":"SOF and intelligence-driven targeting: find, fix, finish, exploit, analyze, disseminate","d":"F3EAD stands for Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze, Disseminate and was refined by special operations forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The exploit and analyze steps turn material captured on one raid into leads for the next, creating a fast intelligence loop. Data handling for captured material and network analysis tools grew up around it.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Joint targeting cycle","DOMEX","HVI","F2T2EA","Targeting cycle","HVT"]},{"t":"F-47","s":"Boeing sixth-generation fighter selected for the USAF NGAD program in 2025","d":"In March 2025 the Air Force awarded Boeing the Next Generation Air Dominance crewed fighter contract, designated F-47, to succeed the F-22. It is designed to operate with CCAs and to fly further than current fighters. Details remain classified.","c":"Aviation","k":["NGAD","Next Generation Air Dominance"],"w":"Boeing F-47","r":["CCA","F-22 Raptor","F/A-XX"]},{"t":"FAAD C2","x":"Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control","s":"Army C2 software tying short-range air defense and C-sUAS sensors to shooters","d":"FAAD C2 is the Army's command and control system for short-range air defense and counter-small UAS. It fuses sensor tracks and assigns them to shooters and was designated by the JCO as the interim joint C2 for C-sUAS. New C-UAS sensors and effectors often need to interface with it.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["FAAD C2I"],"r":["M-SHORAD","FS-LIDS","IBCS"]},{"t":"FAB-T","x":"Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals","s":"Air Force protected EHF terminals for nuclear command and control via AEHF","d":"FAB-T provides AEHF-compatible protected terminals for nuclear command and control: command post terminals for fixed and ground sites and force element terminals for bombers and airborne command posts. Built by Raytheon, the program suffered long delays before fielding command post terminals in the 2020s.","c":"Comms","r":["AEHF","NC3","Protected SATCOM"]},{"t":"FACE","x":"Future Airborne Capability Environment","s":"Open Group standard for portable avionics software components","d":"The FACE Technical Standard defines a software architecture with segments and standardized interfaces so avionics software can be reused across platforms and operating systems. Products can be certified conformant, and Army and Navy aviation programs commonly require FACE conformance.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Future Airborne Capability Environment","FACE conformance","FACE UoC"],"w":"Future Airborne Capability Environment","r":["MOSA","SOSA","HOST"]},{"t":"Fair opportunity","s":"Requirement to let all IDIQ holders compete for each order, with listed exceptions","d":"Under FAR 16.505, every awardee on a multiple-award contract must be given a fair opportunity to be considered for each order over the micro-purchase threshold unless an exception such as urgency or logical follow-on applies.","c":"Acquisition","k":["fair opportunity to be considered"],"r":["IDIQ","Task order"]},{"t":"Fait accompli","s":"Seizing something quickly so that reversing it would require war","d":"A rapid action that achieves a goal before an adversary can respond, leaving the defender to choose between accepting the new status quo and escalating to reverse it. Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea is a prime example, and a fait accompli against Taiwan or the Baltic states is a central scenario in US and NATO planning. Forward presence and denial capabilities are meant to make it impossible.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Glossary of French words and expressions in English","r":["Salami slicing","Deterrence by denial"]},{"t":"False alarm rate","s":"Number of false detections per unit time a radar produces","d":"False alarm rate equals Pfa multiplied by the number of resolution cells tested per second. Specs often state false track rate instead, since the tracker filters most single false detections. Counter-UAS radars must balance low false alarm rates against detecting small, slow targets that resemble birds and clutter.","c":"Radar","k":["FAR","false track rate"],"r":["Probability of false alarm","CFAR"]},{"t":"FAR","x":"Federal Acquisition Regulation","s":"The government-wide rulebook for federal procurement, 48 CFR Chapter 1","d":"The FAR governs how executive agencies buy goods and services, from competition rules to contract clauses. An April 2025 executive order launched the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, which rewrote the FAR part by part to strip it back to statutory requirements, issued first as model deviations that agencies adopted through class deviations, with formal rulemaking to follow. During the transition, check which version of a FAR part a solicitation actually uses.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Federal Acquisition Regulation","48 CFR","RFO","Revolutionary FAR Overhaul"],"w":"Federal Acquisition Regulation","r":["DFARS","FAR Part 12","Class deviation"]},{"t":"FAR Part 12","s":"Rules for buying commercial products and services with simpler terms","d":"FAR Part 12 governs acquisition of commercial products and commercial services, using fewer clauses, market-based pricing and exemption from many cost accounting requirements. Getting a commercial determination for your product can greatly reduce compliance burden. DoD statutes give preference to commercial and nondevelopmental items.","c":"Acquisition","k":["commercial item","commercial product","commercial services","CID","commercial item determination","NDI"],"r":["FAR","TINA","SF 1449"]},{"t":"F/A-XX","s":"Navy sixth-generation carrier fighter program to replace the F/A-18E/F","d":"F/A-XX is the Navy's next-generation carrier-based strike fighter, intended to succeed the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G. Boeing and Northrop Grumman have been reported as competitors. Its funding and award timing were debated through 2025.","c":"Aviation","k":["NGAD (Navy)"],"r":["F-47","CSG"]},{"t":"F band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 3 to 4 GHz","d":"NATO EW band F covers 3 to 4 GHz, the upper part of IEEE S band, including many shipborne and ground air search radars and the CBRS and 5G mid-band allocations.","c":"RF","k":["F-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","S band","CBRS"]},{"t":"FBCB2","x":"Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below","s":"Army vehicle-mounted digital battle command and blue force tracking system","d":"FBCB2 was the Army's vehicle-mounted digital battle command system for brigade and below, providing blue force tracking, messaging and maps over terrestrial and satellite links. It was fielded from the early 2000s and was succeeded by JBC-P. Its messaging used VMF.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below","r":["JBC-P","Blue Force Tracking","VMF"]},{"t":"FCA","x":"Functional Configuration Audit","s":"Audit verifying the configuration item meets its functional and performance requirements","d":"The FCA compares test and analysis results against the item's specification to verify performance. It is typically done before the PCA and production decisions.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Functional Configuration Audit","SVR"],"r":["PCA","Configuration management"]},{"t":"FCC","x":"Federal Communications Commission","s":"US regulator for non-federal spectrum, including commercial and private users","d":"The independent US agency that regulates non-federal use of spectrum, including commercial wireless, broadcasting, satellites and equipment authorization (FCC Part 15 and other rules). It shares spectrum management with NTIA, which handles federal users. Commercial products sold for dual use typically need FCC equipment authorization as well as any DoD certification.","c":"Organizations","k":["Federal Communications Commission","FCC Part 15"],"w":"Federal Communications Commission","r":["NTIA","CBRS","Frequency allocation"]},{"t":"FCI","x":"Federal Contract Information","s":"Non-public information provided or generated under a government contract","d":"Federal contract information is information not intended for public release that is provided by or generated for the government under a contract. It is protected by the 15 basic safeguarding requirements of FAR 52.204-21, matching CMMC Level 1. Nearly every defense contractor handles FCI even if not CUI.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Federal Contract Information","52.204-21"],"r":["CMMC","CUI","CMMC 2.0"]},{"t":"FCL","x":"Facility Clearance","s":"Eligibility for a company to access classified information at a given level","d":"An FCL is an administrative determination by DCSA that a company is eligible to access classified information, and it requires government or cleared prime sponsorship for a legitimate need. Key management personnel must hold personnel clearances, and foreign ownership, control or influence must be mitigated. Holding an FCL does not by itself mean the facility can store classified material.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Facility Clearance","Facility Security Clearance","KMP","key management personnel"],"r":["PCL","FOCI","DD254","DCSA"]},{"t":"FDOA","x":"Frequency Difference of Arrival","s":"Locating an emitter from Doppler differences seen by moving receivers","d":"A geolocation method that measures the difference in received frequency of the same signal at two receivers moving relative to the emitter; the Doppler difference constrains location. It is usually combined with TDOA on airborne and satellite platforms to fix emitters with only two collectors. Accurate frequency references and platform velocity data are required.","c":"EW","k":["frequency difference of arrival","differential Doppler"],"w":"FDOA","r":["TDOA","Geolocation"]},{"t":"FEBA","x":"Forward Edge of the Battle Area","s":"Forward edge of the battle area: the front of the main defensive area","d":"The FEBA is the foremost limit of the areas in which ground combat units are deployed, excluding covering or screening forces. It is used mainly in defensive operations. Covering forces operate forward of it.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Front line","r":["FLOT"]},{"t":"Federated Mission Networking","s":"NATO framework for joining national networks into a mission network","d":"Federated Mission Networking is a NATO-led framework for planning and joining national and NATO networks into a federated mission network with agreed services, standards and procedures. It is defined in a series of spirals of specifications. The US MPE aligns with it, so coalition C2 products often need FMN compliance.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["FMN"],"r":["Mission Partner Environment"]},{"t":"FedRAMP","x":"Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program","s":"US government program authorizing cloud services for federal use","d":"FedRAMP standardizes security assessment and authorization of cloud products for federal agencies, at Low, Moderate and High baselines derived from NIST SP 800-53. DoD accepts FedRAMP Moderate as a basis for IL2, with added requirements for higher impact levels. In 2025 the program launched FedRAMP 20x to speed authorizations through automation and continuous validation.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["FedRAMP 20x","FedRAMP Moderate","FedRAMP High"],"w":"FedRAMP","r":["Impact levels","NIST SP 800-53"]},{"t":"Feet wet","s":"Brevity: flying over water; feet dry means over land","d":"FEET WET means the aircraft is over water and FEET DRY means over land. The transition can trigger changes in procedures and ROE. It is common in naval aviation.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Feet dry"],"r":["Brevity code"]},{"t":"Felon","s":"NATO name for the Su-57, Russia's fifth-generation stealth fighter","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-57, Russia's twin-engine fifth-generation fighter, which entered service around 2020 and has been produced only in small numbers. It has been used in Ukraine mostly to launch stand-off missiles from Russian airspace. An export version, the Su-57E, has been marketed abroad.","c":"Aviation","k":["Su-57","PAK FA"],"w":"Sukhoi Su-57","r":["Flanker","J-20"]},{"t":"Fencer","s":"NATO name for the Su-24 swing-wing strike aircraft","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-24, a variable-geometry Soviet strike aircraft introduced in the 1970s. Ukraine has used its Su-24s to launch Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles. Russia has been replacing its fleet with the Su-34.","c":"Aviation","k":["Su-24"],"w":"Sukhoi Su-24","r":["Fullback"]},{"t":"FEZ","x":"Fighter Engagement Zone","s":"Airspace where fighters have primary responsibility for engagements","d":"A FEZ is airspace assigned to fighter aircraft for air defense, where SAMs hold fire unless cleared. Joint Engagement Zones (JEZ) allow both fighters and SAMs, demanding strong combat identification.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["JEZ"],"r":["MEZ","WEZ"]},{"t":"FFG-62","s":"Constellation-class guided missile frigate, based on the FREMM design","d":"The Constellation-class frigate, built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine on the Italian FREMM design, was meant to provide a cheaper multi-mission surface combatant. Design changes drove large delays and weight growth, and on 25 November 2025 the Navy cancelled the four ships not yet started, leaving the first two hulls (FFG-62 Constellation and FFG-63 Congress) under construction and under review. It is a frequently cited example of the risks of changing a mature parent design.","c":"Naval","k":["Constellation","Constellation class","FFG(X)"],"w":"Constellation-class frigate","r":["LCS","DDG-51"]},{"t":"FFIR","x":"Friendly Force Information Requirement","s":"What the commander needs to know about friendly forces","d":"Friendly Force Information Requirements: information the commander and staff need about friendly forces and supporting capabilities, such as a unit falling below a fuel threshold or losing a key system. With PIR, FFIR make up the CCIR. Blue force tracking and readiness dashboards often encode FFIR thresholds.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["CCIR","PIR","Blue force tracking"]},{"t":"FFP","x":"Firm-Fixed-Price","s":"Contract type with a set price regardless of the contractor's actual cost","d":"Under FFP the contractor bears full cost risk and keeps any savings. It is standard for production and commercial items and increasingly used in development, sometimes painfully, as recent fixed-price development losses at major primes showed. FFP also minimizes cost reporting and accounting system requirements.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Firm Fixed Price","fixed price","FP"],"r":["CPFF","FPIF","T&M"]},{"t":"FFRDC","x":"Federally Funded Research and Development Center","s":"Federally funded research and development center, such as MITRE or MIT Lincoln Laboratory","d":"FFRDCs are nonprofit organizations sponsored by the government to provide long-term research, engineering and analysis free from commercial conflicts. DoD-sponsored examples include MITRE, the Aerospace Corporation, RAND's defense centers, IDA, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the Software Engineering Institute. They often act as technical advisers evaluating vendor products.","c":"Organizations","w":"Federally funded research and development centers","r":["UARC","SETA"]},{"t":"Fiber-optic drone","s":"FPV drone controlled through a spooled optical fiber, immune to RF jamming","d":"A fiber-optic drone unspools a thin optical fiber, often 10 to 20 km or more, that carries video and commands. With no radio link, it cannot be jammed or located by RF detection. Russia and Ukraine adopted them widely in 2024 and 2025, which pushed defenders toward kinetic defeat, nets and acoustic or radar sensing.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["fiber-optic FPV","fiber drone"],"r":["FPV drone","RF detection","Kinetic defeat"]},{"t":"FID","x":"Foreign Internal Defense","s":"Helping a partner nation's government protect itself from internal threats","d":"Foreign internal defense covers programs that help a host nation's government counter subversion, lawlessness, insurgency and terrorism. It is a core Army Special Forces mission but also involves conventional forces and other agencies. It often involves training on and transferring equipment, which raises export control questions.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Foreign internal defense","r":["Security cooperation","COIN","UW"]},{"t":"Field army","s":"A formation of two or more corps; in US use, often a theater army headquarters","d":"A field army comprises corps and supporting units and is commanded by a general or lieutenant general. In modern US practice, Army service component commands such as US Army Pacific act as theater armies. Numbered armies like Eighth Army in Korea still exist.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Theater army","Army"],"w":"Field army","r":["Corps","Service component"]},{"t":"Field grade","s":"Officers in grades O-4 to O-6: majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels","d":"Field grade officers are majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels (Navy lieutenant commanders, commanders and captains). They serve as battalion and brigade commanders, executive officers, operations officers and senior staff. They often own requirements and approve pilots at unit level.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["FGO","Mid-grade officer"],"r":["Company grade","General officer"]},{"t":"Fielding","s":"Delivering a system to units with its training, spares and support in place","d":"Fielding is the process of handing over equipment along with the total package of spares, technical manuals, training and support equipment. The Army calls this total package fielding. Fielding schedules are tied to unit readiness cycles and can slip if any element is missing.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["total package fielding","TPF","handoff"],"r":["Materiel release","NET","IOC"]},{"t":"Field-level maintenance","s":"Army term combining operator and unit-level maintenance on or near the equipment","d":"Army doctrine uses two levels, field and sustainment. Field-level maintenance is done by operators, crews and unit maintainers, returning equipment to the user. Sustainment-level maintenance, at depots or sustainment units, repairs components and returns them to the supply system.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["field maintenance","two-level maintenance"],"r":["Sustainment-level maintenance","O-level"]},{"t":"Fighter generations","s":"Informal classes of jet fighters: 4th gen (F-16), 5th gen (F-35), 6th gen (F-47)","d":"Fourth-generation fighters (F-15, F-16, F/A-18) have advanced avionics but no all-aspect stealth; 4.5 generation adds AESA radars and some signature reduction. Fifth generation (F-22, F-35) adds stealth, sensor fusion and networking. Sixth generation designs such as the F-47 emphasise stealth, range, adaptive engines and teaming with CCAs.","c":"Aviation","k":["4th gen","5th gen","6th gen","fourth generation","fifth generation","sixth generation"],"w":"Fifth-generation fighter","r":["F-35","F-22 Raptor","F-47","CCA"]},{"t":"Filter","s":"Component that passes wanted frequencies and rejects others","d":"A circuit that passes signals in a chosen frequency range and attenuates others, described as low-pass, high-pass, band-pass or band-stop (notch). RF filter technologies include lumped LC, cavity, ceramic, SAW, BAW, YIG and printed microstrip, chosen by frequency, selectivity, size and power. Tunable filters protect wideband EW receivers from strong interferers.","c":"RF","k":["band-pass filter","BPF","LPF","notch filter","SAW filter","YIG filter","preselector"],"w":"Electronic filter","r":["Image frequency","Preselector","Co-site interference"]},{"t":"FININT","x":"Financial Intelligence","s":"Intelligence from financial flows: banking, sanctions evasion, illicit finance","d":"Intelligence derived from the analysis of financial transactions and financial networks, used against terrorist financing, proliferation, sanctions evasion and organized crime. The Treasury Office of Intelligence and Analysis is the IC element focused on it, working alongside FinCEN, which holds suspicious activity reporting. Export control and sanctions tooling for defense firms often draws on the same datasets.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Financial intelligence","r":["All-source intelligence","OSINT"]},{"t":"FIPS 140-3","s":"US standard for validating cryptographic modules","d":"FIPS 140-3 is the NIST standard for security requirements of cryptographic modules, validated through the Cryptographic Module Validation Program. Federal agencies, including DoD for unclassified systems, require FIPS-validated cryptography to protect sensitive data and CUI. It superseded FIPS 140-2, whose remaining validations move to historical status in 2026.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["FIPS 140-2","CMVP"],"w":"FIPS 140-3","r":["NIAP","CUI","NIST SP 800-171"]},{"t":"Fire control quality","s":"Track data accurate and timely enough to guide a weapon engagement","d":"Fire control quality data is track information with the accuracy, update rate and latency needed to launch or guide a weapon, as opposed to surveillance quality data suited only for situational awareness. The distinction matters when integrating sensors into kill webs, because many networks can carry surveillance tracks but few can deliver fire control data. CEC and IBCS are examples built to produce fire control quality composite tracks.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["CEC","IBCS","Sensor-to-shooter"]},{"t":"Fire control radar","s":"Radar providing precise tracks to aim guns or guide missiles","d":"Fire control radars provide high-accuracy, high-rate tracking and often missile uplink or illumination for weapon engagements. They tend to use higher frequencies (X- or Ku-band) and narrow beams. Multifunction AESAs increasingly combine search and fire control, but dedicated fire control radars remain in many SAM and gun systems.","c":"Radar","k":["FCR","tracking radar","engagement radar"],"w":"Fire-control radar","r":["STT","Illuminator","Multifunction radar"]},{"t":"Fire team","s":"The smallest maneuver unit, about four soldiers or Marines","d":"A fire team is roughly four people led by a team leader, usually a corporal or sergeant. Two fire teams make an Army squad; three make a Marine rifle squad. It is the basic unit that small soldier-worn gear is designed around.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Team"],"w":"Fireteam","r":["Squad"]},{"t":"First article test","s":"Testing of an initial production unit to confirm the process yields conforming product","d":"First article testing, under FAR 52.209-3 and 52.209-4, examines early production units before full production to confirm they conform to requirements. First article inspection under AS9102 documents that the manufacturing process yields conforming parts. Government waivers are possible for proven sources.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["FAT","first article inspection","FAI","AS9102"],"r":["Acceptance test","Qualification test","DD250"]},{"t":"First island chain","s":"Island arc from Japan through Taiwan and the Philippines to Borneo","d":"The chain of islands running from the Kuril Islands and Japan through the Ryukyus, Taiwan and the Philippines to Borneo, enclosing China's near seas. Chinese strategists see it as a barrier to break through, and US and allied strategy uses it to deny the PLA access to the wider Pacific, for example with Marine Littoral Regiments and Army long-range fires such as Typhon. The second island chain lies farther east.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["FIC"],"w":"Island chain strategy","r":["Second island chain","A2/AD","Taiwan contingency"]},{"t":"FISINT","x":"Foreign Instrumentation Signals Intelligence","s":"Intelligence from foreign telemetry, beaconry and test instrumentation signals","d":"Intelligence derived from intercepting foreign electromagnetic emissions associated with the testing and operational deployment of aerospace, surface and subsurface systems, such as telemetry, tracking beacons, video data links and command signals. It replaced the older term TELINT and is essential for assessing foreign missile and space programs.","c":"SIGINT","k":["foreign instrumentation signals intelligence"],"w":"Foreign instrumentation signals intelligence","r":["TELINT","SIGINT","RC-135S Cobra Ball"]},{"t":"Five by five","s":"Signal strength 5 and readability 5 on a 1 to 5 scale, the best possible","d":"Five by five reports maximum signal strength and readability. It is older and more informal than \"Lima Charlie\" and is common in speech meaning everything is fine. Radio check standards vary by service.","c":"Comms","k":["5 by 5","5x5"],"r":["Lima Charlie","Comm check"]},{"t":"Five Eyes","s":"US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand intelligence alliance","d":"The intelligence-sharing alliance of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, rooted in the 1946 UKUSA Agreement on signals intelligence and now extending to defense, security and law enforcement cooperation. Material releasable to all five is marked REL TO USA, AUS, CAN, GBR, NZL or REL FVEY. Products that handle classified data in coalition settings must enforce these release caveats.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["FVEY","UKUSA","AUSCANNZUKUS"],"w":"Five Eyes","r":["AUKUS","NATO classification levels"]},{"t":"Five-paragraph order","s":"The standard order format: situation, mission, execution, sustainment, C2","d":"The five-paragraph format organizes an operation order as 1 Situation, 2 Mission, 3 Execution, 4 Sustainment (Administration and Logistics in the Marine Corps), and 5 Command and Signal. It is drilled from basic training onward, so users expect information laid out in this order. Annexes and appendixes hang off the base order for detail.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["5-paragraph order"],"r":["SMEAC","OPORD"]},{"t":"Flanker","s":"NATO name for the Su-27 fighter family, including Su-30, Su-33 and Su-35","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-27 and its derivatives: Flanker-B (Su-27S), Flanker-C and Flanker-H (two-seat Su-30 variants including the Su-30SM), Flanker-D (Su-33 naval) and Flanker-E (Su-35S). China's J-11, J-15 and J-16 are derived from it. It is the core of Russian tactical airpower and a common threat in Western training and simulation.","c":"Aviation","k":["Su-27","Su-30","Su-35","Flanker-E"],"w":"Sukhoi Su-27","r":["Felon","Fulcrum","Fullback"]},{"t":"Flare","s":"Hot pyrophoric or pyrotechnic decoy that seduces infrared-guided missiles","d":"An expendable infrared decoy, pyrotechnic or pyrophoric, that burns hot enough to draw infrared-guided missiles away from the aircraft. Modern imaging seekers reject simple flares, so newer flares use spectral matching and kinematic behavior, and aircraft add DIRCM lasers. Flares are dispensed from the same systems as chaff.","c":"EW","k":["IR flare","decoy flare"],"w":"Flare (countermeasure)","r":["Chaff","DIRCM","Expendables"]},{"t":"Fleet","s":"A large Navy organization; numbered fleets command ships in a region","d":"The Navy's numbered fleets include Second (Atlantic), Third (eastern Pacific), Fourth (Southern), Fifth (Middle East), Sixth (Europe and Africa), Seventh (western Pacific) and Tenth (cyber). Type commanders and the fleet commands (Pacific Fleet, Fleet Forces Command) handle readiness. Numbered fleet commanders often serve as maritime component commanders.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Numbered fleet","Seventh Fleet"],"r":["JFMCC","CSG"]},{"t":"Flight","s":"A Navy ship batch with a distinct design, such as Arleigh Burke Flight III","d":"A subgroup of a ship class built to a significantly revised design, used by the US Navy and allies, for example Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in Flights I, II, IIA and III, the last carrying the AN/SPY-6 radar. The UK uses Batch for the same idea (such as River-class Batch 2). It is the shipbuilding counterpart to blocks in aviation.","c":"Naval","k":["Batch","Element","Two-ship","Four-ship"],"r":["Block","Squadron"]},{"t":"Flight clearance","s":"Navy and Marine Corps authorization, issued by NAVAIR, to fly a specific configuration","d":"A NAVAIR flight clearance authorizes flight of a specific aircraft configuration, including installed or carried equipment, within defined limits. Interim clearances allow test flights and permanent clearances support fleet use. Any payload or modification on Navy aircraft needs one.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["NAVAIR flight clearance","interim flight clearance"],"r":["Airworthiness certification","MIL-HDBK-516"]},{"t":"Flight envelope","s":"Range of speed, altitude and load an aircraft can safely operate in","d":"The flight envelope is the set of speed, altitude, load factor and other limits within which an aircraft or weapon can operate safely. Expanding it is the purpose of flight test. Weapon integration requires showing the store is safe across the envelope where it will be carried and released.","c":"Aviation","k":["envelope","operating envelope"],"r":["G-limit"]},{"t":"FLIR","x":"Forward-Looking Infrared","s":"Thermal imaging sensor, originally forward-facing on aircraft; also a company name","d":"FLIR describes thermal imagers that form pictures from emitted infrared radiation, named for early forward-looking aircraft installations. It is also the name of FLIR Systems, now Teledyne FLIR, a major supplier of thermal cameras and gimbals. In military usage 'the FLIR' usually means a platform's thermal imaging channel.","c":"Sensors","k":["forward looking infrared","thermal imager","Teledyne FLIR"],"w":"Forward-looking infrared","r":["MWIR","LWIR","Thermal imaging"]},{"t":"FLIS","x":"Federal Logistics Information System","s":"DLA's master catalog database of NSNs and item data","d":"FLIS contains NSN data including descriptions, reference part numbers, CAGE codes and management information. Public views of it are available through tools such as WebFLIS and the FLIS public portal.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Federal Logistics Information System","WebFLIS"],"r":["NSN","DLA"]},{"t":"FLOT","x":"Forward Line of Own Troops","s":"Forward line of own troops: the line marking the most forward friendly positions","d":"The FLOT indicates the most forward positions of friendly forces at a given time. It moves constantly in maneuver and must be tracked for fires and air support safety. It differs from the FEBA, which marks main defensive positions.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Front line","r":["FEBA","FSCL"]},{"t":"Flowdown","s":"Contract clauses a prime must pass on to its subcontractors","d":"Flowdowns are clauses the prime is required or chooses to include in subcontracts, such as DFARS 252.204-7012, specialty metals and export compliance. Reading the flowdowns in a purchase order is essential, since they can carry the same obligations as a prime contract.","c":"Acquisition","k":["flowdown clauses"],"r":["Prime","Subcontractor","DFARS 7012"]},{"t":"FLRAA","x":"Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft","s":"Army tiltrotor program to replace UH-60s, won by Bell with the V-280, now MV-75","d":"FLRAA selected Bell's V-280 Valor tiltrotor in 2022 to replace many Army UH-60 Black Hawks, with roughly twice the speed and range. The production aircraft received the designation MV-75 in 2025, and the Army moved to accelerate the program. It is the largest Army aviation program.","c":"Aviation","k":["MV-75","V-280"],"r":["V-280","UH-60"]},{"t":"Fluctuation loss","s":"Extra SNR a radar needs to detect a fluctuating target versus a steady one","d":"Because a fluctuating target's echo sometimes fades, achieving high probability of detection requires additional SNR relative to a constant-RCS target. At Pd of 0.9 the loss for a Swerling I target can be around 8 dB for a single pulse. Frequency agility and diversity decorrelate fluctuations and reduce this loss.","c":"Radar","r":["Swerling models","Frequency agility"]},{"t":"FM","x":"Field Manual","s":"An Army field manual; ADP and ATP are the other main Army doctrine series","d":"Army doctrine is published as ADPs (Army Doctrine Publications, the fundamentals), FMs (field manuals, the principles and tactics), and ATPs (Army Techniques Publications, the techniques). FM 3-0 Operations and FM 5-0 Planning and Orders Production are key references. The Marine Corps equivalents are MCDPs, MCWPs and MCTPs.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["ADP","ATP","MCDP","MCWP","MCTP"],"r":["Doctrine","JP"]},{"t":"FMC","x":"Fully Mission Capable","s":"Equipment status: fully mission capable, partially mission capable, not mission capable","d":"FMC means a system can perform all its missions; PMC means it can do at least one but not all; NMC means it can do none, split into NMCM (awaiting maintenance) and NMCS (awaiting supply). Mission capable rates are key fleet health metrics, especially for aircraft. Predictive maintenance products are usually sold on raising them.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["PMC","NMC","NMCS","NMCM","Mission capable rate"],"r":["Operational availability","Readiness"]},{"t":"FMCW radar","x":"Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave radar","s":"CW radar with a frequency sweep, measuring range from the beat frequency","d":"FMCW radars sweep frequency continuously and mix the echo with the transmitted signal, so range appears as a beat frequency. They achieve fine resolution with very low peak power, which makes them hard to intercept and cheap to build. Uses include radar altimeters, automotive radar, many counter-UAS and perimeter radars, and small drone-mounted sensors.","c":"Radar","k":["FM-CW"],"w":"Continuous-wave radar","r":["CW radar","Radar altimeter","LPI radar"]},{"t":"FMEA","x":"Failure Modes and Effects Analysis","s":"Systematic analysis of how parts can fail and what each failure does to the system","d":"FMEA identifies potential failure modes, their causes and effects, and mitigations, at design or process level. It feeds safety analysis, maintainability and BIT design. Common references include SAE J1739 and AIAG-VDA guidance alongside the military standards.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Failure Modes and Effects Analysis","DFMEA","PFMEA"],"w":"Failure mode and effects analysis","r":["FMECA","FRACAS","MIL-STD-882"]},{"t":"FMECA","x":"Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis","s":"FMEA extended with a ranking of each failure mode's severity and likelihood","d":"FMECA adds criticality analysis to FMEA to prioritize failure modes, classically following the now-canceled MIL-STD-1629A, which is still widely cited. It is a common CDRL on hardware programs and supports maintenance planning and spares decisions.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["MIL-STD-1629","Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis"],"r":["FMEA","FRACAS","RCM"]},{"t":"FMN","x":"Federated Mission Networking","s":"Federated Mission Networking: NATO framework for joining national networks","d":"Federated Mission Networking: NATO's framework for rapidly connecting national and NATO networks into a mission network on day zero of a coalition operation, using agreed specifications that are published in spirals. Participants build to the specs and certify through CWIX and similar events. The US implements it as Mission Partner Environment (MPE). C2 products sold to coalition users are often asked to be FMN conformant.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["MPE","Mission Partner Environment"],"r":["NCIA","CWIX"]},{"t":"FMS","x":"Foreign Military Sales","s":"Government-to-government sales of US defense articles, managed by DSCA","d":"Under FMS, a foreign government buys from the US government, which contracts with industry on its behalf using normal DoD procurement rules. Sales above thresholds require congressional notification. FMS offers buyers the US logistics system and contracting protections, but often adds time compared with direct commercial sales.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Foreign Military Sales","DSCA","Defense Security Cooperation Agency"],"w":"Foreign Military Sales","r":["DCS","LOA","ITAR"]},{"t":"FMV","x":"Full Motion Video","s":"Full motion video from drones and aircraft sensors","d":"Full Motion Video: video from airborne EO and IR sensors at broadcast-like frame rates, typically from drones such as the MQ-9 or from targeting pods, usually streamed with MISB KLV metadata. Watching FMV around the clock created the analyst bottleneck that computer vision projects such as Maven set out to ease. Remote video terminals such as ROVER let ground troops view it.","c":"Sensors","k":["motion imagery"],"r":["KLV","STANAG 4609","WAMI","Maven"]},{"t":"FOB","x":"Forward Operating Base","s":"Forward operating base: a secured base supporting tactical operations","d":"A forward operating base is a secured position used to support operations, usually with housing, logistics and command facilities. Main operating bases (MOBs) and contingency operating bases (COBs) are larger. Many systems fielded in Iraq and Afghanistan assumed FOB-level power and connectivity.","c":"Ground","k":["MOB","COB"],"w":"Forward operating base","r":["Combat outpost","FOBbit"]},{"t":"FOBbit","s":"Slang for someone who rarely leaves the forward operating base","d":"A FOBbit is a service member who stays inside the wire on a FOB, a term from Iraq and Afghanistan. It is mildly derisive. Outside the wire means leaving the protected base.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["FOB","Outside the wire"]},{"t":"FOBS","x":"Fractional Orbital Bombardment System","s":"Weapon that sends a warhead partway around an orbit to strike from an unexpected direction","d":"A fractional orbital bombardment system launches a warhead into low orbit and deorbits it before a full revolution, letting it approach from directions such as the south pole that early warning radars do not watch, and with no range limit. The Soviet Union deployed one from 1969 to 1983. In 2021 China tested a hypersonic glide vehicle launched on a fractional orbital trajectory, reviving concern about the concept.","c":"Weapons","w":"Fractional orbital bombardment system","r":["Golden Dome","ASAT"]},{"t":"FOC","x":"Full Operational Capability","s":"Point when all planned units have the system and its full support is in place","d":"FOC is declared when the system is fully fielded to all intended units with the complete support structure, training and sustainment in place. It follows IOC, sometimes by years. Like IOC, its criteria are program specific.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Full Operational Capability"],"r":["IOC","Fielding"]},{"t":"FOCI","x":"Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence","s":"Foreign involvement in a cleared company that must be mitigated to keep its clearance","d":"When a foreign interest can direct or influence a cleared company's operations, DCSA requires mitigation such as a board resolution, Security Control Agreement, Special Security Agreement, proxy agreement or voting trust. Foreign venture investment in a startup can trigger FOCI review. CFIUS may also review such transactions.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Foreign Ownership Control or Influence","SSA","special security agreement","proxy agreement","SF 328","CFIUS"],"r":["FCL","DCSA"]},{"t":"FOG","x":"Fiber-Optic Gyroscope","s":"Gyro that measures rotation from light interference in a fiber coil","d":"A fiber-optic gyroscope sends light both ways around a coil of optical fiber and measures the phase shift caused by rotation (the Sagnac effect). FOGs have no moving parts and span tactical to navigation and strategic grades depending on coil length and design. They are common in missiles, ships, armored vehicles and space systems.","c":"PNT","w":"Fibre-optic gyroscope","r":["RLG","IMU","MEMS"]},{"t":"Fog of war","s":"Uncertainty in situational awareness during operations","d":"The fog of war, associated with Clausewitz, describes the uncertainty about enemy, friendly and environmental conditions in war. Better sensors and networks reduce it but never eliminate it, and can add their own confusion through information overload. Users will be skeptical of claims that a product removes it.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Fog of war","r":["Friction","Ground truth"]},{"t":"Follower jamming","s":"Jammer that detects a hopping signal's new frequency and jams it within the dwell","d":"A responsive jammer that measures the frequency of a frequency hopping signal on each hop and retunes to jam it before the dwell ends. It requires fast receivers and processing, and the geometry matters because the jamming must arrive before the hop moves on. Fast hop rates and long jammer-to-victim paths defeat it.","c":"EW","k":["follow-on jamming","repeater-follower jamming"],"r":["Frequency hopping","Responsive jamming","Spot jamming"]},{"t":"FOM","x":"Figure of Merit","s":"Image intensifier quality metric: resolution in lp/mm times signal-to-noise ratio","d":"For night vision tubes, figure of merit equals limiting resolution in line pairs per millimeter multiplied by SNR. It is used in export licensing thresholds and procurement specs, with high-end Gen 3 tubes well above 2,000. Higher FOM generally means better performance in very low light.","c":"Sensors","k":["figure of merit"],"r":["Gen 3","Image intensifier"]},{"t":"FONOP","x":"Freedom of Navigation Operation","s":"A deliberate transit to challenge excessive maritime claims under international law","d":"A freedom of navigation operation sends ships or aircraft through waters or airspace a state claims beyond what international law allows, asserting rights of navigation. The US conducts them worldwide, with South China Sea transits drawing most attention. The broader program is called the Freedom of Navigation program.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["FON","FONOPS"],"w":"Freedom of navigation","r":["Gray zone"]},{"t":"Force Design 2030","s":"Marine Corps restructuring toward light, distributed naval forces for the Pacific","d":"Force Design 2030, launched in 2020 by Commandant Gen. David Berger, divested tanks, reduced cannon artillery and some aviation, and invested in long-range fires, unmanned systems and Marine Littoral Regiments. Under Gen. Eric Smith it continued as \"Force Design\" with periodic updates. It remains the main frame for Marine requirements.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Force Design"],"r":["EABO","MLR"]},{"t":"Force multiplier","s":"Something that increases a force's combat effectiveness beyond its size","d":"A force multiplier is a capability or factor that lets a given force achieve more, such as night vision, precision munitions, good intelligence or high morale. It is a common phrase in product pitches, so users may treat it as a cliche. Concrete metrics land better.","c":"Slang & Brevity","w":"Force multiplication","r":["Lethality"]},{"t":"Force posture","s":"Where forces are stationed, how many, and how ready they are","d":"The size, location, readiness and composition of a nation's forces, including basing and access agreements. Posture changes, such as US rotational forces in Poland or Marine rotations in Darwin, signal commitment and shape response times. Global posture reviews determine where infrastructure and logistics investments go.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["global posture","Posture","Forward presence"],"r":["Forward presence","Power projection","Theater","Deterrence"]},{"t":"Foreign disclosure","s":"Process for approving release of classified military information to foreign governments","d":"Foreign disclosure officers decide, under National Disclosure Policy, whether classified military information can be released to a given country. Contractors need approval through the government before sharing such information even with allied partners, separately from export licensing.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["FDO","foreign disclosure officer","NDP-1","National Disclosure Policy"],"r":["REL TO","NOFORN","ITAR"]},{"t":"Forward presence","s":"Keeping forces deployed abroad near potential crises","d":"Maintaining forces overseas, permanently or rotationally, to deter adversaries, reassure allies and respond quickly to crises. Examples include US forces in Japan and Korea, naval deployments and NATO's multinational battlegroups on the eastern flank. It is costly but shortens response time compared with deploying from home.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Force posture","eFP","Power projection"]},{"t":"FOUO","x":"For Official Use Only","s":"Legacy DoD marking for sensitive unclassified information, replaced by CUI","d":"FOUO was DoD's marking for unclassified information exempt from public release. DoDI 5200.48 in 2020 replaced it with CUI, though older documents still carry it and are handled as CUI. New documents should not use it.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["For Official Use Only","SBU","sensitive but unclassified","LIMDIS"],"w":"For Official Use Only","r":["CUI"]},{"t":"Foxbat","s":"NATO name for the MiG-25 high-speed interceptor","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, a Mach 3 interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service in 1970. Its appearance drove US investment in the F-15, and the 1976 defection of a Soviet pilot to Japan with one gave the West a close look. It was succeeded by the MiG-31 Foxhound.","c":"Aviation","k":["MiG-25"],"w":"Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25","r":["Foxhound"]},{"t":"Foxhound","s":"NATO name for the MiG-31 interceptor, also the Kinzhal carrier","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Mikoyan MiG-31, a two-seat long-range interceptor derived from the MiG-25. The MiG-31K variant carries the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, and MiG-31 takeoffs trigger air raid alerts across Ukraine for that reason.","c":"Aviation","k":["MiG-31","MiG-31K"],"w":"Mikoyan MiG-31","r":["Foxbat","Kinzhal"]},{"t":"Fox One","s":"Brevity: launch of a semi-active radar-guided air-to-air missile","d":"FOX ONE announces the simulated or actual launch of a semi-active radar-guided missile, such as the AIM-7 Sparrow, which needs the launching aircraft's radar to illuminate the target until impact. It is rarely heard today since active missiles dominate. The FOX calls let everyone on frequency know a missile is in the air.","c":"Slang & Brevity","w":"Fox (code word)","r":["Fox Two","Fox Three"]},{"t":"Fox Three","s":"Brevity: launch of an active radar-guided air-to-air missile","d":"FOX THREE announces the simulated or actual launch of an active radar-guided missile, such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM, which uses its own radar in the terminal phase. It is the most common call in modern beyond-visual-range air combat. Pilots then often call timeouts until expected impact.","c":"Slang & Brevity","w":"Fox (code word)","r":["Fox One","Fox Two","Splash"]},{"t":"Fox Two","s":"Brevity: launch of an infrared-guided air-to-air missile","d":"FOX TWO announces the simulated or actual launch of an infrared-guided missile, such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder. These are short-range, fire-and-forget heat seekers. Training range systems log these calls against simulated shots.","c":"Slang & Brevity","w":"Fox (code word)","r":["Fox One","Fox Three"]},{"t":"FPA","x":"Focal Plane Array","s":"2D grid of detector pixels at the focal plane of an imaging sensor","d":"A focal plane array is the detector chip of an imaging sensor, bonded to a readout integrated circuit (ROIC) that integrates and multiplexes pixel signals. Format (such as 640x512 or 1280x1024), pixel pitch, noise and operability define performance. Smaller pitches (down to around 8 to 10 µm in LWIR, smaller in MWIR) shrink optics and enable compact high-resolution systems.","c":"Sensors","k":["focal plane array","staring array","ROIC"],"w":"Staring array","r":["Pixel pitch","Cooled detector","Microbolometer"]},{"t":"FPGA","x":"Field-Programmable Gate Array","s":"Reconfigurable chip used for high-speed signal processing","d":"An integrated circuit with programmable logic that can be configured after manufacture. FPGAs perform the high-rate, low-latency processing in radars, EW receivers, DRFMs and SDRs, such as channelization and pulse detection. AMD (Xilinx) and Altera are the main suppliers, and trusted supply and export rules affect part selection for defense products.","c":"Engineering & Test","w":"Field-programmable gate array","r":["RFSoC","Digital receiver","DRFM"]},{"t":"FPIF","x":"Fixed-Price Incentive Firm Target","s":"Fixed-price contract where final price moves with cost by a share ratio, up to a ceiling","d":"FPIF sets a target cost, target profit, share ratio and ceiling price. Underruns increase profit and overruns reduce it, and above the ceiling the contractor absorbs all cost. It is common for early production lots.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Fixed Price Incentive","FPI"],"r":["FFP","CPIF"]},{"t":"FPV drone","x":"First-Person View drone","s":"Small racing-style drone flown through a live camera feed, often as a munition","d":"FPV drones are small quadcopters flown by an operator wearing goggles that show the onboard camera feed. In Ukraine they became the dominant precision strike weapon at the front, carrying grenades or shaped charges into targets for a few hundred dollars each. They rely on analog or digital video links and are vulnerable to jamming, which drove the move to fiber-optic control and terminal autonomy.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["FPV","kamikaze drone"],"r":["Fiber-optic drone","Loitering munition","OWA drone"]},{"t":"FRACAS","x":"Failure Reporting, Analysis and Corrective Action System","s":"Closed-loop process for recording failures, finding root causes and fixing them","d":"FRACAS records every failure during test and use, drives root cause analysis and verifies corrective actions. It is foundational to reliability growth and is frequently a contract requirement. A failure review board typically oversees it.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Failure Reporting Analysis and Corrective Action System","FRB","failure review board"],"w":"Failure reporting, analysis, and corrective action system","r":["Reliability growth","FMEA"]},{"t":"FRAGORD","x":"Fragmentary Order","s":"An abbreviated order that changes or adds to an existing OPORD","d":"A fragmentary order passes changes to a standing order without repeating what has not changed. Units can issue many FRAGORDs during an operation, so the current state of the plan is the base order plus every FRAGORD since. Tools that track orders need to handle this layering cleanly.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["FRAGO"],"r":["OPORD","WARNORD","EXORD"]},{"t":"Fratricide","s":"Accidentally killing or wounding friendly forces, also called friendly fire","d":"Fratricide prevention drives combat identification, blue force tracking, IR marking and fire support coordination measures. Systems with automated targeting must show they reduce rather than add risk. \"Blue on blue\" is the slang.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Friendly fire","Blue on blue"],"r":["Blue force","IR patch","FSCM"]},{"t":"Freedom of navigation","s":"The right of all ships and aircraft to use international waters and airspace","d":"The principle, codified in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, that ships and aircraft may use the high seas and exclusive economic zones and transit straits without interference. The US Freedom of Navigation Program conducts FONOPs to challenge excessive maritime claims, such as Chinese claims in the South China Sea.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["FONOP","FONOPs","UNCLOS"],"w":"Freedom of navigation","r":["Salami slicing","Sea control"]},{"t":"Free-space path loss","x":"FSPL","s":"Signal loss with distance in free space, rising with frequency squared","d":"The loss of signal strength between two isotropic antennas in free space due to spreading of the wavefront, which grows with the square of distance and of frequency. In dB, FSPL = 20 log10(d in km) + 20 log10(f in MHz) + 32.44. Real links add atmospheric absorption, terrain, foliage and multipath losses.","c":"RF","k":["FSPL","path loss","spreading loss"],"w":"Free-space path loss","r":["Friis transmission equation","Link budget"]},{"t":"Frequency agility","s":"Changing carrier frequency pulse to pulse or dwell to dwell","d":"Frequency agility hinders spot jamming and repeater deception, decorrelates target fluctuations and reduces glint and multipath fades. It complicates Doppler processing, so agility is usually applied between CPIs. Modern AESAs with wide instantaneous bandwidth can hop across hundreds of megahertz.","c":"Radar","k":["frequency agile","frequency hopping radar"],"r":["Frequency hopping","Electromagnetic protection","Barrage jamming","ECCM","Fluctuation loss","LPI radar"]},{"t":"Frequency allocation","s":"Designation of a band for use by specified radio services","d":"The entry in a table of frequency allocations designating a band for use by one or more radio services (such as radiolocation, fixed or mobile) under specified conditions. Allocations are set internationally by the ITU Radio Regulations and nationally by the FCC (non-federal) and NTIA (federal). Equipment must operate in bands allocated to its service.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["band allocation","Table of Frequency Allocations"],"w":"Frequency allocation","r":["Frequency assignment","ITU Radio Regulations","NTIA"]},{"t":"Frequency assignment","s":"Authorization for a specific station to use a specific frequency","d":"Authorization given by an administration for a particular radio station to use a specific frequency or channel under specified conditions. Allocation designates bands for services, allotment distributes channels to areas or users, and assignment authorizes individual stations. US federal assignments are recorded in the Government Master File.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["frequency authorization","allotment"],"r":["Frequency allocation","GMF","SFAF"]},{"t":"Frequency hopping","x":"FHSS","s":"Rapidly switching carrier frequency in a pseudorandom pattern","d":"A spread spectrum technique in which the carrier frequency changes many times per second in a pseudorandom sequence known to both ends. It resists narrowband jamming and interception and is used by military radios such as SINCGARS and Have Quick, Link 16, and by commercial Bluetooth. Hop rate and hopset bandwidth set its resistance to follower jamming.","c":"Comms","k":["FHSS","frequency-hopping spread spectrum"],"w":"Frequency-hopping spread spectrum","r":["DSSS","Follower jamming","SINCGARS","Have Quick"]},{"t":"Frequency-selective surface","s":"Patterned surface that passes some frequencies and reflects others","d":"Frequency-selective surfaces (FSS) are periodic metallic patterns that act as RF filters. On stealth aircraft they make radomes transparent to the platform's own radar band while reflecting other frequencies away like a shaped metal surface. They are also used in antennas and EMI shielding.","c":"Radar","k":["FSS"],"w":"Frequency selective surface","r":["Radome","Low observable"]},{"t":"Friction","s":"The countless small difficulties that make simple things hard in war","d":"Clausewitz's friction covers the accumulation of chance, error, fatigue, weather and breakdowns that makes executing plans hard. Equipment that is hard to set up, needs batteries no one has, or breaks in the rain adds friction. Designing to reduce it is a strong selling point.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Fog of war"]},{"t":"Friendly","s":"Brevity: a positively identified friendly contact","d":"FRIENDLY is a contact positively identified as friendly. In the BLUFOR color convention friendly is blue. Misidentification risks fratricide.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Bogey","Blue force","Fratricide"]},{"t":"Friis noise formula","s":"Formula for total noise figure of cascaded stages","d":"The formula giving total noise factor of a chain as F1 + (F2-1)/G1 + (F3-1)/(G1 G2) and so on. It shows that the first stage dominates, which is why a low noise amplifier with good gain goes as close to the antenna as possible, and why any loss before it adds directly to noise figure.","c":"RF","k":["cascaded noise figure"],"r":["Noise figure","LNA"]},{"t":"Friis transmission equation","s":"Formula giving received power from transmit power, gains, wavelength and range","d":"The formula Pr = Pt Gt Gr (wavelength / 4 pi R)^2, giving received power between two antennas in free space. It is the basis of one-way link budgets and intercept range calculations. The Friis name is also attached to a separate formula for cascaded noise figure.","c":"RF","k":["Friis equation","Friis formula"],"w":"Friis transmission equation","r":["Free-space path loss","Friis noise formula","Radar range equation"]},{"t":"Frogfoot","s":"NATO name for the Su-25 close air support jet","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-25, a heavily armored subsonic close air support aircraft introduced in 1981, comparable in role to the A-10. Both Russia and Ukraine fly it, often lofting unguided rockets from low altitude.","c":"Aviation","k":["Su-25"],"w":"Sukhoi Su-25","r":["Hind"]},{"t":"FRP","x":"Full-Rate Production","s":"The decision and phase for producing a system at its planned economic rate","d":"The Full-Rate Production decision follows successful operational testing and authorizes production at the program's planned rate. For programs on DOT&E oversight, statute requires a beyond-LRIP report before the decision. FRP contracts are frequently multiyear or fixed price.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Full-Rate Production","FRP DR","full rate production decision review"],"r":["LRIP","IOT&E","DOT&E","Multiyear procurement"]},{"t":"FSC","x":"Federal Supply Class","s":"Four-digit code grouping similar items, the first part of an NSN","d":"The FSC classifies items into commodity classes, such as 5998 for electrical and electronic assemblies or 1560 for airframe structural components. The first two digits form the Federal Supply Group. FSCs also appear as Product and Service Codes for supplies on contracts.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Federal Supply Class","FSG","Federal Supply Group"],"r":["NSN","NIIN","NAICS code"]},{"t":"FSCL","x":"Fire Support Coordination Line","s":"Fire support line beyond which attacks need not be coordinated with the land commander","d":"The FSCL is a permissive measure set by the land or amphibious commander; attacks beyond it can proceed without coordination with that commander, though they should be informed. Short of it, all air-to-ground and surface attacks are coordinated with the land force. It balances the land fight with deep air strikes.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["FSCM","CFL","FLOT"]},{"t":"FSCM","x":"Fire Support Coordination Measure","s":"Fire support coordination measure: a line or area that controls when fires need approval","d":"FSCMs are either permissive (making attacks easier, such as the FSCL, CFL and free-fire area) or restrictive (protecting friendlies or sensitive sites, such as no-fire and restrictive fire areas). Fires and C2 systems must display and enforce them. Getting them wrong can cause fratricide.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["FSCMs"],"r":["FSCL","CFL","NFA","RFA"]},{"t":"FS-LIDS","x":"Fixed-Site Low, Slow, Small UAS Integrated Defeat System","s":"Army fixed-site counter-drone system built around KuRFS radar and Coyote","d":"FS-LIDS is the fixed-site counterpart to M-LIDS, using Raytheon's KuRFS radar, EO/IR, electronic attack and Coyote interceptors, tied together by FAAD C2. It protects bases and was fielded to the Middle East. It has also been supplied to partners such as Qatar.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["KuRFS"],"r":["M-LIDS","Coyote","FAAD C2"]},{"t":"FSO","x":"Facility Security Officer","s":"Employee responsible for a cleared company's security program","d":"Every cleared facility must appoint an FSO, cleared at the facility's level, who manages clearances, reporting, training, visits and classified holdings and is the main contact with DCSA. Small companies often have a part-time or outsourced FSO. An Insider Threat Program Senior Official is also required.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Facility Security Officer","ITPSO"],"r":["NISPOM","FCL","Insider threat","DCSA"]},{"t":"FUBAR","s":"Slang for something hopelessly broken, politely \"fouled up beyond all recognition\"","d":"FUBAR originated in World War II and usually uses a stronger word than \"fouled.\" It describes a situation or item that is beyond repair. It is now common in civilian speech too.","c":"Slang & Brevity","w":"List of military slang terms","r":["SNAFU"]},{"t":"Fujian","s":"China's third aircraft carrier, Type 003, the first with catapults","d":"The Fujian (hull 18) is China's third aircraft carrier and the first designed and built entirely in China with electromagnetic catapults, comparable to the US Ford class's EMALS. Launched in 2022, it was commissioned in November 2025 and operates J-35 stealth fighters, J-15T fighters and KJ-600 early warning aircraft. It follows the Liaoning and Shandong, which use ski-jump ramps.","c":"Naval","k":["Type 003","CV-18"],"w":"Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian","r":["PLAN","J-35"]},{"t":"Fulcrum","s":"NATO name for the MiG-29 fighter","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Mikoyan MiG-29, a twin-engine Soviet lightweight fighter that entered service in 1983 and was widely exported. Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia have operated it, and Polish and Slovak MiG-29s were transferred to Ukraine in 2023. Later variants include the MiG-29SMT and MiG-35.","c":"Aviation","k":["MiG-29"],"w":"Mikoyan MiG-29","r":["Flanker","Foxbat"]},{"t":"Full and open competition","s":"The default requirement that all responsible sources may compete for a contract","d":"Required by the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 and FAR Part 6, full and open competition lets all responsible sources submit offers. Set-asides and listed exceptions are the permitted departures.","c":"Acquisition","k":["CICA","Competition in Contracting Act"],"r":["Sole source","J&A","Small business set-aside"]},{"t":"Fullback","s":"NATO name for the Su-34 strike fighter","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-34, a two-seat strike aircraft derived from the Su-27 with side-by-side seating. It is Russia's main tactical bomber and has been the main launcher of glide bombs fitted with UMPK kits against Ukraine. It replaced the Su-24 Fencer.","c":"Aviation","k":["Su-34"],"w":"Sukhoi Su-34","r":["Flanker","Fencer"]},{"t":"Full-motion video","s":"Video from airborne or ground ISR sensors at standard frame rates","d":"Full-motion video (FMV) is video from ISR sensors, typically on drones or aircraft, at frame rates high enough for continuous viewing, usually streamed with KLV metadata giving sensor position and pointing. Standards such as MISB ST 0601 and STANAG 4609 govern encoding and metadata. Products that display or analyze FMV must parse the metadata to geolocate content.","c":"Sensors","k":["FMV"],"r":["ROVER","Project Maven"]},{"t":"Fundamental research exclusion","s":"Exemption from export controls for openly published university-style research","d":"Basic and applied research intended for publication, with no restrictions on publication or participation, is not subject to export controls under ITAR and the EAR. Accepting publication restrictions or access controls in a contract can forfeit it. DoD policy protects fundamental research at universities.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["FRE","fundamental research"],"r":["Technical data","6.1"]},{"t":"Fuze","s":"Device that detonates a munition at the right time and keeps it safe until then","d":"A fuze senses when to initiate a warhead, by impact, delay, time, proximity or command, and contains safety and arming features that prevent detonation during handling and launch. Fuze design is governed by strict safety standards such as MIL-STD-1316. Electronics, sensing and reliability engineering for fuzes are a specialised niche.","c":"Weapons","k":["fuse"],"w":"Fuze","r":["Proximity fuze","S&A","MIL-STD-1316","ESAD"]},{"t":"FYDP","x":"Future Years Defense Program","s":"DoD's official database of programmed forces and funding over five years","d":"The FYDP records resources by program element for the budget year plus four following years. It is updated with each President's Budget. Program funding visible in the FYDP indicates longer-term intent, though out-years change frequently.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Future Years Defense Program"],"r":["POM","PPBE","Program element"]},{"t":"GaAs","x":"Gallium Arsenide","s":"Semiconductor used in first-generation AESA T/R modules and MMICs","d":"GaAs MMICs powered the first generations of AESA T/R modules, including those on the F-22 and early F-35 radars, and remain common for low-noise amplifiers, phase shifters and other receive and control functions. They have lower power density than GaN, so newer transmitters have migrated to GaN while GaAs persists in receive chains.","c":"Radar","k":["gallium arsenide","pHEMT"],"w":"Gallium arsenide","r":["GaN","MMIC","LNA"]},{"t":"Galileo","s":"European Union's GNSS constellation, with an encrypted PRS for government users","d":"Galileo is the EU's civil-controlled GNSS, operating in MEO with initial services since 2016 and second-generation satellites in development. It offers an Open Service, a High Accuracy Service, the OSNMA authentication feature and an encrypted Public Regulated Service for governments. Galileo signals are interoperable with GPS L1C and L5.","c":"PNT","w":"Galileo (satellite navigation system)","r":["Galileo PRS","OSNMA","GNSS"]},{"t":"Galileo PRS","x":"Public Regulated Service","s":"Galileo's encrypted, robust signal for authorized government users","d":"The Public Regulated Service is Galileo's encrypted service for EU member state government users such as defense, police and critical infrastructure, offering anti-jam and anti-spoofing protection broadly analogous to GPS military signals. Access is controlled by the EU and member states. Initial service was declared in the mid-2020s with receivers being developed by European industry.","c":"PNT","k":["PRS"],"r":["Galileo","M-code"]},{"t":"GaN","x":"Gallium Nitride","s":"Wide-bandgap semiconductor used for high-power, efficient radar and EW amplifiers","d":"GaN transistors handle much higher power density and voltage than GaAs, with better efficiency at high temperature, which lets T/R modules deliver more power from the same footprint. Most new US and allied AESAs (SPY-6, LTAMDS, TPQ-53 upgrades, LRDR, Sentinel A4, G/ATOR) use GaN. Supply of GaN-on-SiC wafers and qualified foundries is a recognized defense industrial base concern, and China restricted gallium exports starting in 2023.","c":"Radar","k":["gallium nitride","GaN-on-SiC"],"w":"Gallium nitride","r":["GaAs","Power amplifier","AESA","T/R module"]},{"t":"GAO protest","s":"Bid protest filed with the Government Accountability Office, decided within 100 days","d":"GAO must decide protests within 100 days. Protests of award must generally be filed within 10 days of when the basis was known, or within 5 days after a required debriefing to get the automatic stay. GAO sustains a small share of protests, but agencies take corrective action in many more. DoD task order protests have dollar thresholds.","c":"Acquisition","k":["GAO bid protest","CICA stay"],"r":["Bid protest","Debriefing"]},{"t":"Gate","s":"Brevity: fly as fast as possible using afterburner or maximum power","d":"GATE directs maximum power including afterburner, burning fuel very quickly. It is used for urgent intercepts or escapes. BUSTER is the more economical fast setting.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Buster","Bingo"]},{"t":"Gating","s":"Restricting which detections can update a track to a window around its prediction","d":"A gate is a region around a track's predicted position, sized from the prediction covariance, inside which measurements are considered for association. It cuts computation and false associations. Gates that are too tight lose maneuvering targets and too wide cause swaps in dense scenes.","c":"Sensors","k":["validation gate","track gate"],"r":["Data association","Kalman filter"]},{"t":"G/ATOR","x":"Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar","s":"Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-80 GaN AESA for the US Marine Corps","d":"G/ATOR (AN/TPS-80) is an expeditionary GaN AESA radar that performs air surveillance, air defense and counter-fire target acquisition from one design with different software modes. It replaced several older Marine Corps radars and supports the service's air defense and counter-UAS missions.","c":"Radar","k":["AN/TPS-80","TPS-80"],"r":["GaN","Counter-battery radar"]},{"t":"G band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 4 to 6 GHz","d":"NATO EW band G covers 4 to 6 GHz, the lower half of IEEE C band, used by radar altimeters, some surveillance and missile guidance radars, C-band SATCOM and 5 GHz Wi-Fi.","c":"RF","k":["G-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","C band"]},{"t":"GCCS-J","x":"Global Command and Control System-Joint","s":"Joint system of record for the COP and force readiness","d":"GCCS-J is the DoD joint command and control system of record that provides the COP, readiness reporting and intelligence integration for combatant commands, operating mainly on SIPRNet. It is managed by DISA and has been in service since the 1990s, with service variants such as GCCS-M and GCCS-A. Its track management services are a frequent integration point for newer applications.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Global Command and Control System","r":["GCCS-M","COP","DISA"]},{"t":"GCCS-M","x":"Global Command and Control System-Maritime","s":"Navy variant of GCCS providing the maritime COP afloat and ashore","d":"GCCS-M is the Navy's implementation of the Global Command and Control System, used afloat and ashore to build the maritime COP and manage tracks. It is being replaced through the Maritime Tactical Command and Control (MTC2) program. Integrators may still need to exchange tracks with it using legacy formats such as OTH-Gold.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["GCCS-J","MTC2","OTH-Gold"]},{"t":"GCS","x":"Ground Control Station","s":"The operator station that flies the UAS and displays its payload data","d":"A GCS is the hardware and software used to command a UAS, plan missions and view sensor data. It ranges from a tablet or handheld controller for Group 1 systems to shelter-sized stations for MQ-9s. GCS software is a common integration point for new products, so open interfaces such as STANAG 4586, UCI or MAVLink matter.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["ground control station","CS"],"r":["UAS","C2 link","STANAG 4586"]},{"t":"GCSS-Army","x":"Global Combat Support System-Army","s":"The Army's ERP for supply, maintenance, property and finance at tactical units","d":"GCSS-Army, built on SAP, replaced legacy Army logistics systems for supply, maintenance, property accountability and tactical finance. Contractors supporting Army logistics often need to integrate with or provide data to it. The Army has been modernizing its broader ERP portfolio.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Global Combat Support System-Army","GCSS-A","GCSS-MC","ERP"],"r":["DBS","DLA"]},{"t":"Gen 3","s":"Image intensifier generation using gallium arsenide photocathodes","d":"Generation 3 tubes use a GaAs photocathode and an ion-barrier film on the microchannel plate, giving much higher sensitivity and life than Gen 2. Variants include filmless or thin-filmed tubes with auto-gating, sometimes marketed unofficially as Gen 3+, and white phosphor screens are now common. Gen 3 tubes are made in the US by L3Harris and Elbit America and are ITAR controlled.","c":"Sensors","k":["Generation 3","Gen III","white phosphor"],"r":["Image intensifier","FOM"]},{"t":"General officer","s":"Officers in grades O-7 to O-10; called flag officers in the Navy","d":"General and flag officers are one-star (brigadier general or rear admiral lower half) through four-star (general or admiral). They command divisions and above, combatant commands and major agencies. Collectively they are GO/FOs, and a meeting with one is usually brief and highly prepared.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Flag officer","GO/FO","GOFO","One-star","Four-star"],"r":["O-1 to O-10"]},{"t":"Geneva Conventions","s":"Four 1949 treaties protecting wounded, sick, shipwrecked, prisoners and civilians","d":"Four treaties adopted in 1949, with Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, that form the core of international humanitarian law: protecting wounded and sick soldiers on land, wounded and shipwrecked at sea, prisoners of war and civilians in wartime. All UN member states are party to the four conventions. The US has not ratified Additional Protocol I but treats many of its provisions as customary law.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Additional Protocol I","AP I"],"w":"Geneva Conventions","r":["LOAC","IHL"]},{"t":"GEO","x":"Geostationary Orbit","s":"Circular equatorial orbit at 35,786 km where a satellite appears fixed in the sky","d":"Geostationary orbit is a circular, zero-inclination orbit 35,786 km above the equator with a period of one sidereal day, so the satellite hovers over one longitude and ground antennas can point at it without tracking. Three satellites cover most of the populated Earth, which is why WGS, AEHF, MUOS, SBIRS and most commercial broadcast satellites sit here. The cost is about 120 ms one-way propagation delay to the ground (roughly 250 ms through a bent pipe), large user antennas and high-value, hard-to-replace satellites.","c":"Space","k":["geostationary","GEO belt"],"w":"Geostationary orbit","r":["GSO","GTO","Graveyard orbit","Station-keeping"]},{"t":"GEODSS","x":"Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance","s":"Network of US telescopes tracking deep-space objects such as GEO satellites","d":"GEODSS is a set of ground-based optical telescopes at Socorro, New Mexico; Maui, Hawaii; and Diego Garcia that track objects in deep space, especially the GEO belt. It works only at night in clear weather, which is one reason the US also flies GSSAP and is building DARC. It is part of the Space Surveillance Network.","c":"Space","w":"United States Space Surveillance Network","r":["Space Surveillance Network","DARC","GSSAP"]},{"t":"GEOINT","x":"Geospatial Intelligence","s":"Imagery, imagery intelligence and geospatial data describing activity on Earth","d":"Intelligence derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on Earth. By US law (10 U.S.C. 467) it combines imagery, IMINT and geospatial information. NGA is the functional manager for GEOINT in the US, and commercial satellite imagery and analytics now supply a large share of it. Most GEOINT software lives on standards such as NITF, GeoTIFF, WGS 84 and the MISB motion imagery specifications.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Geospatial intelligence","r":["IMINT","NGA","NITF","WGS 84","FMV"]},{"t":"Geolocation","s":"Determining where an emitter is from its signals","d":"Locating an emitter using measurements of its signals at one or more receivers, by angle of arrival, time difference, frequency difference, signal strength or combinations. Accuracy is expressed as CEP or an error ellipse. Precise geolocation is what turns ES detection into a target for weapons, so it drives multi-platform cooperative designs.","c":"EW","k":["emitter location","emitter geolocation","PGL","precision geolocation"],"r":["TDOA","FDOA","Angle of arrival","CEP","Error ellipse"]},{"t":"Geomagnetic storm","s":"Disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere driven by solar wind and CMEs","d":"A geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance of the magnetosphere, measured by indices such as Kp and Dst and rated G1 to G5 on NOAA's scale. Storms heat and expand the upper atmosphere (raising LEO drag), cause ionospheric irregularities that degrade GNSS accuracy and SATCOM, and charge spacecraft surfaces. The May 2024 G5 storm, the strongest in two decades, caused widespread GNSS precision-agriculture and positioning degradation and mass satellite maneuvering.","c":"Space","k":["Kp index","G-scale"],"w":"Geomagnetic storm","r":["Space weather","CME","Atmospheric drag","Scintillation"]},{"t":"GeoTIFF","s":"TIFF image with embedded georeferencing metadata","d":"A standard for embedding georeferencing information (coordinate system, projection, tie points) in TIFF raster files, adopted as an OGC standard in 2019. Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) arranges the file for efficient HTTP range reads, and is now common for commercial satellite and elevation data. GDAL reads and writes it.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["COG","Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF"],"w":"GeoTIFF","r":["NITF","KML"]},{"t":"GFE","x":"Government-Furnished Equipment","s":"Equipment the government provides to a contractor to use or integrate","d":"GFE is government property supplied to the contractor, such as radios or test equipment to integrate or use. GFE delays are a common cause of schedule slips, so contracts should specify delivery dates and condition. Related terms include GFM for material and GFI for information.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Government-Furnished Equipment","GFM","GFI","GFP","government-furnished property","CFE"],"r":["Government property"]},{"t":"GIDE","x":"Global Information Dominance Experiments","s":"Joint experiment series testing data-driven global C2 and CJADC2","d":"The Global Information Dominance Experiments began under US Northern Command in 2020 and later ran in partnership with the CDAO to test CJADC2 data integration, AI decision aids and cross-command workflows. Each iteration exercises real data feeds and operational staffs. Results fed directly into Maven Smart System and data integration layer requirements.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["CJADC2","CDAO","Maven Smart System"]},{"t":"GIDEP","x":"Government-Industry Data Exchange Program","s":"Shared database of part problems, counterfeit alerts and obsolescence notices","d":"GIDEP lets government and industry share failure experience, suspect counterfeit reports and product change and discontinuance notices. Contractors are required by DFARS to report counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts to GIDEP. Membership is free for qualifying organizations.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Government-Industry Data Exchange Program"],"r":["AS6081","DMSMS"]},{"t":"Gimbal","s":"Stabilized mount that points and steadies EO/IR sensors on a moving platform","d":"A gimbal uses motors, gyros and multiple axes of isolation to keep a sensor's line of sight steady despite platform motion, often to microradian-level jitter in high-end systems. Stabilization performance determines usable zoom at long range. Gimbals range from small two-axis drone units to large multi-sensor balls on manned ISR aircraft and aerostats.","c":"Sensors","k":["stabilized gimbal","EO/IR ball"],"r":["Turret","Line-of-sight stabilization","MTS-B"]},{"t":"Giraffe","s":"Saab family of ground and naval surveillance radars, e.g. Giraffe AMB and 4A","d":"Saab's Giraffe radars range from the mobile Giraffe AMB used for short and medium-range air defense to the S-band Giraffe 4A AESA and the compact Giraffe 1X for counter-UAS and SHORAD. They are used by many armies and navies and were supplied to Ukraine. The Sea Giraffe variants serve on ships, including US Navy littoral combat ships.","c":"Radar","k":["Giraffe 4A","Giraffe AMB","Sea Giraffe","Giraffe 1X"],"w":"Giraffe radar","r":["Search radar","Counter-UAS radar"]},{"t":"Glide phase","s":"Unpowered flight of a hypersonic glide vehicle through the upper atmosphere","d":"The glide phase is when an HGV separates from its booster and maneuvers through the upper atmosphere. It is the longest part of the flight and the main window targeted by new hypersonic defenses.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","r":["HGV","GPI"]},{"t":"G-limit","s":"Maximum load factor in g an aircraft, store or component is rated for","d":"The g-limit is the maximum acceleration, in multiples of gravity, a structure or crew can withstand. Fighters are typically limited to about +9 g. Equipment mounted on aircraft must be qualified for the platform's g environment under standards such as MIL-STD-810.","c":"Aviation","k":["load factor"],"r":["Flight envelope"]},{"t":"Glint","s":"Wander of a target's apparent angle or range caused by interfering scatterers","d":"Glint arises when echoes from multiple scatterers on an extended target add with varying phase, shifting the apparent center of reflection, sometimes outside the physical target. It causes tracking noise that grows as range closes and matters for terminal homing accuracy. Frequency agility helps average it out.","c":"Radar","k":["angle glint","target glint"],"r":["Scintillation","Monopulse"]},{"t":"GLONASS","s":"Russia's GNSS constellation in MEO","d":"GLONASS is Russia's satellite navigation system, operated by the military, with about 24 satellites in three MEO planes inclined about 64.8 degrees, which gives better high-latitude coverage than GPS. It historically used frequency-division multiplexing and is adding CDMA signals on newer satellites. Many commercial receivers track it alongside GPS.","c":"PNT","w":"GLONASS","r":["GNSS","GPS"]},{"t":"GMD","x":"Ground-based Midcourse Defense","s":"US homeland ICBM defense with interceptors in Alaska and California","d":"GMD defends the US homeland against limited long-range ballistic missile attack using Ground-Based Interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska and Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Each GBI carries an exoatmospheric kill vehicle that destroys warheads by direct impact in midcourse. Its test record has been mixed, and the Next Generation Interceptor is meant to replace the current kill vehicles.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["GBI","Ground-Based Interceptor","EKV"],"w":"Ground-Based Midcourse Defense","r":["NGI","Midcourse","Hit-to-kill","Exoatmospheric"]},{"t":"GMF","x":"Government Master File","s":"NTIA database of US federal frequency assignments","d":"The NTIA-maintained database of all US federal government frequency assignments, including DoD's. It is used for interference analysis and coordination between federal and non-federal users. Its contents are largely not public.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Government Master File"],"r":["NTIA","SFAF","Frequency assignment"]},{"t":"GMLRS","x":"Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System","s":"227mm GPS-guided rocket fired by HIMARS and M270, about 70 km range","d":"GMLRS is a GPS/INS guided 227mm rocket with unitary or alternative warheads and a range of roughly 70 km, fired six to a pod. Its accuracy changed rocket artillery from area fire to precision strike, as seen in Ukraine. An extended range version (ER GMLRS) reaches about 150 km.","c":"Weapons","k":["M31","M30A1","ER GMLRS"],"r":["HIMARS","MLRS","PrSM"]},{"t":"GMTI","x":"Ground Moving Target Indicator","s":"Airborne radar mode detecting and tracking moving vehicles over wide areas","d":"GMTI detects vehicles moving on the ground by separating their Doppler from clutter, usually with DPCA or STAP, and produces dots and tracks over areas of thousands of square kilometers. Historic platforms include JSTARS (E-8C, AN/APY-7), and the capability is now spread across Global Hawk (AN/ZPY-2), UAS radars, and planned space-based GMTI efforts by the US Space Force and NRO. Minimum detectable velocity is a key specification.","c":"Radar","k":["MTI","AMTI","ground moving target indication"],"r":["STANAG 4607","ISR","STAP","DPCA","MDV","Space-based GMTI"]},{"t":"GMTI from space","s":"Detecting and tracking moving ground targets with radar satellites","d":"Space-based ground moving target indication uses radar satellites to detect and track moving vehicles over wide areas, a mission traditionally flown by aircraft such as JSTARS. The Space Force and NRO have a joint program to field this capability, with its first elements expected later in the decade, and the related air moving target indication (AMTI) from space is meant to complement or replace E-7 Wedgetail capacity. Details are largely classified.","c":"Space","k":["space-based GMTI","AMTI from space","space-based moving target indicator"],"r":["Custody Layer","NRO"]},{"t":"GNSS","x":"Global Navigation Satellite System","s":"Generic term for satellite navigation systems: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou","d":"GNSS is the collective term for global satellite navigation constellations: US GPS, EU Galileo, Russian GLONASS and Chinese BeiDou, along with regional systems such as Japan's QZSS and India's NavIC. Multi-GNSS receivers track several to improve availability and accuracy, but DoD equipment typically restricts which foreign signals are trusted. All share the vulnerability of weak signals from far away.","c":"PNT","k":["satnav"],"r":["GPS","Galileo","GLONASS","BeiDou","QZSS","NavIC"]},{"t":"GNSS jamming","s":"Overpowering weak satellite navigation signals with RF noise","d":"GNSS jamming transmits noise or interference on navigation frequencies, overwhelming signals that arrive at around -130 dBm, so cheap jammers of a few watts can deny GPS over kilometers and military jammers much farther. Since about 2022 heavy jamming has affected aviation and shipping around the Baltic, Black Sea, Middle East and Ukraine. Countermeasures include CRPA antennas, M-code, inertial coasting and alternative PNT.","c":"PNT","k":["GPS jamming"],"r":["GNSS spoofing","CRPA","Meaconing","Anti-jam","NAVWAR"]},{"t":"GNSS spoofing","s":"Broadcasting fake navigation signals to make receivers report a false position or time","d":"Spoofing transmits counterfeit GNSS signals, either synthesized or rebroadcast (meaconing), so a receiver computes a wrong position or time without realizing it. It has been widely reported in the Black Sea, the Middle East and around conflict zones, sometimes placing ships and aircraft at airports or in circles. Defenses include encrypted military signals, navigation message authentication, angle-of-arrival checks with antenna arrays, consistency checks against inertial and clocks, and RAIM-style monitoring.","c":"PNT","k":["GPS spoofing","meaconing","spoofing"],"w":"Spoofing attack","r":["GNSS jamming","Meaconing","M-code","OSNMA","CRPA","RF jamming","Non-kinetic defeat"]},{"t":"Golden Dome","s":"US homeland missile defense initiative ordered in 2025, with space interceptors","d":"Golden Dome is the US homeland missile defense initiative ordered by a January 2025 executive order, first titled Iron Dome for America. It aims to defend against ballistic, hypersonic, cruise and other missile attacks with layered sensors and interceptors, including space-based tracking and space-based interceptors. Gen. Michael Guetlein was named to lead it as a direct report program manager, and initial cost figures of about 175 billion dollars were cited in 2025. Architecture and contract details continue to evolve.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Iron Dome for America","Golden Dome for America"],"r":["SBI","Tracking Layer","Discriminating Space Sensor","HBTSS","IAMD","Boost phase","MDA"]},{"t":"Golden hour","s":"The window after a serious injury in which treatment most improves survival","d":"The golden hour is the guideline that seriously wounded casualties should reach surgical care within about an hour. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the DoD set this as policy for evacuation times. Distances in the Pacific make it hard to meet, which drives prolonged field care research.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Prolonged field care","PFC"],"r":["MEDEVAC","TCCC"]},{"t":"Good to go","s":"Slang for ready, fine or approved","d":"Good to go means ready, prepared or acceptable. It applies to people, equipment and plans. It is used in all services.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["GTG"],"r":["Squared away"]},{"t":"Gorgon Stare","s":"Wide-area camera pod system flown on the MQ-9 Reaper","d":"A wide area surveillance sensor system, built by Sierra Nevada Corporation, carried in pods on the MQ-9 Reaper, that images an area of several kilometers with multiple EO and IR cameras and lets operators pull many independent video windows from it. It entered service around 2011, with Increment 2 incorporating ARGUS-IS technology. It is a frequently cited example of WAMI.","c":"Sensors","w":"Gorgon Stare","r":["WAMI","FMV"]},{"t":"Government property","s":"Property the government owns that a contractor holds, which must be tracked and reported","d":"Under FAR Part 45 and DFARS 252.211-7007 and 252.245-7001 to 7005, contractors must manage, track and report government-furnished and contractor-acquired government property. Large holders need an approved property management system.","c":"Acquisition","k":["FAR Part 45","CAP","contractor-acquired property"],"r":["GFE","Contractor business systems"]},{"t":"Government purpose rights","s":"Government may share data for government purposes, including competition, not commercially","d":"GPR applies by default to mixed-funding development. The government may use the data within government and release it to third parties for government purposes, such as reprocurement, under an NDA, but not for commercial purposes. GPR converts to unlimited rights after five years unless another period is negotiated.","c":"Acquisition","k":["GPR"],"r":["Data rights","Unlimited rights","Limited rights"]},{"t":"GPI","x":"Glide Phase Interceptor","s":"MDA interceptor in development to engage hypersonic glide vehicles","d":"GPI is an MDA program to intercept hypersonic glide vehicles in their glide phase, launched from Aegis ships. Northrop Grumman was selected to continue development, and Japan joined as a co-development partner. Fielding is expected in the 2030s.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","r":["HGV","Glide phase","Aegis BMD"]},{"t":"GPS","x":"Global Positioning System","s":"US Space Force MEO satellite navigation system, about 31 operational satellites","d":"GPS is the US satellite navigation system, operated by the Space Force's 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever SFB. Its satellites orbit in MEO at about 20,200 km in six planes inclined 55 degrees, with a baseline of 24 slots and typically around 31 operational satellites, broadcasting ranging codes and navigation messages on L1, L2 and L5. Receivers compute position and time from ranges to four or more satellites. Military users rely on encrypted P(Y) code and the newer M-code.","c":"PNT","k":["NAVSTAR","NAVSTAR GPS"],"w":"Global Positioning System","r":["GPS III","GPS IIIF","OCX","M-code","GNSS","2 SOPS"]},{"t":"GPS III","s":"Current Lockheed Martin GPS satellite block, with M-code and L1C","d":"GPS III is the block of ten Lockheed Martin satellites launched from 2018 that adds the civil L1C signal, stronger M-code, better accuracy and longer life over earlier blocks. Most of the ten were in orbit by the mid-2020s. Full use of their new signals depends on the OCX ground system and on M-code user equipment.","c":"PNT","k":["GPS Block III","GPS III SV"],"w":"GPS Block III","r":["GPS IIIF","OCX","M-code","L1C"]},{"t":"GPS IIIF","x":"GPS III Follow-On","s":"Next GPS satellite block, adding high-power regional M-code and search and rescue","d":"GPS IIIF is the follow-on block of up to 22 Lockheed Martin satellites, expected to begin launching around 2027. It adds Regional Military Protection, a high-power spot beam of M-code for an area of operations, as well as a search-and-rescue payload and laser retroreflectors. It also uses a fully digital navigation payload.","c":"PNT","k":["GPS III Follow-On","RMP","Regional Military Protection"],"r":["GPS III","M-code","OCX"]},{"t":"GPS/INS","s":"Guidance blending satellite positioning with inertial measurement","d":"GPS/INS guidance combines an inertial measurement unit, which drifts over time, with GPS fixes that correct the drift. It gives all-weather accuracy against fixed targets but degrades under GPS jamming, so modern weapons add anti-jam antennas, M-code receivers or terminal seekers. It is the baseline navigation for most PGMs, cruise missiles and drones.","c":"Weapons","k":["GPS-aided INS","INS/GPS","EGI"],"r":["JDAM","GNSS spoofing","Terminal guidance"]},{"t":"GPS time","s":"Continuous time scale used by GPS, offset from UTC by leap seconds","d":"GPS time began at 0h on 6 January 1980 and does not include leap seconds, so it is currently 18 seconds ahead of UTC; the navigation message broadcasts the offset. It is counted in weeks and seconds of week, and the original 10-bit week number rolls over every 1,024 weeks (last in April 2019), which has broken poorly designed receivers.","c":"PNT","k":["GPS week rollover","GPST"],"r":["PTTI","GPS","Leap second"]},{"t":"Grating lobes","s":"Unwanted full-strength beams that appear when array elements are spaced too far apart","d":"If element spacing exceeds about half a wavelength (adjusted for maximum scan angle), additional main beams called grating lobes appear in other directions, receiving clutter and jamming and wasting energy. Arrays keep spacing near λ/2 at the highest frequency, which drives element count and cost at higher bands. Sparse and thinned arrays use irregular spacing to manage them.","c":"Radar","k":["grating lobe"],"r":["Phased array","Wideband array","Scan loss"]},{"t":"Graveyard orbit","s":"Disposal orbit a few hundred km above GEO for retired satellites","d":"A graveyard or disposal orbit is where GEO satellites are boosted at end of life, typically at least 235 km plus a margin above the geostationary belt, so they no longer threaten active satellites. Reaching it consumes the last reserved propellant. China's Shijian-21 demonstrated towing a dead BeiDou satellite to a graveyard orbit in 2022.","c":"Space","k":["disposal orbit","supersync orbit"],"w":"Graveyard orbit","r":["GEO","Deorbit","Space debris"]},{"t":"Gray zone","s":"Coercion between peace and war that stays below the threshold of armed conflict","d":"Competitive activity between states that goes beyond normal diplomacy and economic competition but stays below the threshold of open armed conflict, such as maritime militia swarming, cyber intrusions, sabotage of undersea cables, election interference and coercive economic measures. Ambiguity and deniability are its defining features. Monitoring gray zone activity is a major use of commercial ISR and OSINT.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["grey zone","hybrid warfare","Grey zone"],"r":["Salami slicing","Influence operations","Competition continuum","Hybrid warfare","Irregular warfare"]},{"t":"Great power competition","s":"Rivalry among the US, China and Russia, the focus of US strategy since 2017","d":"The framing, adopted in the 2017 NSS and 2018 NDS, that long-term strategic rivalry with China and Russia is the central challenge for US national security, displacing counterterrorism as the priority. The Biden administration preferred strategic competition. The framing drove shifts toward high-end capabilities, the Indo-Pacific and the defense industrial base.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["GPC","strategic competition"],"w":"Power politics","r":["Pacing challenge","Acute threat"]},{"t":"Grid reference","s":"A location given as map grid coordinates, typically MGRS","d":"A grid reference (\"grid\") locates a point on a map using easting and northing. An 8-digit grid is precise to 10 meters, a 10-digit grid to 1 meter, and a 6-digit grid to 100 meters. \"Send me your grid\" means send your location.","c":"Comms","k":["Grid","8-digit grid","10-digit grid"],"r":["MGRS"]},{"t":"Ground clutter","s":"Radar echoes from terrain, buildings, vegetation and man-made structures","d":"Ground clutter is strongest at low grazing angles near the radar and around mountains and urban areas. Its Doppler spread comes from wind-blown vegetation and, for airborne radars, platform motion, which spreads mainlobe and sidelobe clutter across Doppler. Wind turbines are a notable modern source because their moving blades produce Doppler that MTI cannot cancel.","c":"Radar","k":["land clutter","surface clutter"],"r":["Clutter","Wind turbine interference","STAP"]},{"t":"Ground entry point","s":"Ground station where a satellite network connects to terrestrial networks","d":"A ground entry point (GEP), also called a gateway or teleport, is a ground facility that links satellites to terrestrial networks, such as DoD networks or the internet. For the SDA Transport Layer, GEPs connect the constellation to command centers and existing networks. Their locations, security and backhaul affect latency, resilience and what data can reach the constellation.","c":"Space","k":["GEP","gateway","teleport"],"r":["Transport Layer","Ground segment","DoD Teleport"]},{"t":"Ground-penetrating radar","s":"Radar that images below the surface to find buried objects such as mines or tunnels","d":"Ground-penetrating radar uses low-frequency, wideband pulses to image dielectric contrasts below the surface. Military uses include detecting buried IEDs and landmines, often on route-clearance vehicles and handheld detectors combined with metal detectors, and finding tunnels. Soil moisture and clay strongly limit penetration.","c":"Sensors","k":["GPR"],"w":"Ground-penetrating radar","r":["Through-wall radar"]},{"t":"Ground segment","s":"Everything on Earth that operates a satellite system and distributes its data","d":"The ground segment includes control centers, ground stations and antennas, mission planning and data processing software, networks and user distribution. It is often where programs run late (GPS OCX is the best-known example) and where cyber exposure is greatest. Ground-as-a-service and shared Space Force enterprise ground services aim to stop every program building its own.","c":"Space","k":["ground system"],"r":["TT&C","AFSCN","OCX","User segment"]},{"t":"Ground surveillance radar","s":"Radar that detects moving people and vehicles on land for perimeter and border security","d":"Ground surveillance radars watch terrain for moving personnel and vehicles, often slewing EO/IR cameras to confirm detections. They range from man-portable units to tower and vehicle installations and are used for base defense, border security and critical infrastructure. Key specs are detection range for a walking person and a vehicle, update rate and false alarm rate in vegetation.","c":"Radar","k":["GSR","perimeter surveillance radar","PSR"],"r":["DMTI","Slew-to-cue"]},{"t":"Ground truth","s":"What is actually happening on the ground, as opposed to reports or plans","d":"Ground truth is the actual situation, often contrasted with what a headquarters or display believes. In data science the same phrase means verified labels used to train or evaluate models. Both senses come up when building AI for military users.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Fog of war"]},{"t":"Group","s":"An Air Force unit of several squadrons, between squadron and wing","d":"An Air Force group is led by a colonel and contains several squadrons, such as an operations group. In the Army, group can mean a Special Forces group (brigade-sized) or a sustainment group. Marine aircraft groups sit under a Marine aircraft wing.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["Wing","Squadron"]},{"t":"Group 1 UAS","s":"Under 20 lb, low and slow: quadcopters, hand-launched drones, FPVs","d":"Group 1 covers hand-launched and small rotary UAS under 20 lb, such as the RQ-11 Raven, Skydio X10D and most FPV drones. They are cheap, numerous and the main threat driving C-sUAS spending. Products here are judged on weight, power, cost and supply chain compliance (Blue UAS, NDAA Section 848).","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Group 1"],"r":["UAS Groups","sUAS","FPV drone"]},{"t":"Group 3 UAS","s":"Up to 1,320 lb, below 18,000 ft MSL, e.g. RQ-7 Shadow class","d":"Group 3 UAS are runway- or catapult-launched tactical aircraft under 1,320 lb operating below 18,000 ft MSL, such as the RQ-7 Shadow and many Shahed-type one-way attack drones. They are large enough to carry real payloads and fly long range, which puts them at the edge of what small C-UAS systems can engage.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Group 3"],"r":["UAS Groups","RQ-7 Shadow","Shahed-136"]},{"t":"Group 5 UAS","s":"Over 1,320 lb, above 18,000 ft: MQ-9, RQ-4, MQ-4C class","d":"Group 5 UAS are the largest class, heavier than 1,320 lb and operating above 18,000 ft MSL. Examples include the MQ-9 Reaper, RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton. They operate much like manned aircraft, with satellite links, airworthiness certification and full flight crews.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Group 5"],"r":["UAS Groups","MQ-9 Reaper","RQ-4 Global Hawk"]},{"t":"Grunt","s":"Slang for an infantryman, especially a Marine","d":"Grunt refers to infantry, worn with pride by those in it. Marines use it most. Grunts are a demanding user base for anything soldier-carried.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["POG","Tip of the spear"]},{"t":"GSD","s":"Ground sample distance: ground size of one image pixel","d":"Ground Sample Distance: the distance on the ground between the centers of adjacent pixels, often loosely called resolution. Commercial satellites now offer 30 cm GSD and finer, and the US government licenses commercial operators through NOAA. GSD alone does not determine interpretability, which also depends on sharpness and noise, hence NIIRS.","c":"Sensors","k":["resolution","ground sampling distance","ground resolution"],"w":"Ground sample distance","r":["NIIRS","IMINT","IFOV"]},{"t":"GS grade","x":"General Schedule","s":"General Schedule pay grade for federal civilians, GS-1 to GS-15","d":"The General Schedule runs from GS-1 to GS-15, each with ten steps. GS-13 to GS-15 are senior technical and management positions; for protocol, GS-15 is roughly equivalent to an O-6. Some DoD organizations use other pay systems with bands instead of grades.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["GS","GS-13","GS-14","GS-15"],"w":"General Schedule","r":["SES","DoD civilian"]},{"t":"GSO","x":"Geosynchronous Orbit","s":"Any orbit with a period of one sidereal day; GEO is the equatorial circular case","d":"A geosynchronous orbit has an orbital period equal to one sidereal day (about 23 h 56 min). If it is also circular and equatorial it is geostationary; with inclination the satellite traces a figure-eight in the sky over the course of a day. Spectrum regulators and ITU filings often use GSO to mean the geostationary arc, as in GSO versus NGSO (non-geostationary) systems.","c":"Space","k":["Geosynchronous orbit","NGSO"],"w":"Geosynchronous orbit","r":["GEO","Inclination"]},{"t":"GSSAP","x":"Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program","s":"US satellites that patrol near GEO to inspect and monitor other satellites","d":"GSSAP is a Space Force constellation of Northrop Grumman-built satellites flying just above and below the GEO belt, drifting relative to it to observe other GEO objects with optical sensors. They can perform rendezvous and proximity operations to characterize satellites of interest. The first pair launched in 2014 and the program was publicly disclosed that year.","c":"Space","w":"Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program","r":["RPO","SDA (space domain awareness)","SILENTBARKER","GEO"]},{"t":"G/T","s":"Receive figure of merit for an antenna and receiver, in dB/K","d":"G/T is the receive antenna gain divided by the system noise temperature, expressed in dB/K, and is the main measure of how well a terminal or satellite receives. Larger antennas and lower-noise amplifiers raise it. Together with EIRP it sets the achievable data rate in a link budget, and small flat-panel terminals typically trade G/T for size.","c":"RF","k":["G over T","figure of merit"],"w":"Antenna gain-to-noise-temperature","r":["Noise temperature","Antenna gain","Link budget","EIRP","Link margin"],"x":"Gain-to-noise-temperature ratio"},{"t":"GTO","x":"Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit","s":"Elliptical orbit with apogee near GEO altitude used to reach geostationary orbit","d":"A geosynchronous (or geostationary) transfer orbit has a low perigee and an apogee near 35,786 km. Launch vehicles commonly drop GEO satellites here, and the satellite then circularizes and removes inclination with its own propulsion, taking days with chemical thrusters or months with electric propulsion. NSSL missions sometimes deliver directly to GEO to save the satellite this work.","c":"Space","w":"Geostationary transfer orbit","r":["GEO","Hohmann transfer","Apogee"]},{"t":"Guard","s":"Cross-domain device that inspects and filters data passing between domains","d":"A guard is a type of cross-domain solution that inspects data against rules, such as message format, dirty word checks and classification labels, before allowing it to pass between domains, often in both directions. Guards are tailored to specific data types such as tracks, chat or files. Message formats with clear structure, such as Link 16 or CoT, are easier to guard.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["security guard"],"r":["Cross-domain solution","Data diode"]},{"t":"Guard channel","s":"Low-gain wide-beam receive channel used to recognize sidelobe signals","d":"A guard channel has gain higher than the main antenna's sidelobes but lower than its mainlobe, so comparing the two tells whether a signal entered through a sidelobe. It supports sidelobe blanking and some ECCM logic. Many AESAs form guard patterns from subsets of their own elements.","c":"Radar","k":["guard antenna","guard horn"],"r":["Sidelobe blanking"]},{"t":"Guardian","s":"Member of the US Space Force","d":"Guardian is the official name for members of the US Space Force, adopted in December 2020. Space Force officer and enlisted specialties include space operations, intelligence, cyber, acquisition and engineering.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Guardians"],"r":["USSF"]},{"t":"Guardrail","s":"US Army RC-12 airborne SIGINT system, being replaced","d":"The Guardrail Common Sensor is a US Army corps-level airborne SIGINT system flown on RC-12 King Air aircraft, most recently the RC-12X, that intercepts and precisely locates communications and non-communications emitters. It has served since the 1970s in evolving versions and is to be replaced by HADES.","c":"SIGINT","k":["Guardrail Common Sensor","RC-12X","GR/CS"],"r":["HADES","ARES"]},{"t":"Gucci","s":"Slang for good, nice, or fancy, often describing high-end gear","d":"Gucci means fine, as in \"we're Gucci,\" or describes expensive, stylish equipment bought outside the issue system. Gucci gear is often personally purchased. Products that soldiers buy with their own money are a strong signal of real demand.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["High speed, low drag","Tacticool"]},{"t":"Gunny","s":"Marine gunnery sergeant (E-7)","d":"Gunny is the common name for a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, often a company operations chief or platoon sergeant. Gunnies are known for practical, no-nonsense judgment. Master gunnery sergeant (E-9) is the senior technical rank.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["GySgt","Gunnery sergeant"],"r":["SNCO"]},{"t":"Guowang","s":"Chinese state megaconstellation planned for about 13,000 LEO satellites","d":"Guowang (national network) is China's state-backed LEO broadband megaconstellation, filed with the ITU for about 13,000 satellites, with deployment launches under way since late 2024. Along with the separate Qianfan (Spacesail) constellation, it is seen as China's answer to Starlink, with likely military uses.","c":"Space","k":["Qianfan","Spacesail","Thousand Sails"],"r":["Starlink","Proliferated constellation"]},{"t":"GWAC","x":"Government-Wide Acquisition Contract","s":"IT IDIQ contract usable by any federal agency","d":"GWACs are multiple-award IDIQs for IT products and services run by GSA or other executive agents, such as Alliant 2, 8(a) STARS III, Polaris and NASA SEWP. DoD organizations can order from them. Holding a seat on a GWAC is a common way for IT firms to reach many agencies.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Government-Wide Acquisition Contract","SEWP","Alliant","GSA Schedule","MAS"],"r":["IDIQ","Task order"]},{"t":"H-6","s":"China's main bomber, derived from the Soviet Tu-16","d":"The Xian H-6 is China's principal bomber, a license-built derivative of the Soviet Tu-16 Badger extensively upgraded with new engines, avionics and stand-off weapons. The H-6K carries long-range land-attack cruise missiles, and the H-6N adds aerial refueling and can carry an air-launched ballistic missile, giving China an air leg of its nuclear triad. It is a frequent participant in exercises around Taiwan and joint patrols with Russian bombers.","c":"Aviation","k":["H-6K","H-6N","Xian H-6"],"w":"Xi'an H-6","r":["Badger","PLAAF","YJ-21"]},{"t":"HACM","x":"Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile","s":"Air Force scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile by Raytheon","d":"HACM is the Air Force's air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile, built by Raytheon with a Northrop Grumman scramjet, based on the DARPA HAWC demonstrator. It is designed to be carried by fighters as well as bombers. Flight testing and fielding have been planned for the second half of the 2020s.","c":"Weapons","k":["HAWC"],"r":["HCM","Scramjet"]},{"t":"HADES","x":"High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System","s":"US Army business-jet deep-sensing ISR aircraft program","d":"HADES is the US Army program to field business jet based, high-altitude ISR aircraft carrying SIGINT and other sensors for deep sensing at long stand-off ranges, replacing Guardrail and other turboprop ISR fleets. It uses Bombardier Global 6500 airframes and was in prototyping and early fielding in the mid-2020s, supporting long-range fires by Multi-Domain Task Forces.","c":"SIGINT","k":["High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System"],"r":["ARES","Guardrail","SIGINT"]},{"t":"HADR","x":"Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief","s":"Military support to relief after natural disasters or humanitarian crises","d":"Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief is a common real-world mission, especially in the Indo-Pacific. Forces provide airlift, sealift, engineering, medical and communications support, usually in support of civilian agencies such as USAID or its successors. It drives requirements to share information with non-military partners on unclassified networks.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["FHA"],"r":["MOOTW","DSCA","NEO"]},{"t":"HAIPE","x":"High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor","s":"NSA-certified Type 1 IP network encryptor standard","d":"HAIPE is the NSA interoperability specification for Type 1 IP encryptors that create encrypted tunnels between classified enclaves over untrusted networks. TACLANE and the KG-250 are common HAIPE devices, and some radios embed HAIPE functions. HAIPE is the standard building block for black core and SIPRNet extension over commercial links.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["HAIPE IS"],"w":"High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor","r":["TACLANE","KG-250","Black core"]},{"t":"Halo","s":"NATO name for the Mi-26, the world's largest production helicopter","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Mil Mi-26, a heavy-lift transport helicopter and the largest and most powerful helicopter in series production, with an eight-blade main rotor.","c":"Aviation","k":["Mi-26"],"w":"Mil Mi-26","r":["Hip"]},{"t":"HALT","x":"Highly Accelerated Life Test","s":"Design-stage stress test that pushes hardware to failure to find weaknesses","d":"HALT applies stepped thermal, vibration and combined stresses well beyond specification to find design weaknesses and operating and destruct limits. It is a discovery test rather than a pass or fail qualification, and it informs HASS screens.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Highly Accelerated Life Test"],"w":"Highly accelerated life test","r":["HASS","ESS","Reliability growth"]},{"t":"HAND","x":"High-Altitude Nuclear Detonation","s":"Nuclear explosion in or above the upper atmosphere, a threat to LEO satellites","d":"A high-altitude nuclear detonation produces EMP effects on the ground and pumps the Van Allen belts with energetic electrons that can persist for months, rapidly degrading unhardened LEO satellites. The 1962 Starfish Prime test damaged or disabled several satellites this way. The scenario matters for proliferated constellations built with commercial parts, and US officials said in 2024 that Russia was developing a nuclear-armed anti-satellite capability.","c":"Space","k":["Starfish Prime","HANE"],"w":"Starfish Prime","r":["Van Allen belts","ASAT","TID"]},{"t":"HARM","x":"High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile","s":"AGM-88 missile that homes on enemy radar emissions; successor AARGM","d":"HARM is an air-launched missile that homes on radar transmissions, used for suppression of enemy air defenses. The AGM-88E AARGM adds GPS and a millimeter-wave terminal seeker to hit radars that shut down, and AARGM-ER extends range. HARMs adapted to Soviet-era aircraft were supplied to Ukraine.","c":"Weapons","k":["AGM-88","AARGM","AARGM-ER"],"w":"AGM-88 HARM","r":["SEAD","Anti-radiation missile"]},{"t":"Harmful interference","s":"Interference that endangers safety services or seriously degrades authorized radio use","d":"The ITU-defined term for interference that endangers radionavigation or other safety services, or seriously degrades, obstructs or repeatedly interrupts a radio service operating under the Radio Regulations. Spectrum rules protect assigned users from harmful interference, which is the threshold for regulatory action. Military testing of jammers and EW systems outside designated ranges must avoid causing it.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["Interference","ITU Radio Regulations","Joint Spectrum Interference Resolution"]},{"t":"Harmonics","s":"Unwanted emissions at integer multiples of a transmitted frequency","d":"Signals at integer multiples of a fundamental frequency, produced by nonlinearity in amplifiers and other circuits. Transmitter harmonics must be filtered to meet emission limits and to avoid interfering with other systems, and receiver harmonic responses can create false detections.","c":"RF","k":["harmonic distortion","2nd harmonic"],"w":"Harmonic","r":["Spurious emissions","Intermodulation","dBc"]},{"t":"HASS","x":"Highly Accelerated Stress Screen","s":"Production screen using stresses beyond spec to catch manufacturing defects","d":"HASS applies stresses derived from HALT limits to production units to precipitate latent defects without consuming significant life. It is more aggressive than conventional ESS.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Highly Accelerated Stress Screen"],"r":["HALT","ESS"]},{"t":"HAVE QUICK","s":"UHF frequency-hopping air-to-air and air-to-ground voice waveform","d":"HAVE QUICK is a frequency-hopping technique for UHF military aircraft radios in the 225 to 400 MHz band, using time of day and a word of day to synchronize hopping. HAVE QUICK II is the common version. It is being superseded by SATURN under NATO but remains widely fielded.","c":"Comms","k":["HAVE QUICK II","HQ II","SATURN"],"w":"Have Quick","r":["SATURN","SINCGARS","Frequency hopping","UHF"]},{"t":"Havoc","s":"NATO name for the Mi-28 attack helicopter","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Mil Mi-28, a dedicated tandem-seat attack helicopter comparable to the AH-64 Apache, with the Mi-28NM the current version. Along with the Ka-52 Hokum-B it is Russia's main attack helicopter.","c":"Aviation","k":["Mi-28"],"w":"Mil Mi-28","r":["Hind","Hokum"]},{"t":"H band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 6 to 8 GHz","d":"NATO EW band H covers 6 to 8 GHz, the upper half of IEEE C band, used by some tracking and missile guidance radars and satellite and terrestrial links.","c":"RF","k":["H-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","C band"]},{"t":"HBTSS","x":"Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor","s":"MDA prototype medium-field-of-view satellites for fire-control tracking","d":"HBTSS is a Missile Defense Agency program to demonstrate space sensors that can track hypersonic glide vehicles and ballistic missiles with the precision needed to cue interceptors. Two prototypes, from L3Harris and Northrop Grumman, launched in February 2024 alongside SDA Tranche 0 satellites. Its lessons feed the Tracking Layer and the Discriminating Space Sensor.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","r":["Tracking Layer","Discriminating Space Sensor","MDA"]},{"t":"HCM","x":"Hypersonic Cruise Missile","s":"Air-breathing missile powered by a scramjet at hypersonic speed","d":"A hypersonic cruise missile is boosted to high speed and then sustained by a scramjet engine for its cruise. It flies lower than an HGV and is smaller. The US Air Force HACM program and Russia's Zircon are examples.","c":"Weapons","k":["hypersonic cruise missile"],"r":["HACM","Scramjet","Hypersonic"]},{"t":"HE","x":"High Explosive","s":"Warhead or round relying on blast from high explosive filling","d":"HE refers to munitions filled with high explosive whose effect comes from blast and casing fragments. HE is the default artillery and mortar round. Other warhead types tailor effect to armor, buildings or personnel.","c":"Weapons","k":["high explosive"],"r":["Blast fragmentation","HEAT"]},{"t":"HEAT","x":"High-Explosive Anti-Tank","s":"Shaped charge warhead forming a metal jet to penetrate armor","d":"A HEAT warhead uses a shaped charge: a cone of metal lined against explosive collapses into a high-velocity jet that penetrates armor. Tandem charges defeat explosive reactive armor. It is used in RPGs, Javelin, Hellfire and many FPV drone payloads.","c":"Weapons","k":["shaped charge","tandem HEAT"],"w":"High-explosive anti-tank","r":["EFP","Javelin","Reactive armor"]},{"t":"Height finder","s":"Radar that measures target elevation angle, traditionally with a nodding beam","d":"Height-finder radars sweep a narrow beam up and down to measure the elevation and altitude of targets detected by a 2D search radar. They were standard in air defense until 3D radars took over the role. The term persists for altitude-measurement functions.","c":"Radar","k":["height-finder radar","nodding radar"],"w":"Height finder","r":["3D radar"]},{"t":"HEL","x":"High Energy Laser","s":"Laser weapon that burns through a target with a focused beam","d":"A high energy laser heats a spot on a target until it fails, typically using fiber lasers combined into one beam at tens to hundreds of kilowatts. Against drones a 10 to 50 kW class laser can be effective at short range; cruise missiles need far more power. Beam control, atmospheric effects, cooling and power generation are the main engineering challenges.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["laser weapon","HELWS"],"r":["Directed energy","IFPC-HEL","HELIOS","LOCUST"]},{"t":"Helical antenna","s":"Coiled conductor antenna producing circular polarization","d":"An antenna made of a conductor wound in a helix; in axial mode it produces a circularly polarized directional beam, used for satellite communications, telemetry and GNSS. Small normal-mode helices are used as compact whips on handheld radios.","c":"RF","k":["helix antenna","quadrifilar helix","QFH"],"w":"Helical antenna","r":["Polarization","Axial ratio"]},{"t":"HELIOS","x":"High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance","s":"Lockheed Martin 60 kW-class Navy laser installed on USS Preble","d":"HELIOS is a ship laser built by Lockheed Martin and installed on the destroyer USS Preble in 2022. It is designed to defeat small drones and boats and to dazzle sensors, and it is integrated with Aegis. It is part of the Navy's broader plan to add directed energy to surface ships.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["HEL","ODIN","Aegis"]},{"t":"Hellfire","s":"Laser-guided air-to-ground missile, AGM-114, used by helicopters and UAS","d":"Hellfire is a 100 lb class semi-active laser guided missile developed for anti-armor and now used against many target types by AH-64s, MQ-9s and other platforms. The Longbow variant used millimeter-wave radar guidance. It is being replaced by JAGM.","c":"Weapons","k":["AGM-114","Hellfire II","R9X"],"w":"AGM-114 Hellfire","r":["JAGM","Semi-active laser","MQ-9 Reaper"]},{"t":"Hellscape","s":"INDOPACOM concept of swarming the Taiwan Strait with drones in a conflict","d":"The concept described publicly by Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, in 2024: flooding the Taiwan Strait with thousands of uncrewed surface vessels, submarines and aerial drones at the start of an invasion to make the crossing a hellscape and buy time for other forces to arrive. It has driven demand for affordable autonomous systems and was tied to the Replicator initiative.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["unmanned hellscape"],"r":["Porcupine strategy","Affordable mass","Replicator"]},{"t":"HEMP","x":"High-altitude Electromagnetic Pulse","s":"EMP from a nuclear burst high above the atmosphere, covering a continent","d":"Electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear detonation tens to hundreds of kilometers above the earth, which can affect an area thousands of kilometers across. It has three components, E1 (fast, nanoseconds), E2 (lightning-like) and E3 (slow, geomagnetic). Facilities and C3 systems that must survive it are hardened to MIL-STD-188-125.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["high-altitude EMP","E1","E3 (HEMP)","E3","MIL-STD-188-125"],"w":"Nuclear electromagnetic pulse","r":["Electromagnetic pulse","MIL-STD-188-125","EMP","NC3"]},{"t":"HEO","x":"Highly Elliptical Orbit","s":"Eccentric orbit with a low perigee and very high apogee, dwelling over high latitudes","d":"A highly elliptical orbit has a low perigee and an apogee far above GEO altitude, so the satellite moves slowly near apogee and dwells for hours over one region. Inclined near 63.4 degrees, it gives long coverage of the Arctic and high northern latitudes that GEO cannot see well. US missile warning (SBIRS HEO payloads and Next-Gen OPIR Polar) and Russian communications use this geometry. Some sources use HEO to mean high Earth orbit instead, so check context.","c":"Space","k":["HEO orbit"],"w":"Highly elliptical orbit","r":["Molniya orbit","Tundra orbit","SBIRS","Next-Gen OPIR"]},{"t":"HERF","x":"Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Fuel","s":"Risk that RF-induced sparks ignite fuel vapors","d":"The danger that electromagnetic radiation induces currents that arc and ignite volatile fuel vapors, for example during refueling near high power transmitters. Together with HERO and HERP it makes up the RADHAZ categories.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["RADHAZ fuel"],"r":["HERO","HERP"]},{"t":"HERO","x":"Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance","s":"Risk that RF energy triggers or degrades electrically initiated ordnance","d":"The danger that electromagnetic radiation will induce currents in electro-explosive devices and cause inadvertent initiation or dudding of ordnance. Ordnance is classed HERO safe, susceptible or unsafe, and ships and airfields impose emitter restrictions near ordnance handling. Any new transmitter on a platform carrying ordnance needs a HERO assessment.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["HERO safe","HERO unsafe"],"r":["HERP","HERF","E3","MIL-STD-464","Fuze","ESAD"]},{"t":"HERP","x":"Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Personnel","s":"Potential for RF exposure to harm people","d":"The potential for electromagnetic radiation to produce harmful biological effects in people, chiefly heating. Exposure limits come from DoD Instruction 6055.11 and IEEE C95.1, and high power radars and jammers carry keep-out distances around their antennas.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["RF radiation hazard","RADHAZ"],"r":["HERO","HERF"]},{"t":"HF","x":"High Frequency","s":"3 to 30 MHz, reaches beyond line of sight by ionospheric skywave","d":"The ITU band from 3 to 30 MHz, which can propagate thousands of kilometers by refraction from the ionosphere. Militaries rely on HF as a satellite-independent beyond line of sight link, using ALE (automatic link establishment) and wideband HF waveforms. Over-the-horizon radars also use it. HF is easy to intercept and direction find at long range.","c":"RF","k":["high frequency","shortwave","NVIS"],"r":["HF ALE","Wideband HF","NVIS","AN/PRC-160","VHF","Direction finding"],"w":"High frequency"},{"t":"HF ALE","x":"HF Automatic Link Establishment","s":"Automatic channel selection and linking for HF radio","d":"Automatic link establishment lets HF radios automatically scan channels, sound propagation and select the best frequency to reach another station, replacing manual frequency selection. Second-generation ALE is in MIL-STD-188-141B, third-generation (3G) ALE in the same standard, and 4G ALE for wideband HF in MIL-STD-188-141D. ALE is required for most fielded HF networks.","c":"Comms","k":["ALE","2G ALE","3G ALE","4G ALE","MIL-STD-188-141"],"w":"Automatic link establishment","r":["HF","Wideband HF"]},{"t":"HF data modem","s":"Waveforms for sending data over HF, such as MIL-STD-188-110 and STANAG 4539","d":"HF data modem waveforms define how digital data is sent over HF channels, the main ones being MIL-STD-188-110 serial tone waveforms and NATO STANAG 4539 and 4285. STANAG 5066 provides a data link and subnetwork layer for applications such as email and IP over HF. Data rates in a 3 kHz channel range up to about 9.6 kbps.","c":"Comms","k":["MIL-STD-188-110","STANAG 4539","STANAG 5066"],"r":["HF","Wideband HF"]},{"t":"HFSWR","x":"High-Frequency Surface Wave Radar","s":"HF coastal radar using ground waves along the sea surface to see past the horizon","d":"HF surface wave radars exploit vertically polarized ground waves that follow the conductive sea surface, giving maritime surveillance out to roughly 200 to 400 km from a coastal site. They are used for EEZ monitoring, ship tracking and some low-altitude air detection, and the same technology is used for ocean current mapping. Resolution is coarse and antenna arrays are large.","c":"Radar","k":["HF surface wave radar","HFSW","surface wave OTH"],"r":["OTH radar","Maritime surveillance radar"]},{"t":"HgCdTe","x":"Mercury Cadmium Telluride","s":"Tunable IR detector material covering SWIR through LWIR; also called MCT","d":"Mercury cadmium telluride's bandgap is set by its mercury-to-cadmium ratio, so one material system can be tuned from SWIR to VLWIR. It offers high quantum efficiency and is used in high-performance cooled FPAs for targeting, missile warning and space sensors. It is costly and difficult to grow uniformly in large formats, which has driven interest in T2SL.","c":"Sensors","k":["MCT","MerCad"],"w":"Mercury cadmium telluride","r":["InSb","T2SL","Cooled detector"]},{"t":"HGV","x":"Hypersonic Glide Vehicle","s":"Unpowered vehicle boosted by a rocket and gliding at hypersonic speed","d":"An HGV rides a rocket booster to high altitude and speed, then separates and glides through the upper atmosphere, manoeuvring toward the target. Its low, unpredictable path challenges radars and interceptors designed for ballistic arcs. US examples include the Common Hypersonic Glide Body used by LRHW and CPS; China's DF-17 and Russia's Avangard are adversary examples.","c":"Weapons","k":["boost-glide","C-HGB","Common Hypersonic Glide Body"],"w":"Boost-glide","r":["Hypersonic","LRHW","CPS","GPI"]},{"t":"H-hour","s":"The specific hour an operation begins; D-day is the day","d":"D-day and H-hour are the unnamed day and hour on which an operation starts, and planning timelines are written relative to them (D+3, H-2). Other letters mark other events, such as L-hour for a deployment or C-day for movement. Scheduling and timeline tools should handle these relative times.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["D-day","D-Day"],"r":["DTG"]},{"t":"Higher","s":"Shorthand for the next headquarters up the chain; adjacent units are beside you","d":"\"Higher\" means the next higher headquarters, as in \"waiting on guidance from higher.\" Adjacent units are on the flanks, and subordinate units are below. Orders analysis talks about understanding the mission two levels up.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Higher headquarters","HHQ"],"r":["Chain of command"]},{"t":"High-power microwave","x":"HPM","s":"Intense microwave pulses that disrupt or burn out electronics","d":"Directed energy systems that radiate very intense microwave pulses to upset, latch up or damage electronics through front-door (antenna) and back-door (cabling, apertures) coupling. HPM is attractive for counter-swarm defense because one shot can affect many drones in a wide beam. Examples include the AFRL THOR, the Epirus Leonidas and the Army IFPC-HPM effort.","c":"Weapons","k":["HPM","RF directed energy"],"r":["THOR","Leonidas","Directed energy","CHAMP"]},{"t":"High speed, low drag","s":"Slang for highly competent, elite or well equipped","d":"High speed, low drag describes someone or something sharp, efficient and capable, from aerodynamics. It can be sincere or sarcastic. \"High speed\" alone is common.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["High speed"],"r":["Squared away","Gucci"]},{"t":"High-throughput satellite","s":"Satellite using many small spot beams with frequency reuse for high capacity","d":"A high-throughput satellite (HTS) uses dozens to hundreds of narrow spot beams and reuses frequencies across non-adjacent beams to deliver many times the capacity of wide-beam satellites. Newer designs are software-defined, with digital processors that reshape beams and power on orbit. Examples include Viasat-3, Global Xpress and O3b mPOWER.","c":"Comms","k":["HTS","spot beam","frequency reuse","software-defined satellite"],"r":["Beam hopping","Ka-band"]},{"t":"HIMARS","x":"High Mobility Artillery Rocket System","s":"Lockheed Martin wheeled rocket launcher, M142, carrying one pod","d":"HIMARS is a truck-mounted launcher that carries one pod of six GMLRS rockets or one ATACMS or two PrSM missiles. It can fire and leave quickly, which helps it survive counter-battery fire. Its performance in Ukraine drove large orders from allies, and the Marines use it in littoral roles.","c":"Weapons","k":["M142"],"w":"M142 HIMARS","r":["GMLRS","ATACMS","PrSM","MLRS"]},{"t":"Hind","s":"NATO name for the Mi-24 attack and transport helicopter","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Mil Mi-24 and its Mi-35 export variant, a heavily armed attack helicopter that can also carry a squad of troops, introduced in the 1970s and widely exported. It is used by both sides in Ukraine.","c":"Aviation","k":["Mi-24","Mi-35"],"w":"Mil Mi-24","r":["Havoc","Hip"]},{"t":"Hip","s":"NATO name for the Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport helicopters","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Mil Mi-8 and its export derivative the Mi-17, the most produced helicopter family in the world, used as transports, gunships and electronic warfare platforms in dozens of countries. The US bought Mi-17s for Afghan forces.","c":"Aviation","k":["Mi-8","Mi-17"],"w":"Mil Mi-8","r":["Hind","Halo"]},{"t":"Hip pocket training","s":"Short, prepared training done during idle moments","d":"Hip pocket training fills downtime, such as waiting for transport, with brief lessons a leader keeps ready. It shows how much training time is scarce and opportunistic. Short, self-contained training modules suit it.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Hurry up and wait"]},{"t":"Hit-to-kill","s":"Destroying a missile by direct collision instead of an explosive warhead","d":"Hit-to-kill interceptors such as THAAD, PAC-3, SM-3 and GBI destroy targets by striking them directly at very high closing speed. This needs extremely precise guidance and divert thrusters. It reliably destroys warhead contents, including chemical payloads.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["HTK","kinetic kill"],"r":["THAAD","PAC-3 MSE","SM-3","Blast fragmentation"]},{"t":"HMS","x":"Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Fit","s":"Army program for software-defined handheld and manpack radios","d":"HMS is the Army program, descended from JTRS, that procures handheld and manpack software-defined radios, including the AN/PRC-158 (L3Harris) and AN/PRC-162 (Collins Aerospace) manpacks and the leader radio family. It runs multiple waveforms such as SINCGARS, SRW, MUOS and TSM. It is a major procurement route for tactical radios.","c":"Comms","r":["AN/PRC-158","AN/PRC-162","Leader radio","JTRS"]},{"t":"Hohmann transfer","s":"Two-burn, fuel-efficient transfer between two circular orbits","d":"A Hohmann transfer moves a spacecraft between two coplanar circular orbits using an elliptical transfer orbit tangent to both, with one burn at each end. It is close to the minimum-energy option for most practical cases but slow, taking half an orbit of the transfer ellipse. GTO is a Hohmann-style transfer to GEO.","c":"Space","w":"Hohmann transfer orbit","r":["GTO","Delta-v"]},{"t":"Hokum","s":"NATO name for the Ka-50 and Ka-52 attack helicopters","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Kamov Ka-50 single-seat and Ka-52 Alligator two-seat attack helicopters, recognizable by their coaxial rotors. The Ka-52 has been heavily used and lost in significant numbers in Ukraine.","c":"Aviation","k":["Ka-52","Alligator"],"w":"Kamov Ka-50","r":["Havoc"]},{"t":"Holdover","s":"How long a clock stays within spec after losing its GPS or reference signal","d":"Holdover is the period a local oscillator keeps acceptable time or frequency accuracy after losing its disciplining reference, such as GPS during jamming. It depends on the oscillator: a quartz TCXO drifts quickly, an OCXO holds for hours, and rubidium or cesium clocks for days. Holdover requirements (for example, microseconds over 24 hours) drive the choice of clock in communications and EW systems.","c":"PNT","r":["CSAC","Atomic clock","PTTI","OCXO"]},{"t":"Home-on-jam","x":"HOJ","s":"Missile mode that guides passively on a jammer's emissions","d":"A guidance mode in which a radar-guided missile, when jammed, switches to homing on the jamming signal itself. HOJ makes self-protection noise jamming risky and favors deception or off-board jamming. A related radar mode, track-on-jam, tracks the jammer's angle.","c":"EW","k":["HOJ","track-on-jam","TOJ"],"r":["Self-protection jamming","Towed decoy"]},{"t":"Hooah","s":"Army spirit cry and all-purpose word meaning yes, understood or motivated","d":"Hooah can mean almost anything positive except no, from acknowledgment to enthusiasm. It is distinctly Army. Using another service's version is a small social error.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["HUA"],"w":"Hooah","r":["Oorah","Hooyah"]},{"t":"Hook and loop","s":"Fastener tape with hooks on one side and loops on the other, often called Velcro","d":"Hook and loop fasteners are used for patches, IR marking, pouches and adjustable gear. Velcro is the brand name. Uniforms and plate carriers have loop panels where patches and identifiers attach.","c":"Ground","k":["Velcro"],"w":"Velcro","r":["IR patch"]},{"t":"Hooyah","s":"Navy spirit cry, strongly associated with SEALs","d":"Hooyah is the Navy's spirit cry, especially in Naval Special Warfare. It plays the same role as hooah and oorah. Air Force and Space Force have no single equivalent in common use.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Hooah","Oorah"]},{"t":"Horn antenna","s":"Flared waveguide antenna with moderate gain and wide bandwidth","d":"A flared section of waveguide that radiates with moderate gain and good impedance match over a wide band. Horns serve as feeds for dishes, standard gain references in test ranges and elements in EW and radar systems; ridged horns cover multi-octave bands.","c":"RF","k":["ridged horn","standard gain horn"],"w":"Horn antenna","r":["Waveguide","Parabolic antenna"]},{"t":"HOST","x":"Hardware Open Systems Technologies","s":"Navy-originated open standard for embedded computing hardware based on OpenVPX","d":"HOST, originated by NAVAIR, defines hardware profiles based on OpenVPX for embedded computing in aircraft and other platforms. Its work has been aligned with SOSA.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Hardware Open Systems Technologies"],"r":["SOSA","OpenVPX","FACE"]},{"t":"Hosted payload","s":"Government payload flying on someone else's satellite, often commercial","d":"A hosted payload is an instrument or transponder carried on a satellite owned by another organization, typically a commercial GEO communications satellite, sharing its power, launch and ground link. It gives the government cheaper and faster access to space; the Space Force's Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS) contracts arrange this. Security, data handling and the host's schedule are the usual integration challenges.","c":"Space","k":["HoPS","Hosted Payload Solutions"],"r":["Payload","Bus","CNSSP 12"]},{"t":"Hostile","s":"Brevity: a contact identified as enemy and cleared for engagement under the ROE","d":"HOSTILE means a contact identified as enemy upon which clearance to fire is authorized according to the ROE. It is the step beyond BANDIT. The term also has a legal meaning in ROE (hostile act, hostile intent).","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Hostile act","Hostile intent"],"r":["Bandit","ROE","PID"]},{"t":"Host nation approval","x":"HNA","s":"Permission from a foreign government to operate an emitter in its territory","d":"Approval from a host nation's spectrum authority for US or allied forces to operate spectrum-dependent equipment within its borders, obtained through combatant command spectrum offices. Host nations can restrict or deny frequencies, so systems intended for overseas use must plan for HNA early. The DoD tracks host nation coordination through the HNSWDO database.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["HNA","host nation coordination","HNC","HNSWDO"],"r":["Spectrum certification","Spectrum supportability"]},{"t":"HOT detector","x":"High Operating Temperature detector","s":"Cooled IR detector designed to run warmer than 77 K to cut cooler size and power","d":"HOT detectors, using barrier designs in InAsSb, T2SL or HgCdTe, operate around 130 to 160 K so they need smaller, longer-lived, lower-power cryocoolers and cool down faster. This shrinks cooled MWIR sensors into handheld and small UAS packages. It is a major trend in cooled IR.","c":"Sensors","k":["HOT FPA","high operating temperature"],"r":["Cooled detector","Cryocooler","T2SL"]},{"t":"Hot wash","s":"An immediate, informal debrief right after an event or exercise","d":"A hot wash captures first impressions and issues while memories are fresh, before a formal AAR. Product tests and exercises usually end with one. It is an excellent place to collect user feedback.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["AAR","Lessons learned"]},{"t":"HPM","x":"High-Power Microwave","s":"Directed energy that disables electronics with intense microwave pulses","d":"HPM weapons emit short, powerful bursts of microwave energy that upset or damage electronics over a wide beam. That makes them suited to swarms, since one pulse can affect many drones at once, at very low cost per shot. Examples include Epirus Leonidas and AFRL THOR; the Army's IFPC-HPM program uses Leonidas.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["high-power microwave","HPM weapon"],"r":["Leonidas","THOR","Directed energy","Swarm"]},{"t":"HPRF","x":"High Pulse Repetition Frequency","s":"Pulse mode with unambiguous Doppler and ambiguous range; best for head-on fast closers","d":"High PRF modes, often 100 kHz or more, make the Doppler spectrum unambiguous so high-closing-rate targets sit in clutter-free Doppler regions ahead of mainlobe clutter. Range is ambiguous and is recovered with FM ranging or multiple PRFs. It offers the longest detection range against nose-on targets and is used for velocity search and for semi-active missile illumination.","c":"Radar","k":["high PRF"],"r":["PRF","MPRF","Velocity search"]},{"t":"HPT","x":"High-Payoff Target","s":"Target whose loss significantly helps the friendly course of action","d":"High-Payoff Target: a high-value target that must be acquired and successfully attacked for the friendly commander's mission to succeed. HPTs are listed in priority order on the high-payoff target list and linked to the attack guidance matrix. They change by phase of the operation.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["HVT","HPTL","AGM"]},{"t":"HPTL","x":"High-Payoff Target List","s":"Prioritized list of high-payoff targets by phase","d":"High-Payoff Target List: a prioritized list of high-payoff targets by phase of the operation, approved by the commander during the decide function of D3A. It drives collection priorities and fires allocation. Fires and targeting software generally carries it as structured data so that new detections can be matched automatically.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["HPT","AGM","D3A"]},{"t":"HQ-9","s":"Chinese long-range surface-to-air missile system","d":"The Hongqi-9 is a Chinese long-range surface-to-air missile system, broadly comparable to the S-300PMU family and Patriot, used by the PLA ground forces and, in a naval version (HHQ-9), on Type 052D and Type 055 warships. The FD-2000 is its export variant, and newer versions include the HQ-9B and HQ-9BE.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Hongqi-9","HHQ-9","FD-2000","HQ-9B"],"w":"HQ-9","r":["SA-20 Gargoyle","Type 055"]},{"t":"HSI","x":"Human Systems Integration","s":"Discipline ensuring systems fit the people who operate, maintain and support them","d":"HSI covers manpower, personnel, training, human factors engineering, safety and occupational health, force protection and survivability, and habitability. DoD policy requires it on acquisition programs because people drive much of life-cycle cost and performance. The Army's version is MANPRINT.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Human Systems Integration","human factors","HFE"],"r":["MANPRINT","MIL-STD-1472"]},{"t":"HUBZone","x":"Historically Underutilized Business Zone","s":"SBA program for small firms located in and employing people from designated areas","d":"HUBZone certified firms must have their principal office in a designated zone and at least 35 percent of employees living in one. They get set-asides and a 10 percent price evaluation preference in full and open competitions.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Historically Underutilized Business Zone"],"w":"HUBZone","r":["Small business set-aside","8(a)"]},{"t":"Human in the loop","s":"Autonomy levels: in, on or out of the loop, by how much a human must act","d":"Shorthand for how a human relates to an automated weapon or decision system. Human in the loop means the system cannot act without a human decision, such as approving each engagement; human on the loop means the system acts on its own while a human supervises and can intervene, as with Aegis or Patriot in automatic modes; human out of the loop means the system acts without human supervision once activated. Requirements documents and AI governance reviews often specify the mode for each function.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["HITL","human on the loop","human out of the loop","HOTL"],"r":["DoDD 3000.09","LAWS","Meaningful human control"]},{"t":"HUMINT","x":"Human Intelligence","s":"Intelligence gathered from people: sources, debriefings, interrogation","d":"Intelligence collected from human sources, through case officers running agents, debriefings of travelers and refugees, interrogation of detainees, military source operations and overt contacts such as attachés. In the US, the CIA's Directorate of Operations and the DIA's Defense Clandestine Service are the main clandestine HUMINT organizations, with service HUMINT units at the tactical level. HUMINT reporting carries source reliability and information credibility ratings, and software that handles it needs strict compartmentation to protect sources.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Human intelligence (intelligence gathering)","r":["CI","Source reliability rating","All-source intelligence"]},{"t":"Hunt forward","s":"Defensive cyber teams deployed to partner nations to find adversary activity","d":"Hunt forward operations deploy US cyber teams, led by the Cyber National Mission Force, at a partner nation's invitation to hunt for malicious activity on its networks. Findings such as malware are shared with the partner and often publicly. Dozens have been conducted, including in Ukraine before the 2022 invasion.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["HFO"],"r":["CNMF","CPT"]},{"t":"Hurry up and wait","s":"Rushing to be on time only to wait a long time","d":"Hurry up and wait describes the common military experience of rushing to a formation or departure and then waiting hours. It is a universal complaint. Products used during waiting periods (training, maintenance logging) can take advantage of it.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Hip pocket training"]},{"t":"HVI","x":"High-Value Individual","s":"A person of high importance to an enemy network, targeted for capture or kill","d":"High-Value Individual: a person of significance to an adversary organization, such as a leader, financier or facilitator, whose removal would degrade the network. The term came into wide use in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency with F3EAD. Identity intelligence and biometrics support HVI targeting.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["HVT","F3EAD"]},{"t":"HVT","x":"High-Value Target","s":"Target the enemy commander needs to accomplish the mission","d":"High-Value Target: a target the enemy commander requires for the successful completion of the mission, such as a command post, an air defense radar or a bridging unit. HVTs come out of threat evaluation during IPB. Those whose loss would significantly contribute to the success of the friendly course of action become HPTs.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["HPT","HVI","IPB","F3EAD","Targeting cycle"],"k":["HPT","High-payoff target","HVI"]},{"t":"Hybrid warfare","s":"Blending conventional force, irregular tactics, cyber and information operations","d":"Hybrid warfare combines conventional military force with irregular forces, terrorism, cyber attacks, disinformation and economic or political pressure. The term became common after Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea. NATO uses it widely when discussing threats to member states.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Hybrid threat"],"w":"Hybrid warfare","r":["Gray zone","Irregular warfare"]},{"t":"Hypersonic","s":"Faster than Mach 5, usually with manoeuvre in the atmosphere","d":"Hypersonic weapons fly above Mach 5 and, unlike ballistic missiles, manoeuvre within the atmosphere, which complicates tracking and interception. The two main types are boost-glide vehicles and air-breathing cruise missiles. Heat management, materials, guidance through plasma and testing infrastructure are the main engineering problems.","c":"Weapons","k":["hypersonics"],"r":["HGV","HCM","LRHW","GPI"]},{"t":"Hyperspectral imaging","s":"Imaging in many contiguous narrow spectral bands to identify materials","d":"Hyperspectral sensors record a full spectrum, typically dozens to hundreds of narrow bands, for every pixel, allowing identification of materials, camouflage, disturbed earth or gas plumes by their spectral signatures. The data volume is large and exploitation relies on spectral libraries and anomaly detection. Airborne and spaceborne hyperspectral sensors are used for intelligence and increasingly offered commercially.","c":"Sensors","k":["HSI","imaging spectroscopy"],"w":"Hyperspectral imaging","r":["Multispectral imaging","MASINT"]},{"t":"IADS","x":"Integrated Air Defense System","s":"Networked radars, missiles, guns and command posts defending airspace","d":"An IADS links early warning radars, SAMs, guns, fighters and command centers so they share a picture and assign targets. Defeating one with SEAD is a core air campaign task. Russian and Chinese IADS are the main threat models in US planning.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["integrated air defence system"],"r":["SAM","SEAD","A2/AD"]},{"t":"IAMD","x":"Integrated Air and Missile Defense","s":"Combining sensors and interceptors across services into one air and missile defense","d":"IAMD integrates defense against aircraft, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, drones and rockets so any sensor can cue any suitable shooter. It spans active defense, passive defense and attack operations against launchers. For product teams it means interoperability with IBCS, Aegis, Link 16 and allied networks is a recurring requirement.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["integrated air and missile defense"],"r":["IBCS","BMD","IADS","Golden Dome"]},{"t":"IATT","x":"Interim Authorization to Test","s":"Temporary authorization to operate a system in an operational environment for testing","d":"An interim authorization to test lets a system connect to an operational environment or use live data for a limited time solely for testing, before a full ATO. It is commonly used for exercises and pilots. It is time-limited and scoped to test activities.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["ATO","RMF"]},{"t":"IAVA","x":"Information Assurance Vulnerability Alert","s":"DoD-mandated notice requiring remediation of a critical vulnerability","d":"An Information Assurance Vulnerability Alert is a DoD notice, issued under the IAVM program, requiring system owners to acknowledge and remediate a significant vulnerability by a deadline. Less critical items are issued as IAV Bulletins (IAVB) or technical advisories. Compliance is tracked through ACAS scans and reporting.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["IAVM","IAVB","IAVM program"],"r":["ACAS","CVE","Vulnerability"]},{"t":"I band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 8 to 10 GHz","d":"NATO EW band I covers 8 to 10 GHz, most of IEEE X band, the home of many fire control, airborne intercept and marine navigation radars. It is one of the most heavily defended bands in EW suites.","c":"RF","k":["I-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","X band","J band (NATO)"]},{"t":"IBCS","x":"Integrated Battle Command System","s":"Army air and missile defense C2 that networks any sensor to any shooter","d":"IBCS is the Army's air and missile defense battle command system, built by Northrop Grumman, that creates a single integrated fire control network linking sensors such as Patriot and LTAMDS radars to launchers. It forms composite fire control quality tracks rather than tying each launcher to its own radar. It entered full-rate production in 2025 and has been adopted by Poland. Integrating a sensor into IBCS requires using its plug-and-fight interface kits.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","r":["C2BMC","Fire control quality","Sensor-to-shooter","IAMD","LTAMDS","Patriot","IFPC"]},{"t":"IBCT","x":"Infantry Brigade Combat Team","s":"Army light brigade, including airborne and air assault","d":"An IBCT is a light infantry brigade with about 4,000 soldiers and limited vehicles. It is the most deployable brigade type and includes airborne and air assault variants. The Infantry Squad Vehicle was fielded to give it mobility.","c":"Ground","k":["infantry brigade"],"r":["ABCT","SBCT","ISV"]},{"t":"IBS","x":"Integrated Broadcast Service","s":"Worldwide broadcast network for disseminating intelligence and threat data","d":"The Integrated Broadcast Service is a DoD system of networks and broadcasts that disseminate near-real-time intelligence, threat warning and targeting data to tactical users, using the Common Interactive Broadcast message formats. Receivers are integrated into aircraft, ships and ground stations. It is relevant to products that must ingest theater intelligence tracks.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["Tactical data link"]},{"t":"ICAM","x":"Identity, Credential, and Access Management","s":"Systems and policies for managing digital identities and access","d":"ICAM covers creating and managing identities, issuing credentials such as the CAC and PKI certificates, and controlling access to resources. DoD runs enterprise ICAM services that applications are expected to federate with, rather than building their own user stores. It is the user pillar foundation of zero trust.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["CAC","PKI","Zero trust"]},{"t":"ICBM","x":"Intercontinental Ballistic Missile","s":"Ballistic missile with range over 5,500 km","d":"ICBMs carry nuclear warheads over intercontinental ranges. The US fields about 400 Minuteman III in silos, to be replaced by Sentinel. Russia and China have road-mobile and silo-based ICBMs, and China has been building new silo fields.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["intercontinental ballistic missile"],"r":["Sentinel","Minuteman III","Triad"]},{"t":"ICD","x":"Initial Capabilities Document","s":"JCIDS document that defines a capability gap and the need for a solution","d":"The ICD documents a capability requirement and its gaps, typically after a capabilities-based assessment, and supports the Materiel Development Decision and the Analysis of Alternatives. It does not specify a solution. In engineering, ICD more often means Interface Control Document, so check context.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Initial Capabilities Document"],"r":["JCIDS","CDD","Capability gap","Interface Control Document"]},{"t":"ICD 203","x":"Intelligence Community Directive 203","s":"IC directive setting analytic standards for objectivity and sourcing","d":"Intelligence Community Directive 203, Analytic Standards: the ODNI directive setting the standards for all IC analytic products, including objectivity, independence from political influence, timeliness, use of all available sources, and nine analytic tradecraft standards. These cover describing sources, expressing uncertainty, distinguishing intelligence from assumptions, considering alternatives and visualizing data effectively. It also fixes the IC's words of estimative probability.","c":"Intelligence","r":["Analytic tradecraft","Words of estimative probability","Confidence levels"]},{"t":"ICD 705","x":"Intelligence Community Directive 705","s":"IC directive and technical specification for building and accrediting SCIFs","d":"ICD 705 and its Technical Specifications set physical and technical security standards for SCIFs, including wall construction, alarms, acoustic protection and TEMPEST considerations. DoD SAPFs follow the same standards. Facility planners and architects should get the current technical specifications early.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Intelligence Community Directive 705","ICS 705-1","ICD 705 Tech Spec"],"r":["SCIF","SAPF"]},{"t":"ICE","x":"Independent Cost Estimate","s":"A cost estimate prepared outside the program office's chain","d":"An ICE is required for major programs at milestones and is prepared by CAPE or the service cost agency. In contracting, the government also prepares an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) to judge proposals. Proposals that are far from the IGCE draw scrutiny.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Independent Cost Estimate","IGCE","Independent Government Cost Estimate"],"r":["CAPE","Life-cycle cost","ROM"]},{"t":"IDECM","x":"Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures","s":"F/A-18E/F self-protection suite: ALQ-214 jammer and ALE-55 towed decoy","d":"The self-protection EW suite on the US Navy F/A-18E/F, combining the AN/ALQ-214 RF countermeasures system, the AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy, the radar warning receiver and the countermeasures dispenser.","c":"EW","k":["IDECM Block IV"],"r":["AN/ALQ-214","AN/ALE-55"]},{"t":"IDIQ","x":"Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity","s":"Umbrella contract under which the government issues task or delivery orders","d":"An IDIQ sets terms, ceiling and period but leaves quantities open, with a guaranteed minimum. Orders are placed as task orders for services or delivery orders for supplies. Multiple-award IDIQs require on-ramp competition and then fair opportunity among holders for each order, so being on the vehicle is necessary but not sufficient.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity","MAC","multiple award contract"],"w":"IDIQ","r":["Task order","GWAC","Fair opportunity"]},{"t":"IED","x":"Improvised Explosive Device","s":"Homemade bomb, often roadside, triggered by wire, pressure or radio","d":"IEDs were the leading cause of US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, triggered by command wire, pressure plates or radio signals. Counter-IED work drove investment in MRAPs, electronic jammers (CREW), ground-penetrating radar and EOD robots. Drone-delivered munitions have been described as aerial IEDs.","c":"Ground","k":["improvised explosive device","C-IED","CREW","VBIED"],"w":"Improvised explosive device","r":["EOD","MRAP","Route clearance","EFP"]},{"t":"IEEE radar bands","s":"Letter names for radar frequency ranges: HF, VHF, UHF, L, S, C, X, Ku, K, Ka, V, W","d":"IEEE Std 521 defines the radar letter bands: HF 3 to 30 MHz, VHF 30 to 300 MHz, UHF 300 MHz to 1 GHz, L 1 to 2 GHz, S 2 to 4 GHz, C 4 to 8 GHz, X 8 to 12 GHz, Ku 12 to 18 GHz, K 18 to 27 GHz, Ka 27 to 40 GHz, V 40 to 75 GHz and W 75 to 110 GHz. Lower bands favor long-range search and weather penetration, higher bands favor precision, compact apertures and imaging. NATO and EW communities use a different A through M lettering, so specify which scheme is meant.","c":"Radar","k":["IEEE Std 521","radar letter bands","microwave bands","radar bands","letter bands"],"w":"Radio spectrum","r":["NATO EW bands","L band","X band","NATO frequency bands","L-band","X-band"]},{"t":"IFAK","x":"Individual First Aid Kit","s":"Individual first aid kit: each service member's own trauma kit","d":"An IFAK typically contains a tourniquet, hemostatic gauze, pressure dressing, chest seals and a nasopharyngeal airway, focused on preventable battlefield deaths. Its placement is standardized so others can find it on a casualty. Contents follow TCCC guidelines.","c":"Ground","r":["Tourniquet","TCCC"]},{"t":"IFDL","x":"Intra-Flight Data Link","s":"Low probability of intercept datalink between F-22s","d":"IFDL is the F-22 Raptor's stealthy, low probability of intercept datalink used to share sensor data within a flight of F-22s. F-22s cannot natively transmit on Link 16 without compromising stealth, so gateways are used to connect them to the wider force. Efforts have added Link 16 transmit and other connectivity over time.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["MADL","Datalink gateway","Link 16"]},{"t":"IFF","x":"Identification Friend or Foe","s":"Cooperative interrogator/transponder system for identifying friendly platforms","d":"IFF sends an interrogation on 1030 MHz and expects a reply on 1090 MHz from a cooperating transponder, with encrypted modes proving the responder is friendly. It supports combat identification and is integrated with most military radars as a secondary surveillance channel. A missing reply does not prove hostility, since transponders fail or are switched off, so IFF is combined with other identification sources.","c":"Radar","k":["identification friend or foe","secondary radar"],"w":"Identification friend or foe","r":["Mode 5","Mark XIIA","Interrogator","Transponder"]},{"t":"IFM receiver","x":"Instantaneous Frequency Measurement","s":"Receiver that measures a pulse's frequency in one shot using delay-line phase","d":"A receiver that measures the frequency of a single pulse across a very wide band by comparing the signal with a delayed copy of itself and converting the phase difference to frequency. IFMs are fast, cheap and wideband, which suits radar warning, but they report garbled values when two signals overlap in time and have modest sensitivity.","c":"EW","k":["IFM","instantaneous frequency measurement"],"r":["Crystal video receiver","Radar warning receiver"]},{"t":"IFOV","x":"Instantaneous Field of View","s":"Angle seen by a single detector pixel; pixel pitch divided by focal length","d":"IFOV sets the angular sampling of an imager and, with range, the ground footprint of each pixel. It drives detection and identification range under the Johnson criteria. Field of view (FOV) is IFOV multiplied by the number of pixels.","c":"Sensors","k":["instantaneous FOV"],"r":["Pixel pitch","Johnson criteria","GSD"]},{"t":"IFPC","x":"Indirect Fire Protection Capability","s":"Army mid-range air defense against cruise missiles, drones and rockets","d":"IFPC is the Army's program to defend fixed and semi-fixed sites against cruise missiles, UAS and rockets, artillery and mortars. Increment 2 uses the Enduring Shield launcher from Dynetics (Leidos) firing AIM-9X, linked through IBCS. Laser and HPM versions (IFPC-HEL, IFPC-HPM) are separate efforts.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["IFPC Inc 2","Enduring Shield"],"r":["IFPC-HEL","Leonidas","IBCS","AIM-9X"]},{"t":"IFPC-HEL","x":"Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser","s":"Army 300 kW-class laser prototype for cruise missile and drone defense","d":"IFPC-HEL is the Army's effort to field a laser around 300 kW, enough to engage some cruise missiles as well as drones and rockets. It grew out of the High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstrator. Schedules have slipped as the technology matures.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["HEL","IFPC"]},{"t":"IHL","x":"International Humanitarian Law","s":"International humanitarian law, the term the ICRC uses for LOAC","d":"International Humanitarian Law: the term preferred by the International Committee of the Red Cross and most international bodies for the law of armed conflict. It covers the protection of civilians, prisoners, the wounded and sick, and restrictions on means and methods of warfare. In practice LOAC, law of war and IHL refer to the same body of law.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"International humanitarian law","r":["LOAC","Geneva Conventions"]},{"t":"IIR","x":"Imaging Infrared","s":"Seeker that forms a thermal picture of the target scene to recognise and aim","d":"An IIR seeker uses a focal plane array to build a thermal picture, allowing it to recognise target shapes, choose aimpoints and resist flares. It is used in AIM-9X, Javelin and many cruise missiles. Image processing and autonomous target recognition run on board.","c":"Weapons","k":["imaging infrared seeker"],"r":["Seeker","AIM-9X","Javelin"]},{"t":"I-level","x":"Intermediate level maintenance","s":"Maintenance by specialized support units, such as repairing LRUs by replacing SRUs","d":"I-level maintenance is performed by dedicated intermediate units or shops, repairing components removed at O-level, often by replacing shop replaceable units. Some modern systems use two-level maintenance, skipping I-level and sending items directly to depot or OEM.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["intermediate maintenance","AIMD"],"r":["O-level","D-level","SRU"]},{"t":"Illuminator","s":"Radar that lights up a target so a semi-active seeker can home on the reflection","d":"A target illuminator, often CW, transmits on a target so a semi-active radar homing missile can track the reflected energy. Examples include the Aegis AN/SPG-62 for SM-2 terminal homing. Active seekers reduce dependence on illuminators and free the launching platform to engage more targets.","c":"Radar","k":["target illuminator","CWI","AN/SPG-62"],"r":["CW radar","Fire control radar","Semi-active radar homing"]},{"t":"ILS","x":"Integrated Logistics Support","s":"Planning all the support a system needs to be operated and maintained","d":"ILS is the traditional term for planning and delivering everything a system needs after fielding: maintenance, spares, training, technical data, support equipment and facilities. DoD now frames this as product support using the 12 Integrated Product Support elements. The term is still common in NATO and industry.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Integrated Logistics Support","product support"],"w":"Integrated logistics support","r":["IPS elements","LCSP","PBL"]},{"t":"Image frequency","s":"Unwanted frequency that a superhet mixer converts to the same IF","d":"In a superheterodyne receiver, the frequency on the opposite side of the local oscillator from the wanted signal, separated from it by twice the IF, which the mixer also converts to the IF. Image rejection filters or image-reject mixers suppress it. Poor image rejection in EW receivers produces ghost signals at wrong frequencies.","c":"RF","k":["image","image rejection"],"w":"Image response","r":["Superheterodyne receiver","Mixer","Intermediate frequency"]},{"t":"Image fusion","s":"Merging imagery from different bands, such as thermal and image-intensified, into one view","d":"Image fusion merges sensor outputs such as thermal and low-light so the viewer gets both heat contrast and scene detail. The ENVG-B and other fused goggles overlay thermal imagery on image-intensified night vision. Registration, latency and parallax are key engineering challenges.","c":"Sensors","k":["sensor image fusion","fused night vision"],"r":["ENVG-B","Multispectral imaging","Sensor fusion"]},{"t":"Image intensifier","s":"Vacuum tube that amplifies faint visible and NIR light to form a visible image","d":"An image intensifier tube converts incoming photons to electrons at a photocathode, multiplies them in a microchannel plate, and turns them back into light on a phosphor screen. Generations differ mainly in photocathode material and noise performance. Intensifiers need some ambient light such as starlight or skyglow, unlike thermal imagers.","c":"Sensors","k":["I2","image intensification","II tube"],"w":"Image intensifier","r":["Gen 3","Night vision device","FOM"]},{"t":"IMINT","x":"Imagery Intelligence","s":"Intelligence from analysis of imagery: EO, IR, radar and multispectral","d":"Intelligence derived from imagery collected by satellites, aircraft and drones in electro-optical, infrared, synthetic aperture radar and multispectral or hyperspectral bands. Imagery analysts identify objects, count equipment and track change over time, rating interpretability on the NIIRS scale. In US usage IMINT is now folded into the broader GEOINT discipline, though the term remains common in NATO and allied doctrine.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Imagery intelligence","r":["GEOINT","NIIRS","SAR","GSD"]},{"t":"IMM","x":"Interacting Multiple Model","s":"Tracking filter running several motion models in parallel and blending them","d":"The IMM estimator runs a bank of filters, for example constant velocity, constant turn and high acceleration, and mixes their estimates according to model probabilities that update with each measurement. It tracks maneuvering aircraft and missiles much better than any single model. It is standard in modern air defense and fusion trackers.","c":"Sensors","k":["interacting multiple model"],"r":["Kalman filter","MHT"]},{"t":"IMP","x":"Integrated Master Plan","s":"Event-based plan of major milestones, accomplishments and completion criteria","d":"The IMP lists program events, such as design reviews, with significant accomplishments and the criteria that show each is done. It is often contractually binding while the IMS is the more detailed working schedule.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Integrated Master Plan"],"r":["IMS","WBS"]},{"t":"Impact levels","s":"DoD cloud security categories IL2, IL4, IL5 and IL6","d":"Impact levels, defined in the DoD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide, categorize cloud workloads by data sensitivity and required controls. IL2 covers public or non-critical mission information, IL4 covers CUI, IL5 covers higher-sensitivity CUI and unclassified national security systems, and IL6 covers classified information up to secret. A cloud service needs a DoD provisional authorization at the right level before DoD data can be hosted.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["IL2","IL4","IL5","IL6","Cloud Computing SRG","CC SRG"],"r":["FedRAMP","JWCC","CUI"]},{"t":"Impedance","s":"Opposition to AC current; RF systems are standardized at 50 ohms","d":"The complex opposition of a circuit to alternating current, combining resistance and reactance. RF systems are standardized on 50 ohms (75 ohms in video and cable TV) so components can be connected without reflections. Impedance matching networks transform between antenna, amplifier and line impedances.","c":"RF","k":["50 ohm","characteristic impedance","impedance matching"],"w":"Electrical impedance","r":["VSWR","Smith chart"]},{"t":"IMS","x":"Integrated Master Schedule","s":"Detailed, networked schedule of all program tasks tied to the WBS and IMP","d":"The IMS is a logic-linked schedule, typically in Microsoft Project or Primavera, that rolls up to IMP events and supports critical path analysis and EVM. It is usually a CDRL deliverable, and DCMA evaluates schedule health with its 14-point assessment.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Integrated Master Schedule"],"r":["IMP","WBS","EVM"]},{"t":"IMU","x":"Inertial Measurement Unit","s":"Sensor package of accelerometers and gyroscopes measuring motion","d":"An IMU contains three accelerometers and three gyroscopes, sometimes with magnetometers, measuring specific force and angular rate. Grades range from consumer MEMS through industrial and tactical to navigation and strategic grade, defined largely by gyro bias stability. The IMU is the sensor; an INS adds the navigation computation.","c":"PNT","w":"Inertial measurement unit","r":["INS","MEMS","FOG","RLG","Bias instability"]},{"t":"Inclination","s":"Angle between an orbit's plane and the Earth's equator","d":"Inclination is the tilt of the orbital plane relative to the equator, from 0 degrees (equatorial, prograde) through 90 (polar) to 180 (equatorial, retrograde). It determines which latitudes a satellite covers and is expensive to change after launch, since plane changes take large delta-v. Launch site latitude sets the minimum inclination reachable without a plane change, which is why GEO missions from Cape Canaveral start near 28 degrees.","c":"Space","w":"Orbital inclination","r":["Orbital elements","RAAN","Delta-v"]},{"t":"Increment","s":"A tranche of capability delivered in an evolutionary program","d":"A militarily useful and supportable operational capability delivered as one step in an evolutionary acquisition, such as DCGS-A Increment 1 or WIN-T Increment 2. Each increment may carry its own requirements and milestones. Newer software acquisition pathways tend to talk about capability drops and releases instead.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Inc"],"r":["Block","Lot"]},{"t":"Indirect fire","s":"Fire at targets not in the shooter's line of sight, guided by observers or data","d":"Indirect fire weapons such as artillery and mortars fire in an arc at targets the crew cannot see, relying on coordinates from observers, drones or radar. Fire control systems such as AFATDS compute firing data. The contrast is direct fire, like tanks and rifles shooting at what they see.","c":"Weapons","k":["IDF","direct fire"],"r":["Artillery","Mortar","Counter-battery"]},{"t":"Indirect rates","s":"Overhead, G&A and fringe rates applied to direct costs in government pricing","d":"Government contractors price work by building direct labor and materials and applying indirect rates for fringe, overhead and general and administrative costs. Rates may be negotiated as forward pricing rate agreements or provisional billing rates and finalized through incurred cost audits. Unallowable costs under FAR 31.2, such as entertainment, must be excluded.","c":"Acquisition","k":["overhead","G&A","fringe","FPRA","provisional billing rates","wrap rate","unallowable costs"],"r":["DCAA","Cost-plus","CAS"]},{"t":"INDOPACOM","x":"United States Indo-Pacific Command","s":"US Indo-Pacific Command, the geographic command for the Pacific and Indian Ocean","d":"US Indo-Pacific Command covers China, Japan, Korea, Australia, Southeast Asia, India and much of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. It was renamed from Pacific Command (PACOM) in 2018. As the command facing the pacing threat, its needs drive many current requirements.","c":"Organizations","k":["USINDOPACOM","PACOM"],"w":"United States Indo-Pacific Command","r":["CCMD","Pacing threat"]},{"t":"Industrial base","s":"The companies and facilities that design, make and sustain military systems","d":"The defense industrial base spans primes, subtier suppliers, raw material producers and government-owned arsenals and depots. Concentration, single-source dependencies and limited surge capacity, exposed by munitions demand for Ukraine, drive current policy. DoD's Industrial Base Policy office and the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization office fund fixes.","c":"Acquisition","k":["DIB","defense industrial base","organic industrial base"],"w":"Defense industrial base","r":["NDIS","DPA Title III","OSC","DMSMS"]},{"t":"Industry day","s":"Government event briefing industry on an upcoming acquisition","d":"Industry days present the requirement, acquisition strategy and schedule, often with one-on-one sessions for vendors. Questions and attendee lists may be published. They are an important chance to influence a draft RFP and meet potential teammates.","c":"Acquisition","k":["industry days","one-on-ones"],"r":["RFI","Capture management"]},{"t":"Influence operations","s":"Coordinated efforts to shape what a target audience believes and does","d":"Coordinated efforts by state or non-state actors to affect the attitudes, perceptions and behavior of a target audience, using overt messaging, covert networks, fake personas, proxies and amplification. Platform companies, governments and researchers publish takedowns of state influence operations attributed to Russia, China and Iran regularly. Detecting coordinated inauthentic behavior is an active market for analytics vendors.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["IO","influence campaign"],"r":["Disinformation","MISO","Cognitive warfare"]},{"t":"Information operations","s":"Integrating information-related capabilities to influence adversary decisions","d":"Information operations, now often framed as operations in the information environment or information advantage, combine military information support, deception, EW, cyber and public affairs to shape perceptions and decisions. The Army and Marine Corps both added information as a warfighting function. Content moderation, social listening and influence tools sit in this space.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["IO","OIE","Information advantage"],"r":["MISO","Non-kinetic"]},{"t":"Information Support Force","s":"PLA arm created April 2024 for networks and information systems","d":"A PLA arm created on April 19, 2024 when the Strategic Support Force was dissolved, responsible for building and operating the PLA's network information systems that underpin joint operations. At the same time the SSF's space and cyber elements became the separate Aerospace Force and Cyberspace Force, all reporting directly to the CMC. Western analysts read the change as Xi's effort to centralize control over information capabilities critical to intelligentized warfare.","c":"Organizations","k":["ISF","PLA Information Support Force"],"r":["Strategic Support Force","Aerospace Force","Cyberspace Force"]},{"t":"Information warfare","s":"Conflict over information and the systems that carry it","d":"A broad term for competing in and through the information domain, from electronic warfare and cyber attack to propaganda and influence. Russian doctrine uses informatsionnaya voyna to describe a continuous struggle in peacetime and war, and the PLA treats information dominance as central to intelligentized warfare. The US Air Force named its 16th Air Force an information warfare numbered air force in 2019.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["IW"],"w":"Information warfare","r":["IO","Cognitive warfare","Disinformation"]},{"t":"Infrared bands","s":"NIR, SWIR, MWIR, LWIR and VLWIR divisions of the infrared spectrum","d":"Common military divisions are near-infrared (NIR, about 0.75 to 1 µm), short-wave (SWIR, about 1 to 3 µm), mid-wave (MWIR, about 3 to 5 µm), long-wave (LWIR, about 8 to 12 µm) and very long-wave (beyond about 12 µm). NIR and SWIR mostly sense reflected light, while MWIR and LWIR sense emitted heat. Atmospheric transmission windows dictate the MWIR and LWIR boundaries.","c":"Sensors","k":["IR bands","infrared spectrum"],"w":"Infrared","r":["NIR","SWIR","MWIR","LWIR"]},{"t":"Initiative","s":"Setting the terms of action; also a subordinate's willingness to act on their own","d":"At the operational level, holding the initiative means forcing the enemy to react to you. At the individual level, disciplined initiative is acting without orders within the commander's intent when the situation changes. Both senses are prized.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Mission command","Tempo"]},{"t":"Inmarsat","s":"GEO mobile satellite operator, now part of Viasat, with L-band and Ka-band services","d":"Inmarsat is a GEO mobile satellite operator long used by ships, aircraft and land forces for L-band services and its Ka-band Global Xpress broadband, which includes military-dedicated payloads. Viasat acquired it in 2023. It also provides safety services for maritime and aviation.","c":"Comms","k":["Global Xpress","GX","Viasat"],"w":"Inmarsat","r":["COMSATCOM","L-band","Ka-band"]},{"t":"In-Q-Tel","s":"CIA-funded venture investor for intelligence technology","d":"A nonprofit strategic investment firm established in 1999 with CIA funding to find and invest in commercial startups whose technology serves the Intelligence Community. Its investments often come with work programs to adapt the product for IC customers. Well-known early investments include Keyhole, which became Google Earth. Startups pitching to the IC often encounter it.","c":"Organizations","k":["IQT"],"w":"In-Q-Tel","r":["CIA","Intelligence Community"]},{"t":"INS","x":"Inertial Navigation System","s":"Navigation by integrating accelerometer and gyro measurements from a known start","d":"An inertial navigation system computes position, velocity and attitude by integrating measurements from accelerometers and gyroscopes, needing no external signals, so it cannot be jammed or spoofed. Its errors grow with time, at rates set by sensor quality, so it is usually aided by GNSS or other sources. Embedded GPS/INS units (EGI) are standard on military aircraft, ships and missiles.","c":"PNT","k":["inertial navigation","EGI","embedded GPS/INS"],"w":"Inertial navigation system","r":["IMU","Kalman filter","FOG","RLG","Dead reckoning"]},{"t":"InSAR","x":"Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar","s":"Using phase differences between SAR images to measure height or tiny ground motion","d":"InSAR compares the phase of two or more SAR images taken from slightly different positions or times, yielding digital elevation models or millimeter to centimeter scale surface deformation. Single-pass InSAR (two antennas) maps terrain, and repeat-pass InSAR detects subsidence, tunneling or construction effects. It underpins coherent change detection.","c":"Radar","k":["IFSAR","interferometric SAR"],"w":"Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar","r":["SAR","CCD"]},{"t":"InSb","x":"Indium Antimonide","s":"Cooled MWIR detector material widely used in targeting and ISR sensors","d":"Indium antimonide detectors respond from roughly 1 to 5.5 µm and are a mature, uniform, relatively affordable choice for cooled MWIR FPAs. They require cooling near 77 K. Many fielded gimbals, targeting pods and missile seekers use InSb.","c":"Sensors","k":["indium antimonide"],"w":"Indium antimonide","r":["HgCdTe","MWIR","Cooled detector"]},{"t":"Insensitive munitions","s":"Munitions designed not to detonate violently when hit, heated or shocked","d":"Insensitive munitions (IM) are designed so that fire, bullet impact, fragment impact or nearby detonation causes at most a mild reaction. US law requires IM compliance where practical, tested against MIL-STD-2105. This involves both less sensitive explosives and casing and venting designs.","c":"Weapons","k":["IM","MIL-STD-2105"],"w":"Insensitive munition","r":["Energetic materials","MIL-STD-1316"]},{"t":"Insertion loss","s":"Signal loss caused by inserting a component into a path","d":"The loss of signal power from inserting a device such as a filter, cable, switch or connector into a transmission path, in dB. Losses ahead of the LNA add directly to receiver noise figure, and losses after a PA reduce EIRP and add heat.","c":"RF","k":["IL","S21 loss"],"w":"Insertion loss","r":["S-parameters","Noise figure"]},{"t":"Insider threat","s":"Risk that a cleared person harms security through espionage, leaks or sabotage","d":"The threat that someone with authorized access will use it to harm national security, through espionage, unauthorized disclosure, sabotage or violence. Executive Order 13587 and the National Insider Threat Policy require programs across government, and NISPOM requires cleared contractors to run one with user activity monitoring on classified systems. It is a frequent requirement for data access logging in classified products.","c":"Intelligence","k":["insider threat program","ITP","UAM"],"w":"Insider threat","r":["FSO","NISPOM","Continuous vetting","CI"]},{"t":"Instantaneous bandwidth","x":"IBW","s":"The band a receiver or jammer sees or covers at one moment without retuning","d":"The frequency range a receiver, jammer or digitizer can process at one time without retuning. Wider IBW raises probability of intercept and lets a jammer cover agile threats, but it increases data rates, raises the noise floor and exposes the receiver to more strong signals. Modern direct-sampling systems offer several GHz of IBW.","c":"RF","k":["IBW"],"r":["Probability of intercept","Direct RF sampling","Dynamic range","Beam squint","Wideband array","Range resolution"]},{"t":"INT","s":"Suffix for an intelligence discipline, as in HUMINT, GEOINT, OSINT","d":"Shorthand for an intelligence collection discipline, attached as a suffix to the source type: HUMINT, SIGINT, GEOINT, MASINT, OSINT and so on. US joint doctrine (JP 2-0) recognizes the major disciplines and treats counterintelligence as a related function. Products that ingest, tag or fuse intelligence usually have to record which INT a report came from, since handling rules, release caveats and reliability scales differ by discipline.","c":"Intelligence","k":["INTs","intelligence disciplines"],"w":"List of intelligence gathering disciplines","r":["HUMINT","GEOINT","MASINT","OSINT","SIGINT","All-source intelligence"]},{"t":"Integrated deterrence","s":"Deterrence that combines all instruments of power, domains and allies","d":"Integrated deterrence was the central idea of the 2022 National Defense Strategy: deterring aggression by integrating efforts across domains, regions, the spectrum of conflict, the US government and allies. Later strategy documents shifted emphasis, though the term still appears often in briefings. It tends to be used to justify allied interoperability and cross-domain capabilities.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Deterrence","NDS","Campaigning","Competition continuum"]},{"t":"Integrated Waveform","s":"UHF SATCOM waveform that roughly doubles channel capacity over legacy DAMA","d":"Integrated Waveform (IW) is a UHF tactical satellite communications waveform that improves on legacy demand assigned multiple access (DAMA) to provide more users per 5 and 25 kHz channel. It is used on legacy UHF follow-on satellites and supported by tactical SATCOM radios. MUOS legacy payloads also support it.","c":"Comms","k":["IW","DAMA"],"r":["MUOS","TACSAT"]},{"t":"Intelligence Community","s":"The 18 US organizations that conduct intelligence, led by the DNI","d":"The US Intelligence Community (IC) is a federation of 18 elements: ODNI and the CIA as independent agencies; eight Defense elements (DIA, NSA, NGA, NRO and the intelligence components of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, counted as nine with the services); plus the intelligence elements of Energy, Homeland Security, Coast Guard, FBI, DEA, State (INR) and Treasury. Executive Order 12333 sets out its roles. Selling to the IC means meeting ICD security directives and often working through agency-specific contract vehicles.","c":"Organizations","k":["IC","USIC"],"w":"United States Intelligence Community","r":["ODNI","CIA","NSA","DIA","NGA","NRO"]},{"t":"Intelligence cycle","s":"Planning, collection, processing, analysis and dissemination loop","d":"The model of how intelligence is produced: requirements are set (planning and direction), information is collected, processed and exploited into usable form, analyzed and produced as finished intelligence, then disseminated and integrated, with evaluation and feedback throughout. JP 2-0 describes it as a process of interrelated operations, acknowledging that real work does not move strictly in sequence. Most intelligence software maps onto one or more of its stages.","c":"Intelligence","k":["intelligence process"],"w":"Intelligence cycle","r":["PCPAD","TCPED","Collection management"]},{"t":"Intelligentized warfare","s":"PLA concept of AI-enabled warfare, the successor to informatized warfare","d":"Zhinenghua: the PLA's concept for the next form of war, in which artificial intelligence, autonomy, big data and cognitive capabilities are integrated across forces and decision making. It follows mechanization and informatization in PLA thinking, and China's 2019 defense white paper said warfare was evolving toward it. The PLA aims to accelerate integrated mechanization, informatization and intelligentization by its 2027 centenary goal.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["intelligentization","zhinenghua"],"r":["Systems destruction warfare","MCF"]},{"t":"Interceptor drone","s":"Drone that hunts and destroys other drones by collision, net or warhead","d":"Interceptor drones are cheap UAS designed to catch and destroy hostile drones. Ukraine has fielded them in large numbers against Shahed-type and reconnaissance drones, sometimes for a few thousand dollars each. They attack the cost-exchange problem directly and are a busy area for small vendors.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["counter-drone drone","hunter drone"],"r":["Coyote","Roadrunner","Shahed-136","Cost-exchange ratio"]},{"t":"Interface Control Document","s":"Document defining the physical, electrical, data and functional interfaces between systems","d":"An ICD specifies how two systems or subsystems connect, including connectors, signals, protocols, message formats and timing, and is usually jointly controlled by the owners of each side. Errors in ICDs are a leading cause of integration problems. In requirements contexts ICD means Initial Capabilities Document.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["ICD","IDD","interface design description"],"r":["IRS","ICD","MOSA"]},{"t":"Interference","s":"Unwanted energy that degrades reception of a wanted signal","d":"Any unwanted electromagnetic energy that degrades the reception of a wanted signal, whether unintentional (co-site interference, harmonics, spurs, other users) or intentional (jamming). Distinguishing interference from jamming is often the first task of spectrum operators, and the DoD process for doing so is JSIR.","c":"RF","k":["RFI","radio frequency interference"],"w":"Interference (communication)","r":["EMI","Joint Spectrum Interference Resolution","Jamming"]},{"t":"Interferometry","s":"Measuring AOA from phase differences between separated antennas","d":"Measuring angle of arrival from the phase difference of a signal at two or more spatially separated antennas. Longer baselines give more precise angles but create ambiguities, so practical interferometers use multiple baselines. It is the standard method for precise AOA on aircraft and ships, including long baseline interferometry for single-platform geolocation.","c":"EW","k":["phase interferometry","interferometer DF","LBI"],"w":"Interferometry","r":["Angle of arrival","Direction finding","Single-platform geolocation"]},{"t":"Intermediate frequency","x":"IF","s":"Fixed frequency to which a signal is shifted for filtering and processing","d":"The fixed frequency to which a receiver converts incoming signals by mixing with a local oscillator, so filtering, amplification and digitization can be optimized at one frequency. Many digital receivers sample at an IF; direct RF sampling and zero-IF architectures avoid it.","c":"RF","k":["IF"],"w":"Intermediate frequency","r":["Superheterodyne receiver","Mixer","Local oscillator"]},{"t":"Intermodulation","x":"IMD","s":"Spurious mixing products created when signals pass through nonlinear devices","d":"Distortion in which two or more signals in a nonlinear device produce new frequencies at sums and differences of their multiples, with third-order products (2f1 - f2) falling close to the originals. In dense environments and on EW platforms, intermodulation creates false signals and interference; passive intermodulation from corroded connectors and metal joints is a related problem.","c":"RF","k":["IMD","intermod","PIM","passive intermodulation"],"w":"Intermodulation","r":["IP3","SFDR","Co-site interference"]},{"t":"Interoperability","s":"The ability of forces and systems to work together","d":"The ability of systems, units and forces to provide services to and accept services from one another and operate together effectively. NATO distinguishes technical (shared standards and data links), procedural and human interoperability. For product teams it usually means conformance to STANAGs, data formats such as Link 16 or MISB, and open interfaces.","c":"Standards & Compliance","w":"Interoperability","r":["STANAG","FMN","Burden sharing","Coalition","JADC2"]},{"t":"Interrogator","s":"IFF or secondary radar transmitter that queries transponders on 1030 MHz","d":"An interrogator sends coded pulses on 1030 MHz, usually from an antenna slaved to a primary radar, and decodes replies to correlate identity and altitude with primary radar tracks. Military interrogators support SIF modes plus Mode 5 and often Mode S. Examples include the AN/UPX-series families.","c":"Radar","k":["IFF interrogator","secondary surveillance radar","SSR"],"r":["IFF","Transponder","Mode S"]},{"t":"Intrepid Tiger II","s":"US Marine Corps podded electronic attack system","d":"The AN/ALQ-231 Intrepid Tiger II is a US Marine Corps EW pod carried on aircraft including the AV-8B, F/A-18 and helicopters, providing communications jamming and ES. It filled part of the gap left by the Marine Corps' retirement of the EA-6B.","c":"EW","k":["AN/ALQ-231","ALQ-231"],"r":["EA-6B Prowler","Stand-in jamming"]},{"t":"Inverse gain jamming","s":"Modulates jamming opposite to a conical-scan radar's scan to cause angle errors","d":"An angle deception technique against conically scanning or track-while-scan radars: the jammer measures the scan modulation it receives and transmits the inverse, so the radar's angle error signal drives it away from the target. It is largely ineffective against monopulse and lobe-on-receive-only radars.","c":"EW","k":["inverse con-scan","inverse gain"],"r":["Deception jamming","Conical scan"]},{"t":"IO","x":"Information Operations","s":"Using information capabilities to influence or disrupt adversary decisions","d":"Information Operations: the integrated employment of information-related capabilities, such as military information support operations, military deception, electronic warfare and cyberspace operations, to influence, disrupt, corrupt or usurp adversary decision making while protecting one's own. Since 2017 US doctrine has made information a joint function, and the newer framing is operations in the information environment (OIE).","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Information Operations (United States)","r":["OIE","MISO","MILDEC"]},{"t":"IOC","x":"Initial Operational Capability","s":"Point when the first units can employ and sustain a new system operationally","d":"IOC is reached when some units have received the system, are trained, and can operate and maintain it in a basic way. Its definition is set by the requirements documents and differs by program. IOC dates are among the most watched program milestones and are often cited in budget documents and press.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Initial Operational Capability"],"r":["FOC","Fielding","CDD"]},{"t":"Ionospheric propagation","s":"HF signals refracted by ionized upper-atmosphere layers back to Earth","d":"The ionosphere's E and F layers refract HF signals, enabling skywave OTH radar and HF communications over thousands of kilometers. Usable frequencies vary with time of day, season and the solar cycle, so OTH radars use real-time ionospheric sounders to choose frequencies. Disturbances such as solar flares and scintillation degrade coverage.","c":"Radar","k":["skywave","ionospheric refraction"],"r":["OTH radar","OTH-B"]},{"t":"IOT&E","x":"Initial Operational Test and Evaluation","s":"Dedicated operational test on production-representative units before full-rate production","d":"IOT&E is required by statute for MDAPs and DOT&E oversight programs before going beyond LRIP. It uses production-representative articles and typical users. Its results drive the full-rate production decision.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Initial Operational Test and Evaluation"],"r":["OT&E","DOT&E","LRIP","FRP"]},{"t":"IP3","x":"Third-Order Intercept Point","s":"Extrapolated level where third-order distortion equals the fundamental","d":"The theoretical input (IIP3) or output (OIP3) level at which third-order intermodulation products would equal the fundamental signals, extrapolated from low level measurements. Higher IP3 means better linearity and fewer intermodulation products from strong nearby signals. It is a key spec for LNAs, mixers and receiver front ends.","c":"RF","k":["TOI","IIP3","OIP3","third-order intercept"],"w":"Third-order intercept point","r":["Intermodulation","P1dB","SFDR"]},{"t":"IPB","x":"Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield","s":"Army and Marine process for analyzing the enemy and terrain before an operation","d":"Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (or Battlespace): a systematic process of analyzing the mission variables of enemy, terrain, weather and civil considerations to determine their effect on operations. The four steps, in ATP 2-01.3, are define the operational environment, describe environmental effects, evaluate the threat, and determine threat courses of action. Its products include the modified combined obstacle overlay, threat templates, event templates and NAIs.","c":"Intelligence","k":["IPOE","IPB&E"],"w":"Military intelligence","r":["JIPOE","NAI","OAKOC"]},{"t":"IPS elements","x":"Integrated Product Support elements","s":"DoD's 12 elements of product support, from maintenance planning to computer resources","d":"The 12 elements are product support management, design interface, sustaining engineering, supply support, maintenance planning and management, packaging handling storage and transportation, technical data, support equipment, training and training support, manpower and personnel, facilities and infrastructure, and computer resources. Product support managers plan against each one, so vendor proposals often address them by name.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Integrated Product Support","IPS","product support elements"],"r":["ILS","PSM","LCSP","PHS&T"]},{"t":"IP strategy","s":"A program's plan for which data and software rights it needs to sustain and compete","d":"Programs must develop an intellectual property strategy under DoDI 5010.44, covering what technical data, interfaces and software the government needs over the life cycle. Vendors should understand it early, since it shapes evaluation criteria and whether priced options for data rights will be requested.","c":"Acquisition","k":["intellectual property strategy","DoDI 5010.44","IP"],"r":["Data rights","MOSA","Acquisition Strategy"]},{"t":"IQ data","s":"Complex baseband samples: in-phase and quadrature components","d":"Complex-valued samples of a signal, consisting of an in-phase (I) and a quadrature (Q) component 90 degrees apart, which capture both amplitude and phase. IQ recordings are the raw material for SDR processing, signal analysis and RF machine learning, and their exchange format (such as SigMF or VITA 49) is a frequent integration question.","c":"RF","k":["I/Q","IQ samples","quadrature","complex baseband"],"w":"In-phase and quadrature components","r":["Software-defined radio","VITA 49","DDC"]},{"t":"Iridium","s":"66-satellite LEO voice and data constellation with crosslinks, heavily used by DoD","d":"Iridium operates a constellation of 66 active cross-linked LEO satellites in near-polar orbits, providing global voice, data and IoT service including the poles. DoD buys service through the Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services contract, routed through a dedicated government gateway. Iridium Certus offers data at up to about 700 kbps, and its STL service provides alternative PNT.","c":"Comms","k":["EMSS","Iridium Certus","Iridium NEXT"],"w":"Iridium satellite constellation","r":["LEO PNT","COMSATCOM"]},{"t":"IRL","x":"Integration Readiness Level","s":"Maturity scale for the interfaces between technologies","d":"IRLs measure how mature the integration between two technologies is, from interface identified to integration proven in mission operations. They complement TRLs, since mature components can still fail to integrate.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Integration Readiness Level"],"r":["TRL","SRL"]},{"t":"Iron Bank","s":"Platform One repository of hardened, accredited container images","d":"Iron Bank is Platform One's repository of hardened container images that have been scanned and approved for use on DoD networks. Vendors can submit their container images for hardening and acceptance, which helps their products deploy across DoD. Images are built on approved base images such as Red Hat UBI.","c":"Engineering & Test","r":["Platform One","Big Bang","SBOM"]},{"t":"Iron Beam","s":"Israeli 100 kW-class laser air defense system by Rafael","d":"Iron Beam is a Rafael high energy laser system meant to engage rockets, mortars and drones at short range and at very low cost per shot. Israel moved it toward operational service in 2025, after lighter laser systems had already been used in combat. It is designed to work alongside Iron Dome.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Magen Or"],"r":["HEL","Iron Dome"]},{"t":"Iron Dome","s":"Rafael short-range rocket and drone defense system used by Israel","d":"Iron Dome intercepts rockets, artillery shells, mortars and drones with Tamir interceptors, deciding whether to engage based on predicted impact point so it ignores threats headed for open ground. The US Army bought two batteries and the Marines use its launcher in a ground-based anti-air system. The phrase was reused for the US homeland defense initiative later renamed Golden Dome.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Tamir"],"w":"Iron Dome","r":["David's Sling","Arrow 3","Golden Dome"]},{"t":"IR patch","s":"An infrared-reflective patch, often a flag, worn for identification under night vision","d":"IR patches reflect infrared illumination so friendly forces appear distinctly through night vision. They are worn on the shoulder or helmet with hook and loop. They are a simple combat identification aid.","c":"Ground","k":["IR flag","Glint tape"],"r":["IR strobe","Fratricide"]},{"t":"IRR","x":"Individual Ready Reserve","s":"Individual Ready Reserve: trained former members who can be recalled but do not drill","d":"The IRR consists of people who have left active or drilling service but still have a remaining service obligation. They do not train regularly and are recalled only in major mobilizations. It is part of the Ready Reserve.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["Reserve component"]},{"t":"Irregular warfare","s":"Struggle for legitimacy and influence over populations, often by indirect means","d":"Irregular warfare is a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over relevant populations. It includes counterinsurgency, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, counterterrorism and stability activities. Special operations forces are its main practitioners, but conventional forces participate.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["IW"],"w":"Irregular warfare","r":["COIN","FID","UW","CT"]},{"t":"IRS","x":"Interface Requirements Specification","s":"Specification of the requirements an interface must satisfy","d":"The IRS states the requirements for one or more interfaces, while the ICD or IDD describes how they are implemented. These terms come from the MIL-STD-498 lineage of software documentation and remain in many CDRLs.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Interface Requirements Specification"],"r":["Interface Control Document","SRS","SSS"]},{"t":"IRST","x":"Infrared Search and Track","s":"Passive IR sensor that detects and tracks aircraft and missiles by their heat","d":"An IRST scans for the infrared signature of aircraft, including airframe heating, engines and exhaust, giving passive detection and angle tracks without emitting. It provides a counter-stealth and jam-resistant complement to radar, with range estimated by kinematic ranging, laser ranging or fusion with other sensors. US examples include the Lockheed Martin Legion Pod with IRST21 and the F/A-18E/F IRST Block II pod, and many European and Russian fighters have built-in IRST.","c":"Sensors","k":["infrared search and track","IRST21","Legion Pod"],"w":"Infrared search and track","r":["Counter-stealth","Bearings-only tracking","MWIR"]},{"t":"IR strobe","s":"An infrared light that flashes to mark positions for night vision users","d":"IR strobes mark people, vehicles and landing zones in a way visible through NVGs but not to the naked eye. Adversaries with night vision can also see them, so use is controlled. They support fratricide prevention and personnel recovery.","c":"Ground","k":["Strobe","IR beacon"],"r":["IR patch","NVG"]},{"t":"ISAR","x":"Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar","s":"Radar imaging that uses the target's own rotation to resolve it in cross-range","d":"ISAR forms images from the change in aspect of a rotating or maneuvering target, typically ships pitching and rolling in a seaway or aircraft turning, with a stationary or moving radar. Maritime patrol radars such as the P-8's AN/APY-10 use ISAR to classify ships at standoff range. Image quality depends on unknown target motion, which processing must estimate.","c":"Radar","k":["inverse synthetic-aperture radar"],"w":"Inverse synthetic-aperture radar","r":["SAR","NCTR","Maritime surveillance radar"]},{"t":"ISO 9001","s":"International quality management system standard","d":"ISO 9001 specifies requirements for a quality management system and is the foundation of AS9100. Contracts may require ISO 9001 or equivalent under the FAR higher-level quality clause, 52.246-11. The current edition dates from 2015, with a revision expected around 2026.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["QMS","52.246-11","higher-level quality"],"w":"ISO 9000 family","r":["AS9100"]},{"t":"ISR","x":"Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance","s":"Integrated collection, processing and use of sensor data to support operations","d":"An activity that synchronizes and integrates the planning and operation of sensors, assets and processing, exploitation and dissemination systems in direct support of current and future operations. ISR assets include satellites, manned aircraft such as the RC-135 and U-2, drones such as the MQ-9 and RQ-4, and ground and maritime sensors. In product discussions ISR usually means the operational sensing layer, while intelligence covers the analysis on top.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance","r":["ISR&T","ISTAR","PED","Collection management"]},{"t":"ISR synchronization","s":"Coordinating sensor tasking in time and space against requirements","d":"The coordination of collection assets, their tasking and timing, and PED against requirements so the right sensor observes the right place at the right time. Army doctrine calls the related activity information collection, and the output is an ISR or information collection synchronization matrix. It links the collection plan to the scheme of maneuver.","c":"Intelligence","k":["information collection plan","ISR sync matrix"],"r":["Collection management","NAI"]},{"t":"ISR&T","x":"Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting","s":"ISR plus targeting, the sensing chain that feeds strike decisions","d":"Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting: the ISR enterprise considered together with the targeting process it supports. The term appears in Space Force and Air Force discussions of moving target indication from space and in programs that aim to close long-range kill chains. It reflects the shift from collecting for analysis toward collecting to produce targeting-quality tracks quickly.","c":"Intelligence","r":["ISR","ISTAR","Target development"]},{"t":"ISTAR","x":"Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance","s":"Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (UK and NATO)","d":"Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance: the UK and NATO term for the capabilities the US usually calls ISR, with target acquisition made explicit. UK ISTAR platforms include the RC-135W Rivet Joint (Airseeker) and Protector RG1 drones. It appears in UK and Commonwealth requirement documents where US documents say ISR.","c":"NATO & Allied","w":"Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance","r":["ISR","ISR&T"]},{"t":"ISV","x":"Infantry Squad Vehicle","s":"GM Defense light, air-droppable truck for infantry brigades","d":"The ISV is a light, unarmored vehicle based on a commercial Chevrolet Colorado chassis that carries a nine-soldier squad and can be sling-loaded by helicopter or airdropped. It is used by IBCTs and airborne units.","c":"Ground","k":["Infantry Squad Vehicle"],"r":["IBCT"]},{"t":"iTAK","x":"iOS Team Awareness Kit","s":"iOS version of TAK for iPhone and iPad","d":"iTAK is the iOS version of TAK, with a more limited feature set than ATAK but compatible with TAK Server and Cursor on Target messaging. It is used where iPhones or iPads are issued, including in civil and interagency settings. Plugin support differs from ATAK.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["TAK","ATAK"]},{"t":"ITAR","x":"International Traffic in Arms Regulations","s":"State Department rules controlling export of defense articles, services and technical data","d":"ITAR, 22 CFR 120 to 130, implements the Arms Export Control Act and controls items on the US Munitions List. Manufacturers and exporters must register with DDTC, and exports, including sharing technical data with foreign persons, require a license or exemption. ITAR controls follow the item, so foreign products containing ITAR parts remain controlled, and violations carry heavy civil and criminal penalties.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["International Traffic in Arms Regulations","22 CFR 120","AECA","Arms Export Control Act"],"w":"International Traffic in Arms Regulations","r":["USML","DDTC","EAR","Deemed export","Technical Assistance Agreement"]},{"t":"ITN","x":"Integrated Tactical Network","s":"Army tactical network mixing military and commercial radios and devices","d":"The Integrated Tactical Network is the Army's approach to the lower tactical network that combines program-of-record radios with commercial off-the-shelf radios, devices and software such as ATAK. It was fielded through the Army capability set approach starting with CS21. It emphasizes simpler, more mobile equipment and resilient transport.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["Capability set","Unified Network","ATAK"]},{"t":"ITU","x":"International Telecommunication Union","s":"UN agency that sets global radio spectrum rules and satellite coordination","d":"The United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. Its Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) maintains the Radio Regulations, the international treaty that allocates spectrum to services and coordinates satellite orbits and frequencies. Military systems are largely exempt under Article 48 of the ITU Constitution but still coordinate to avoid harmful interference.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["ITU-R","International Telecommunication Union"],"w":"International Telecommunication Union","r":["ITU Radio Regulations","WRC","Frequency allocation"]},{"t":"ITU Radio Regulations","x":"RR","s":"International treaty allocating spectrum to radio services worldwide","d":"The international treaty, maintained by the ITU-R and revised at World Radiocommunication Conferences, that contains the international Table of Frequency Allocations, technical and regulatory rules, and procedures for coordinating satellite networks. The world is split into three ITU Regions with some different allocations; the Americas are Region 2.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Radio Regulations","RR","ITU Region 2"],"w":"ITU Radio Regulations","r":["ITU","WRC","Frequency allocation"]},{"t":"IUID","x":"Item Unique Identification","s":"DoD system requiring permanent 2D data matrix marking of qualifying items","d":"Under DFARS 252.211-7003, items with a unit acquisition cost of $5,000 or more, serially managed items and some others must carry a unique item identifier encoded in a 2D Data Matrix per MIL-STD-130, registered in the IUID Registry. Plan marking space and methods into the design early.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Item Unique Identification","UII","UID","UID marking","252.211-7003","IUID Registry"],"r":["MIL-STD-130","DD250","NSN"]},{"t":"IUSS","x":"Integrated Undersea Surveillance System","s":"US Navy fixed and mobile undersea acoustic surveillance network, including SOSUS","d":"IUSS includes the Cold War SOSUS seabed hydrophone arrays, SURTASS ships with towed arrays, and newer deployable systems for detecting submarines at long range. It feeds theater ASW commanders. Details beyond the general architecture are classified.","c":"Naval","k":["SOSUS","Sound Surveillance System"],"w":"SOSUS","r":["Towed array","Passive sonar"]},{"t":"IVAS","x":"Integrated Visual Augmentation System","s":"US Army mixed-reality soldier headset program, now SBMC under Anduril","d":"IVAS was a Microsoft HoloLens-based mixed-reality headset combining night vision, thermal, navigation and mission command overlays for dismounted soldiers. After user feedback issues and delays, the Army in 2025 moved the program to Anduril as prime, renaming it Soldier Borne Mission Command (SBMC), with a separate SBMC architecture effort. It is a key reference for soldier-worn sensor and display integration.","c":"Sensors","k":["SBMC","Soldier Borne Mission Command","IVAS Next"],"r":["ENVG-B","Image fusion"]},{"t":"I&W","x":"Indications and Warning","s":"Monitoring for signs that an adversary is preparing hostile action","d":"Indications and Warning: intelligence activities intended to detect and report time-sensitive information on foreign developments that could threaten the US or allied military, political or economic interests. Analysts maintain lists of indicators, such as leave cancellations, ammunition movements and blood supply build-ups, and track them against thresholds. The months of public US warning before Russia's February 2022 invasion are a much-cited case of I&W.","c":"Intelligence","r":["EEI","Strategic warning"]},{"t":"IW waveform","x":"Integrated Waveform","s":"DAMA waveform that increases capacity on 5 and 25 kHz UHF SATCOM channels","d":"The Integrated Waveform is a UHF SATCOM DAMA waveform (MIL-STD-188-181C/182B/183B family) that roughly doubles the number of users per channel compared with older DAMA by improving modulation and access. It is supported by radios such as the AN/PRC-117G and AN/PRC-152A family. It runs on legacy UHF satellites and MUOS legacy payloads.","c":"Comms","k":["IW","Integrated Waveform"],"r":["DAMA","UHF SATCOM","TDMA"]},{"t":"J2","s":"Intelligence directorate of a joint staff","d":"The intelligence directorate of a joint staff, led by the J2 (director of intelligence). The joint staff numbering runs J1 personnel, J2 intelligence, J3 operations, J4 logistics, J5 plans, J6 communications, with J7 and J8 for training and force structure. Army and Marine equivalents are G2 or S2 depending on echelon, and the Air Force uses A2.","c":"Intelligence","k":["G2","S2","A2","N2"],"r":["JIOC","Intelligence Community"]},{"t":"J-20","s":"China's twin-engine stealth fighter, NATO name Fagin","d":"The Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon is China's twin-engine fifth-generation stealth fighter, which entered PLAAF service in 2017 and is produced in significant numbers, including the two-seat J-20S. The US DoD has assessed that it is designed for air superiority and long-range strike against high-value assets such as tankers and AEW aircraft. Its NATO reporting name is Fagin.","c":"Aviation","k":["Mighty Dragon","Fagin","J-20S"],"w":"Chengdu J-20","r":["J-35","PLAAF","Felon"]},{"t":"J2 perturbation","s":"Orbit drift caused by Earth's equatorial bulge","d":"J2 is the coefficient describing Earth's oblateness, the largest perturbation on most satellite orbits. It causes the orbital plane to precess (changing RAAN) and the argument of perigee to rotate, at rates set by altitude and inclination. Designers exploit it for sun-synchronous and critically inclined orbits and must account for it when maintaining constellation geometry.","c":"Space","k":["J2"],"r":["RAAN","SSO","Critical inclination"]},{"t":"J-35","s":"Chinese single-seat stealth fighter for carriers, with a land-based J-35A","d":"The Shenyang J-35 is a Chinese medium-weight, twin-engine stealth fighter developed for carrier operations, with catapult capability for the Fujian, and a land-based J-35A unveiled at the Zhuhai air show in November 2024. It is China's second stealth fighter type and is expected to be offered for export. It traces to the earlier FC-31 demonstrator.","c":"Aviation","k":["J-35A","FC-31"],"w":"Shenyang J-35","r":["J-20","Fujian"]},{"t":"J&A","x":"Justification and Approval","s":"Document justifying a contract award without full and open competition","d":"Required by FAR Part 6 for most noncompetitive awards, the J&A cites the statutory exception and is approved at levels that rise with dollar value. J&As are generally published on SAM.gov after award, which is a good way to see who is winning sole-source work.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Justification and Approval","JOFOC"],"r":["Sole source","Full and open competition"]},{"t":"JADC2","x":"Joint All-Domain Command and Control","s":"DoD effort to connect sensors and shooters from all services into one network","d":"Joint all-domain command and control is the DoD concept for connecting sensors, shooters and decision makers across services, now usually written CJADC2 to include coalition partners (\"combined\"). It is less a single program than an umbrella over service efforts such as the Army's Project Convergence and NGC2, the Air Force's DAF Battle Network, and the Navy's Project Overmatch. Interoperable data and open interfaces are the practical requirements behind it.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Joint All-Domain Command and Control","r":["CJADC2","ABMS","Project Convergence","Project Overmatch","MDO","Kill web","JWC"],"k":["CJADC2"]},{"t":"JADO","x":"Joint All-Domain Operations","s":"Air Force term for operations integrated across all domains","d":"Joint all-domain operations is the Air Force doctrinal term (AFDP 3-99) for operations that use capabilities from all domains to achieve effects. It is the Air Force counterpart to the Army's MDO. Both feed into the joint concept that JADC2 is meant to enable.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["MDO","JADC2"]},{"t":"JADOCS","x":"Joint Automated Deep Operations Coordination System","s":"Joint fires and targeting coordination software","d":"JADOCS is a joint software application used to coordinate and synchronize fires and targeting across services, including dynamic targeting and deconfliction. It is widely used at division and corps fires cells and in joint operations centers. It interoperates with AFATDS and other C2 systems.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["AFATDS"]},{"t":"JAGM","x":"Joint Air-to-Ground Missile","s":"Lockheed Martin Hellfire successor with dual-mode laser and radar seeker, AGM-179","d":"JAGM uses a Hellfire-sized airframe with a dual-mode semi-active laser and millimeter-wave radar seeker, so it can engage moving targets in obscured conditions and in fire-and-forget mode. It equips Army and Marine helicopters and is integrating on other platforms. A Quad-Mode upgrade adds more seeker and range options.","c":"Weapons","k":["AGM-179"],"r":["Hellfire","Multimode seeker"]},{"t":"JAIC","x":"Joint Artificial Intelligence Center","s":"Former DoD AI center, merged into the CDAO in 2022","d":"The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center was established in 2018 to accelerate AI adoption across DoD. It was merged into the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office in 2022. Older contracts and documents still reference it.","c":"Organizations","r":["CDAO"]},{"t":"Jamming","s":"Deliberate radiation of energy to prevent or degrade an enemy's use of the spectrum","d":"Deliberate radiation, reradiation or reflection of electromagnetic energy to prevent or reduce an enemy's effective use of the spectrum. Jamming is broadly divided into noise (denial) jamming that masks signals and deception jamming that injects false information. Its effectiveness is set by the jamming-to-signal ratio at the victim receiver.","c":"EW","k":["electromagnetic jamming","radio jamming"],"w":"Radio jamming","r":["Noise jamming","Deception jamming","Jamming-to-signal ratio","Barrage jamming"]},{"t":"Jamming-to-signal ratio","x":"J/S","s":"Ratio of jamming power to wanted signal power at the victim receiver","d":"The ratio, usually in dB, of jamming power to wanted signal power at the victim receiver input. It determines whether jamming is effective and depends on jammer EIRP, range, antenna gains and processing gain. Against radar the target echo falls with the fourth power of range while jamming falls with the square, which is why J/S rises with range and falls as the radar closes.","c":"EW","k":["J/S","J/S ratio","JSR"],"r":["Burn-through range","Radar range equation","SINR"]},{"t":"JASSM","x":"Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile","s":"Lockheed Martin stealthy air-launched cruise missile, AGM-158","d":"JASSM is a low-observable cruise missile carried by fighters and bombers with a 1,000 lb class penetrating warhead. The JASSM-ER variant has a range of over 500 nm, and newer versions extend range further. It is a core weapon for long-range strike against defended targets.","c":"Weapons","k":["AGM-158","JASSM-ER","JASSM-XR"],"w":"AGM-158 JASSM","r":["LRASM","Standoff","ALCM"]},{"t":"Javelin","s":"Man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile with IIR seeker, FGM-148","d":"Javelin is a shoulder-fired anti-tank missile from the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin joint venture. It uses an imaging infrared seeker and can attack from above in top-attack mode, where armor is thinnest. It became a symbol of Ukraine's early resistance and its production was ramped up afterwards.","c":"Weapons","k":["FGM-148"],"w":"FGM-148 Javelin","r":["IIR","Top attack","NLAW"]},{"t":"J band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 10 to 20 GHz","d":"NATO EW band J covers 10 to 20 GHz, spanning upper X band, Ku band and part of K band, used by fire control, missile seekers, some airborne radars and Ku SATCOM. RWR coverage is often quoted as up to J band, or 2 to 18 GHz.","c":"RF","k":["J-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","Ku band","I band (NATO)"]},{"t":"JBC-P","x":"Joint Battle Command-Platform","s":"Army and Marine successor to FBCB2 for on-the-move C2 and blue force tracking","d":"Joint Battle Command-Platform is the Army and Marine Corps vehicle and command post system for blue force tracking, messaging and mission command on the move, successor to FBCB2. It uses the BFT-2 satellite network and an updated software baseline known as Mounted Mission Command. It is installed on thousands of vehicles.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["BFT-2","Mounted Mission Command"],"r":["FBCB2","Blue Force Tracking"]},{"t":"J-book","s":"Budget justification books that explain each line of DoD's budget request","d":"Justification books accompany the President's Budget and describe each program element or procurement line, with funding by year, schedule and planned contracts. RDT&E exhibits (R-1, R-2, R-3) and procurement exhibits (P-1, P-40 and others) are public for unclassified programs. They are a primary source for market intelligence.","c":"Acquisition","k":["justification book","budget justification","R-2","P-40"],"r":["Program element","PPBE","RDT&E"]},{"t":"JCIDS","x":"Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System","s":"The joint process for identifying, validating and prioritizing military requirements","d":"JCIDS, overseen by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, produced and validated the ICD, CDD and CPD for joint and major programs. It was widely criticized as slow. In 2025 the Secretary of Defense directed that JCIDS be replaced by a faster requirements process tied more closely to resourcing, and implementation was still settling through 2026, so existing programs keep legacy JCIDS documents.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System"],"r":["JROC","ICD","CDD","CPD","DOTMLPF-P"]},{"t":"JCO","x":"Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office","s":"Army-led DoD office that coordinated C-sUAS requirements and testing (2019 to 2025)","d":"The JCO was set up in 2019 under the Army to lead and synchronise DoD counter-small UAS work, publish a joint strategy and run demonstrations of commercial C-sUAS technology. It also narrowed the services' many interim systems to a shortlist of approved ones. In 2025 the Secretary of Defense replaced it with Joint Interagency Task Force 401.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Joint C-sUAS Office"],"r":["JIATF-401","C-sUAS"]},{"t":"J-code","s":"Joint staff directorate numbering: J1 personnel through J8 resources","d":"Joint staffs number their directorates by function: J1 manpower and personnel, J2 intelligence, J3 operations, J4 logistics, J5 plans and policy, J6 command, control, communications and computers or cyber, J7 joint force development and training, J8 force structure, resources and assessment. J9 is not standard and is used differently by different commands. Knowing who sits in J3, J6 and J8 helps a vendor find users, network owners and money.","c":"Organizations","k":["J1","J2","J3","J4","J5","J6","J7","J8","J9","J-staff"],"r":["Staff numbering","Joint Staff"]},{"t":"JCREW","x":"Joint Counter Radio-Controlled IED Electronic Warfare","s":"Joint-service programmable counter-RCIED jammer program","d":"A joint program, led by the US Navy, to field a common, software-programmable counter-RCIED jammer family in mounted, dismounted and fixed configurations, replacing the many interim CREW systems bought urgently during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Northrop Grumman developed the mounted system.","c":"EW","k":["Joint CREW"],"r":["CREW","Duke"]},{"t":"JCS","x":"Joint Chiefs of Staff","s":"The Joint Chiefs of Staff: the service chiefs plus the Chairman and Vice Chairman","d":"The Joint Chiefs of Staff are the senior uniformed leaders: the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and National Guard Bureau. They advise the President and SecDef but do not command forces. The Chairman (CJCS) is the senior military adviser.","c":"Organizations","k":["CJCS","Chairman"],"w":"Joint Chiefs of Staff","r":["Joint Staff","SecDef"]},{"t":"JCWA","x":"Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture","s":"USCYBERCOM framework for cyber force tools and infrastructure","d":"The Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture is USCYBERCOM's framework for the systems the Cyber Mission Force uses, including the Unified Platform, joint common access platforms and C2 tools. It guides acquisition across services and USCYBERCOM's own acquisition authority. Vendors in cyber tooling align with its components.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["Unified Platform"],"r":["USCYBERCOM","CMF"]},{"t":"JDAM","x":"Joint Direct Attack Munition","s":"Boeing GPS/INS tail kit that turns a dumb bomb into a guided one","d":"JDAM is a guidance kit that bolts onto Mk 80-series and BLU general-purpose bombs, using GPS-aided inertial navigation to steer to coordinates in any weather. Variants include Laser JDAM for moving targets and JDAM-ER with wings for longer range, supplied to Ukraine. It is the most produced US precision weapon and a reference for low-cost guidance.","c":"Weapons","k":["GBU-31","GBU-32","GBU-38","Laser JDAM","JDAM-ER"],"w":"Joint Direct Attack Munition","r":["PGM","CEP","GPS/INS"]},{"t":"JDL model","s":"Joint Directors of Laboratories levels for organizing data fusion functions","d":"The JDL data fusion model divides fusion into levels: level 0 (signal and feature refinement), level 1 (object assessment: tracking and identification), level 2 (situation assessment), level 3 (impact or threat assessment) and level 4 (process refinement, including sensor management). It provides shared vocabulary for designing fusion systems.","c":"Sensors","k":["JDL fusion model","fusion levels"],"r":["Sensor fusion","Sensor management"]},{"t":"JEF","x":"Joint Expeditionary Force","s":"UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force of ten northern European nations","d":"The Joint Expeditionary Force: a UK-led coalition of ten northern European nations (UK, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) able to act quickly, alone or in support of NATO, in the High North, North Atlantic and Baltic. It has run activities to protect undersea infrastructure after cable incidents in the Baltic.","c":"NATO & Allied","w":"Joint Expeditionary Force","r":["NATO","eFP"]},{"t":"JEMSO","x":"Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations","s":"EMSO conducted by two or more services under a joint force commander","d":"Electromagnetic spectrum operations planned and executed by a joint force, the subject of JP 3-85 (May 2020), which replaced JP 3-13.1 on electronic warfare and JP 6-01 on spectrum management. A joint EMSO cell (JEMSOC) on the joint force staff plans, coordinates and deconflicts spectrum use and EW for the commander.","c":"EW","k":["joint EMSO","JP 3-85"],"r":["EMSO","JEMSOC","Electromagnetic battle management"]},{"t":"JEMSOC","x":"Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Cell","s":"Joint staff cell that plans and coordinates EW and spectrum use","d":"The cell on a joint force staff responsible for planning, coordinating and controlling JEMSO, including EW tasking, frequency deconfliction and the joint restricted frequency list. It succeeded the joint EW cell (JEWC) and joint spectrum management element of earlier doctrine.","c":"EW","k":["JEMSO cell","JEWC"],"r":["JEMSO","Joint restricted frequency list","Spectrum management"]},{"t":"JETDS","x":"Joint Electronics Type Designation System","s":"AN/ equipment nomenclature: AN/APG-81, AN/SPY-6, AN/PRC-117G","d":"Joint Electronics Type Designation System: the US and allied nomenclature for electronic equipment, under MIL-STD-196, written AN/ followed by three letters, a number and an optional suffix. The first letter is installation (A airborne, S surface ship, T ground transportable, P man-portable, V vehicle, G general ground, M mobile ground, U general utility, B underwater, F fixed, Z air combination); the second is equipment type (P radar, R radio, L countermeasures, Q sonar, A invisible light or infrared, Y data processing); the third is purpose (G fire control, Y surveillance and control, S detecting or search, C communications, Q special or combination, D direction finding and reconnaissance, N navigation, R receiving, T transmitting). AN originally stood for Army-Navy.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["AN/","MIL-STD-196","AN nomenclature","AN/ designation","Army-Navy designation"],"w":"Joint Electronics Type Designation System","r":["AN/APG","AN/SPY","AN/TPQ","AN/PRC","AN/ALQ","AN/SPY-6","AN/ZPY-series"]},{"t":"J/F-12","s":"MCEB record number assigned to a certified spectrum-dependent system","d":"The designation given to the record of a spectrum certification approved through the US Military Communications-Electronics Board's Joint Frequency Panel; a system's approval is commonly referred to by its J/F-12 number. Frequency assignments for operations reference this number to show the equipment is certified.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["Spectrum certification","DD Form 1494","MCEB"]},{"t":"JFACC","x":"Joint Force Air Component Commander","s":"Joint force air component commander, who plans and directs joint air operations","d":"The JFACC is usually the commander with most of the air assets and the means to command them, typically an Air Force officer. The JFACC runs the air operations center, produces the ATO and often serves as airspace control and area air defense authority. In multinational operations the role is CFACC.","c":"Organizations","k":["CFACC","JFACC/CFACC"],"r":["ATO","AOC","JFC"]},{"t":"JFC","x":"Joint Force Commander","s":"Joint force commander: any commander with authority over a joint force","d":"Joint force commander is the general term for a combatant commander, subordinate unified commander or JTF commander. Under the JFC, functional components such as the JFACC, JFLCC and JFMCC may be established. The JFC sets objectives and priorities across components.","c":"Organizations","r":["JTF","JFACC","JFLCC","JFMCC"]},{"t":"JFHQ-DODIN","x":"Joint Force Headquarters-DoD Information Network","s":"USCYBERCOM component that directs defense of the DODIN","d":"Joint Force Headquarters-DODIN is the USCYBERCOM component responsible for command and control of DODIN operations and defensive cyber operations across DoD networks. It works closely with DISA and issues orders such as cyber tasking to network operators. It coordinates responses to DoD-wide vulnerabilities.","c":"Organizations","r":["DODIN operations","USCYBERCOM","DISA"]},{"t":"JFLCC","x":"Joint Force Land Component Commander","s":"Joint force land component commander, who directs land operations","d":"The JFLCC commands land forces of more than one service under a joint force commander, usually an Army or Marine commander at corps or field army level. CFLCC is the combined version. It coordinates fires and maneuver for the ground fight.","c":"Organizations","k":["CFLCC"],"r":["JFC","Corps"]},{"t":"JFMCC","x":"Joint Force Maritime Component Commander","s":"Joint force maritime component commander, who directs maritime operations","d":"The JFMCC commands maritime forces under a joint force commander, usually a Navy fleet commander. CFMCC is the combined version. Numbered fleet commanders often fill the role in their regions.","c":"Organizations","k":["CFMCC"],"r":["Fleet","JFC"]},{"t":"JFSOCC","x":"Joint Force Special Operations Component Commander","s":"Joint force special operations component commander","d":"The JFSOCC commands special operations forces under a joint force commander, typically through a theater special operations command (TSOC). Each geographic CCMD has a TSOC, such as SOCPAC or SOCEUR. SOF mission requirements often surface through these commands.","c":"Organizations","k":["TSOC","CFSOCC"],"r":["SOCOM","JFC"]},{"t":"JIATF-401","x":"Joint Interagency Task Force 401","s":"DoD task force formed in 2025 to lead counter-drone efforts, replacing the JCO","d":"JIATF-401 was established in 2025 to take over and broaden the JCO's role, with authority to speed up acquisition and fielding of counter-small UAS capability and to work with other federal agencies on homeland drone threats. It is the main DoD front door for C-UAS vendors. Details of its authorities continue to evolve.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["JCO","C-UAS"]},{"t":"JICO","x":"Joint Interface Control Officer","s":"Officer managing the multi-link datalink architecture in a joint operation","d":"The joint interface control officer plans and manages the multi-TADIL network for a joint force, including Link 16, Link 11, JREAP and gateways, and resolves track and interface problems. The JICO cell runs the joint data network and coordinates track numbers and filters. It is the operational owner a datalink integrator works with.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["Link 16 network design","Track number","JREAP"]},{"t":"JIOC","x":"Joint Intelligence Operations Center","s":"Joint Intelligence Operations Center at a combatant command","d":"Joint Intelligence Operations Center: the intelligence organization at each US combatant command and at the national level that integrates collection and all-source analysis for the commander. The JIOC is staffed by the J2 and supported by DIA. It is a primary customer for theater ISR management and all-source fusion tools.","c":"Intelligence","r":["J2","All-source intelligence"]},{"t":"JIPOE","x":"Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment","s":"Joint version of IPB, analyzing the whole operational environment","d":"Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment: the joint staff process (JP 2-0) for producing intelligence assessments, estimates and other products in support of the joint force commander's decision making. It mirrors IPB at operational and strategic level, adding domains such as space, cyberspace and the information environment, and it outputs adversary courses of action ranked most likely and most dangerous.","c":"Intelligence","r":["IPB","COA","PMESII","PIR"],"k":["IPB","IPOE"]},{"t":"Jitter","s":"Timing variation of clock or signal edges from their ideal positions","d":"Short-term variation of a signal's timing from its ideal position, the time-domain view of phase noise. Sampling clock jitter limits the SNR of high-speed ADCs at high input frequencies, so direct RF sampling receivers need very clean clocks. In radar, PRI jitter is a different, deliberate technique.","c":"RF","k":["clock jitter","aperture jitter"],"w":"Jitter","r":["Phase noise","ADC","PRI jitter"]},{"t":"JLTV","x":"Joint Light Tactical Vehicle","s":"Oshkosh armored tactical truck replacing much of the Humvee fleet","d":"JLTV is an armored light vehicle with MRAP-like protection, used by the Army and Marines as a base for weapons, C2 and launchers like NMESIS and MADIS. AM General won the follow-on production contract in 2023. In 2025 the Army announced it would stop buying JLTVs and Humvees as part of its restructuring, though the Marines continue.","c":"Ground","k":["Joint Light Tactical Vehicle","Humvee","HMMWV"],"w":"Joint Light Tactical Vehicle","r":["MRAP","NMESIS","MADIS"]},{"t":"JMEM","x":"Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manuals","s":"Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manuals: authoritative weapon effects data","d":"Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manuals: DoD's authoritative data and software for predicting weapon effectiveness against targets, used in weaponeering and CDE. Produced by the Joint Technical Coordinating Group for Munitions Effectiveness (JTCG/ME), the tools include the JMEM Weaponeering System (JWS). Targeting applications commonly integrate JWS outputs.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["JWS","JTCG/ME"],"r":["MEA","CDE"]},{"t":"Joe","s":"Informal term for a junior enlisted soldier","d":"\"Joe\" comes from G.I. Joe and refers to the average junior soldier. Product discussions often ask whether \"Joe\" can use a system with minimal training while tired, cold and wearing gloves. The Marine equivalent is often \"the junior Marine\" or \"lance corporal.\"","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Joes","GI"],"r":["Enlisted"]},{"t":"Johnson criteria","s":"Rule of thumb for how many pixel cycles across a target are needed to detect or ID it","d":"John Johnson's 1958 work related observer tasks to resolvable cycles across a target's critical dimension: about 1 cycle for detection, 1.4 for orientation, 4 for recognition and 6.4 for identification, at 50 percent probability. Vendors often express this as pixels, roughly double the cycles. It remains the common basis of DRI ranges on spec sheets, though modern models use the TTP metric.","c":"Sensors","k":["Johnson's criteria"],"w":"Johnson's criteria","r":["DRI","NVIPM","IFOV"]},{"t":"Joint","s":"Involving two or more US military departments or services","d":"In US usage, joint means multiple services (for example Army and Air Force). Combined or multinational means multiple nations. A joint requirement or joint program serves several services, which affects interoperability and funding.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Combined","Multinational"],"r":["Coalition","JTF"]},{"t":"Joint EMBM","s":"DoD program to field common software for electromagnetic battle management","d":"Joint Electromagnetic Battle Management (often EMBM-J) is a DoD effort to field common software that gives joint EMSO cells awareness of the spectrum and tools to plan, coordinate and control EW and spectrum use across the services. It was in incremental development and fielding in the mid-2020s, and service tools such as the Army EWPMT are expected to exchange data with it.","c":"EW","k":["EMBM-J","Joint Electromagnetic Battle Management"],"r":["Electromagnetic battle management","JEMSOC","EWPMT"]},{"t":"Joint Fires Network","s":"INDOPACOM-focused effort to link joint sensors and fires across the theater","d":"The Joint Fires Network is a US Indo-Pacific Command priority effort to integrate targeting, sensors and fires across services and allies in the theater, building on Maven and other existing tools. It has been funded through the Pentagon budget since around 2025. Public details are limited.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["JFN"],"r":["CJADC2","Maven Smart System"]},{"t":"Joint restricted frequency list","x":"JRFL","s":"Frequencies friendly jammers must not jam, by category TABOO, PROTECTED or GUARDED","d":"A time and geographically oriented list of friendly, neutral and adversary frequencies that are protected from friendly jamming. Entries are TABOO (friendly frequencies never jammed, such as safety and distress), PROTECTED (friendly frequencies used for a particular operation) or GUARDED (adversary frequencies being exploited for intelligence). EA systems must load and honor the JRFL, so jammer software needs a way to import it.","c":"EW","k":["JRFL","restricted frequency list","TABOO frequency"],"r":["Spectrum management","Jamming","JEMSOC"]},{"t":"Joint Spectrum Interference Resolution","x":"JSIR","s":"DoD process for reporting and resolving EMI affecting military systems","d":"The DoD program for reporting, analyzing and resolving electromagnetic interference that affects military systems, with local resolution first and escalation to the Joint Spectrum Center (now part of DISA's Defense Spectrum Organization) for technical support. Interference reports distinguish unintentional EMI from suspected jamming.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["JSIR","EMI report"],"r":["Interference","Defense Spectrum Organization"]},{"t":"Joint Staff","s":"The staff that supports the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, organized into J-directorates","d":"The Joint Staff assists the Chairman with planning, requirements (through the JROC and JCIDS), doctrine and force management. It is organized into directorates J1 through J8. It does not command forces; combatant commanders do.","c":"Organizations","w":"Joint Chiefs of Staff","r":["J-code","JCS"]},{"t":"Joint targeting cycle","s":"Six-phase process from objectives to assessment for selecting and striking targets","d":"The joint process for selecting and prioritizing targets and matching responses to them, in six phases: end state and commander's objectives; target development and prioritization; capabilities analysis; commander's decision and force assignment; mission planning and force execution; and assessment. It runs deliberately for planned targets and dynamically for targets of opportunity. Related tactical cycles include F2T2EA, D3A and F3EAD.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["targeting cycle"],"r":["Target development","F3EAD","D3A","BDA"]},{"t":"Joker","s":"Brevity: fuel state above bingo at which a flight should prepare to leave","d":"JOKER is a prebriefed fuel level above bingo, at which separation, egress or termination of the current task should begin. It gives margin before bingo. Both values are set during mission planning.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Bingo","Playtime"]},{"t":"JORN","x":"Jindalee Operational Radar Network","s":"Australia's skywave over-the-horizon radar network covering northern approaches","d":"JORN is a network of HF skywave OTH radars in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory run by the Royal Australian Air Force, monitoring air and sea traffic across Australia's northern approaches at ranges of thousands of kilometers. It is being upgraded under a multi-phase program. It is one of the most cited operational OTH radar systems.","c":"Radar","k":["Jindalee"],"w":"Jindalee Operational Radar Network","r":["OTH radar"]},{"t":"JP","x":"Joint Publication","s":"A Joint Publication, the official joint doctrine series from the Joint Staff","d":"Joint Publications are numbered by function: JP 1 for capstone doctrine, 2 intelligence, 3 operations, 4 logistics, 5 planning and 6 communications. JP 3-0 (Joint Campaigns and Operations) and JP 5-0 (Joint Planning) are the most cited. Many are publicly available, though some have moved behind access controls.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Doctrine","FM"]},{"t":"JPP","x":"Joint Planning Process","s":"The joint force's seven-step planning process, described in JP 5-0","d":"The joint planning process runs: planning initiation, mission analysis, COA development, COA analysis and wargaming, COA comparison, COA approval, and plan or order development. It is used by combatant commands and joint task forces and parallels the Army's MDMP. The governing publication is JP 5-0, Joint Planning.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["MDMP","MCPP","OPLAN","Operational design"]},{"t":"JREAP","x":"Joint Range Extension Applications Protocol","s":"Protocol carrying Link 16 J-series messages over SATCOM, serial or IP","d":"JREAP is defined in MIL-STD-3011 and carries tactical data link messages, mainly J-series, over beyond-line-of-sight media. JREAP-A uses half-duplex token passing, JREAP-B point-to-point serial, and JREAP-C IP networks. It is the most common way to bring Link 16 data into a ground C2 system or over a satellite link.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["JREAP-C","MIL-STD-3011"],"r":["Link 16","SIMPLE","J-series messages"]},{"t":"JROC","x":"Joint Requirements Oversight Council","s":"Council chaired by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs that validates joint requirements","d":"The JROC, established in 10 USC 181, is chaired by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and includes the service vice chiefs. It validates requirements for major programs and weighs in on joint capability priorities. Its role was being restructured alongside the 2025 requirements reforms.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Joint Requirements Oversight Council"],"r":["JCIDS","KPP"]},{"t":"JRSS","x":"Joint Regional Security Stacks","s":"DISA regional security stacks being retired in favor of zero trust","d":"The Joint Regional Security Stacks were regional sets of firewalls and security tools through which DoD network traffic was routed for inspection. The program faced performance problems and was slated for retirement, with Thunderdome and zero trust capabilities replacing it. It is a common reference point in DoD network security history.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["Thunderdome","Zero trust"]},{"t":"J-series messages","s":"Standardized Link 16 message catalog for tracks, PPLI, C2 and weapons","d":"J-series messages are the formatted messages used on Link 16 and carried over JREAP and Link 22, labeled J followed by a number, for example J2.2 for air PPLI, J3.2 for air tracks and J12 for mission management. They are defined in MIL-STD-6016. Implementing a J-series message requires following detailed transmit and receive rules beyond the bit layout.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["J-series","J messages","J2.2","J3.2"],"r":["Link 16","MIL-STD-6016","PPLI"]},{"t":"JSLIST","x":"Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology","s":"US military chemical-biological protective overgarment","d":"JSLIST is the standard US protective suit against chemical and biological agents, using an activated carbon layer. It is being supplemented by newer suits such as UIPE (Uniform Integrated Protective Ensemble).","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["UIPE","chem suit"],"r":["MOPP","CBRN"]},{"t":"JTAC","x":"Joint Terminal Attack Controller","s":"Joint terminal attack controller: the qualified person on the ground who directs CAS","d":"A JTAC is a certified service member who directs combat aircraft in close air support and other offensive air operations from a forward position. JTACs carry radios, laser designators, rangefinders and tablets running digital fires software. They are demanding and well-informed users.","c":"Aviation","k":["FAC","FAC(A)","forward air controller"],"r":["CAS","9-line CAS"]},{"t":"JTF","x":"Joint Task Force","s":"A joint task force: a temporary joint command formed for a specific mission","d":"A joint task force is established by the SecDef, a combatant commander or other authority for a specific, limited mission, and is disbanded when the mission ends. It has a commander, a joint staff and components. JTFs are common for crises, disasters and named operations.","c":"Organizations","r":["JFC","CCMD"]},{"t":"JTIDS","x":"Joint Tactical Information Distribution System","s":"Original Link 16 terminal family, largely replaced by MIDS","d":"JTIDS is the original Link 16 terminal program from the 1980s, with large Class 2 terminals installed on aircraft such as AWACS and on ships. It established the Link 16 waveform and TDMA structure. Most platforms have moved to MIDS terminals, though the name is still used loosely for the Link 16 RF signal.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Joint Tactical Information Distribution System","r":["Link 16","MIDS"]},{"t":"JTNC","x":"Joint Tactical Networking Center","s":"DoD center managing tactical waveforms and the SCA","d":"The Joint Tactical Networking Center maintains the DoD Information Repository of tactical waveforms and the Software Communications Architecture standard, and supports waveform porting and testing. It is the successor organization to the JTRS Joint Program Executive Office for these functions. Vendors porting government waveforms obtain them through it.","c":"Organizations","r":["SCA","JTRS"]},{"t":"JTRS","x":"Joint Tactical Radio System","s":"DoD program for software-defined radios with portable waveforms","d":"JTRS was a DoD program begun in the late 1990s to replace legacy radios with software-defined radios that share portable waveforms under the Software Communications Architecture. The ambitious original program was restructured, with its ground radio pieces moved to commercial competition, but it produced the SCA, the waveform library and radios such as MIDS-JTRS and HMS. The Joint Tactical Networking Center continues its waveform role.","c":"Comms","w":"Joint Tactical Radio System","r":["SCA","HMS","MIDS-JTRS","JTNC"]},{"t":"JWC","x":"Joint Warfighting Concept","s":"The Joint Staff's classified concept for how the joint force will fight","d":"The Joint Warfighting Concept is a classified Joint Staff concept, first approved in 2021, describing how the joint force should operate against a peer adversary across all domains. It informs requirements and investment priorities through supporting concepts, including joint command and control. Its details are not public, so vendors encounter it mostly as a justification line in requirements.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["JADC2","MDO"]},{"t":"JWCC","x":"Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability","s":"DoD multi-vendor enterprise cloud contract at all classification levels","d":"The Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability is a multiple-award contract awarded in December 2022 to Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft and Oracle, providing commercial cloud services from unclassified through top secret and at the tactical edge. It replaced the cancelled JEDI contract. DoD has planned a follow-on, JWCC Next. Vendors often deliver software to DoD by deploying in a JWCC provider's government regions.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["JEDI","JWCC Next"],"r":["Impact levels","Tactical cloud","DISA"]},{"t":"JWICS","x":"Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System","s":"Top secret/SCI network for intelligence community and DoD","d":"JWICS is the network for top secret and sensitive compartmented information used by the intelligence community and DoD intelligence organizations, managed by the Defense Intelligence Agency. It requires access from SCIFs. Systems built for JWICS face intelligence community accreditation requirements.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System","r":["SIPRNet","NSANet","SCIF"]},{"t":"Ka band","s":"Roughly 20 and 30 GHz SATCOM band for high-throughput military and commercial links","d":"Ka-band SATCOM uses about 17.7 to 21.2 GHz downlink and 27.5 to 31 GHz uplink, with military Ka at 20.2 to 21.2 and 30 to 31 GHz. It supports high data rates through small spot beams and smaller antennas but suffers rain fade. WGS, Global Xpress, O3b mPOWER, Starlink gateways and the SDA Transport Layer's ground links use it.","c":"RF","w":"Ka band","r":["K band","mmWave","EHF","IEEE radar bands","W-band","Atmospheric attenuation","Ku-band","X-band","Rain fade","WGS","High-throughput satellite"]},{"t":"Kalibr","s":"Russian family of ship and submarine launched cruise missiles","d":"The 3M-54 and 3M-14 Kalibr family of Russian cruise missiles, launched from surface ships and submarines, including land-attack versions with ranges well over 1,500 km and anti-ship variants. Kalibrs fired from the Black Sea and Caspian Sea have been used extensively against Ukraine and earlier in Syria. NATO designates the land-attack version SS-N-30A and the anti-ship version SS-N-27 Sizzler.","c":"Weapons","k":["3M-14","3M-54","SS-N-27 Sizzler","SS-N-30A","Klub"],"w":"Kalibr (missile family)","r":["Zircon","Kh-101"]},{"t":"Kalman filter","s":"Recursive estimator that fuses noisy sensor data into a best estimate","d":"A Kalman filter estimates a system's state by combining predictions from a motion model with noisy measurements, weighting each by its uncertainty. Navigation systems use extended or error-state Kalman filters to fuse INS with GNSS and other aids, estimating sensor biases along the way. Loosely coupled designs fuse positions; tightly coupled fuse raw pseudoranges; deeply (ultra-tightly) coupled fuse at the tracking-loop level for better jam resistance.","c":"PNT","k":["KF","EKF","UKF","extended Kalman filter","tightly coupled","loosely coupled","deeply coupled"],"w":"Kalman filter","r":["IMM","Alpha-beta filter","Particle filter","INS","Alt-PNT"]},{"t":"K band","s":"IEEE band 18 to 27 GHz, includes the 22 GHz water vapor absorption line","d":"The IEEE band from 18 to 27 GHz. Its usefulness for long range is limited by water vapor absorption near 22.2 GHz, but it is used for police and automotive radar, satellite downlinks near 20 GHz and 5G mmWave around 24 GHz. In the NATO EW scheme, K band is 20 to 40 GHz.","c":"RF","w":"K band (IEEE)","r":["Ku band","Ka band"]},{"t":"K band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 20 to 40 GHz","d":"NATO EW band K covers 20 to 40 GHz, roughly IEEE K and Ka bands, used by millimeter-wave seekers, short-range radars and Ka SATCOM. It differs from IEEE K band (18 to 27 GHz).","c":"RF","r":["NATO EW bands","Ka band","K band"]},{"t":"KC-46","s":"Boeing 767-based Air Force aerial refueling tanker, KC-46A Pegasus","d":"The KC-46A Pegasus replaces the KC-135. It uses a remote vision system instead of a boom operator looking out a window, which has needed a redesign. It also carries cargo and patients.","c":"Aviation","k":["KC-46A","Pegasus","KC-135"],"w":"Boeing KC-46 Pegasus","r":["AAR","Tanker"]},{"t":"KEK","x":"Key Encryption Key","s":"Key used to encrypt other keys for distribution","d":"A key encryption key protects other keys, such as traffic encryption keys (TEKs), during storage or over-the-air distribution. Using KEKs lets operational keys change frequently without physical fill. Key hierarchy design is central to any COMSEC or commercial key management system.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["TEK","traffic encryption key"],"r":["OTAR","Key fill"]},{"t":"Kessel Run","s":"Air Force software factory building air operations C2 applications","d":"Kessel Run is the Air Force software organization, founded in 2017 in Boston, that builds and operates C2 software for air operations centers, including KRADOS. It pioneered agile and DevSecOps practices in DoD and achieved an early continuous ATO. It now operates as part of the Air Force's C2 portfolio.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["AFLCMC Detachment 12"],"r":["KRADOS","AOC","Software factory"]},{"t":"Kessler syndrome","s":"Cascading collisions that make an orbital region unusable","d":"Kessler syndrome, proposed by NASA's Donald Kessler in 1978, is the scenario where the density of objects in an orbital band is high enough that collisions create debris faster than drag removes it, causing a self-sustaining cascade. Some crowded LEO bands are thought to be near that threshold. It is the main argument against destructive ASAT tests and for strict disposal rules for megaconstellations.","c":"Space","w":"Kessler syndrome","r":["Space debris","DA-ASAT","Proliferated constellation"]},{"t":"KEV","x":"Known Exploited Vulnerabilities","s":"CISA catalog of vulnerabilities exploited in the wild","d":"The Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, maintained by CISA, lists vulnerabilities with evidence of active exploitation. Binding Operational Directive 22-01 requires federal civilian agencies to remediate them by set deadlines. Defense programs use it to prioritize patching.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["CISA KEV","BOD 22-01"],"r":["CVE","CVSS","IAVA"]},{"t":"Key fill","s":"Loading cryptographic keys into a device","d":"Key fill, or COMSEC fill, is the process of loading cryptographic keys and related data such as frequency hopping parameters into radios and encryptors, usually from a key loader through a fill port. Fill protocols include DS-101 and DS-102. Devices typically need refilling when keys expire, are compromised or when a unit changes networks.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["COMSEC fill","fill","DS-101","DS-102"],"r":["Key loader","SKL","OTAR"]},{"t":"Key loader","s":"Handheld device that stores and transfers cryptographic keys","d":"A key loader, also called a fill device, stores cryptographic keys and transfers them into end cryptographic units. Generations include the KYK-13, the AN/PYQ-10 Simple Key Loader and newer devices such as the KIK-30 RASKL and next generation load devices. Loaders connect to the key management infrastructure to receive keys.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["fill device"],"r":["KYK-13","SKL","KIK-30","KMI"]},{"t":"KG-175","s":"NSA designation for the TACLANE HAIPE encryptor family","d":"KG-175 is the NSA nomenclature for General Dynamics TACLANE encryptors, with suffixes identifying models such as KG-175D TACLANE-Micro and KG-175N TACLANE-Nano. The designation appears in equipment lists and COMSEC accounting. They are certified to protect up to top secret depending on model.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["TACLANE","HAIPE"]},{"t":"KG-250","s":"ViaSat family of HAIPE network encryptors (AltaSec)","d":"The KG-250 is a family of Type 1 HAIPE network encryptors from ViaSat, marketed as AltaSec, including small tactical versions such as the KG-250X and KG-250XS. They compete with TACLANE for securing classified IP traffic. The compact versions are used in vehicles, aircraft and unmanned systems.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["AltaSec","KG-250X"],"r":["HAIPE","TACLANE"]},{"t":"Kh-101","s":"Russian stealthy long-range air-launched cruise missile","d":"The Kh-101 is a Russian air-launched cruise missile with low-observable shaping and a range of several thousand kilometers, carried by Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers. The Kh-102 is its nuclear-armed counterpart. Salvos of Kh-101s have been a central part of Russia's long-range strike campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure. NATO designates it AS-23A Kodiak.","c":"Weapons","k":["Kh-102","AS-23 Kodiak"],"w":"Kh-101","r":["Bear","Blackjack","Kalibr"]},{"t":"KIA","x":"Killed in Action","s":"Killed in action; WIA is wounded in action","d":"KIA, WIA and MIA (missing in action) are standard casualty categories in reports. DNBI covers disease and non-battle injury. They appear in casualty reports and LACE reports.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["WIA","MIA","DNBI"],"r":["LACE"]},{"t":"KIK-30","s":"Really Simple Key Loader (RASKL), a compact key fill device","d":"The KIK-30, known as the Really Simple Key Loader (RASKL), is a compact key loader designed for simple key fill operations with fewer features than the SKL. It is widely used for loading radios in the field. It is one of the next generation fill devices replacing older loaders.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["RASKL","Really Simple Key Loader"],"r":["Key loader","SKL"]},{"t":"Kill assessment","s":"Determining whether an intercept destroyed the threat","d":"Kill assessment uses radar, infrared or other data to judge whether an engagement succeeded. It underpins shoot-look-shoot doctrine and interceptor conservation. Debris and decoys make it hard against ballistic missiles.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["KA","battle damage assessment"],"r":["Shoot-look-shoot"]},{"t":"Kill chain","s":"Sequence of steps to find, fix, track, target, engage and assess a target","d":"A kill chain is the sequence of actions needed to engage a target, often written F2T2EA: find, fix, track, target, engage, assess. Shortening the time through the chain is a central goal of JADC2 and AI-enabled targeting. In cybersecurity the term was adapted by Lockheed Martin to describe stages of an intrusion.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["F2T2EA","kill web"],"w":"Kill chain (military)","r":["Kill web","Sensor-to-shooter","Cyber kill chain","F2T2EA","DTID","PGM"]},{"t":"Kill web","s":"Networked alternative to a linear kill chain, with many paths from sensors to shooters","d":"A kill web connects many sensors, deciders and shooters so that a target can be engaged through whichever path is available, instead of a fixed linear chain. It provides resilience when nodes are lost or jammed. Building kill webs depends on common data formats, gateways between datalinks and machine-to-machine interfaces.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["Kill chain","Sensor-to-shooter","Mosaic warfare","JADC2"]},{"t":"Kiloton","s":"Explosive energy equal to 1,000 tons of TNT","d":"A kiloton (kt) is the energy of 1,000 tons of TNT, about 4.184 terajoules. Nuclear yields are given in kilotons or megatons (Mt), with a megaton equal to 1,000 kt.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["kt","megaton","Mt"],"w":"TNT equivalent","r":["Yield"]},{"t":"Kinetic","s":"Using physical force, such as firepower or explosives","d":"Kinetic refers to actions involving physical destruction, such as strikes, artillery and missiles. Non-kinetic refers to effects without physical destruction, such as electronic warfare, cyber operations and information operations. Being \"kinetic\" in slang means things got violent.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Kinetic effects"],"w":"Kinetic warfare","r":["Non-kinetic","EBO"]},{"t":"Kinetic defeat","s":"Destroying a drone physically: guns, missiles, interceptor drones","d":"Kinetic defeat destroys or disables a drone with physical force, such as gunfire, missiles, interceptor drones or collision. It works regardless of how the drone is controlled, which is why it has grown in importance against autonomous and fiber-optic drones. The main concerns are cost per shot, magazine depth and debris falling on friendly areas.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["hard kill"],"r":["Non-kinetic defeat","Coyote","Interceptor drone"]},{"t":"Kinzhal","s":"Russian air-launched ballistic missile Kh-47M2, NATO AS-24 Killjoy","d":"The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal is a Russian air-launched ballistic missile, derived from the Iskander and carried by the MiG-31K, which Russia markets as hypersonic because it exceeds Mach 5 in its terminal phase. Ukraine first intercepted one with a Patriot in May 2023, which showed it can be defeated by modern ballistic missile defense. NATO designates it AS-24 Killjoy.","c":"Weapons","k":["Kh-47M2","AS-24 Killjoy"],"w":"Kh-47M2 Kinzhal","r":["Foxhound","SS-26 Stone","Zircon"]},{"t":"Kit","s":"Slang for a person's gear and equipment","d":"\"Kit\" means personal equipment, as in \"kit up\" to put on gear. British and Commonwealth forces use it especially, and US forces use it widely. Tactical gear marketing uses it constantly.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Kit up"],"r":["Plate carrier","Ruck"]},{"t":"KJ-500","s":"Chinese airborne early warning and control aircraft","d":"The Shaanxi KJ-500 is a Chinese airborne early warning and control aircraft on the Y-9 turboprop airframe with a fixed rotodome containing three AESA arrays. It entered service around 2015 and is a key enabler for long-range PLA air operations.","c":"Aviation","k":["Shaanxi KJ-500"],"w":"Shaanxi KJ-500","r":["Mainstay","PLAAF"]},{"t":"Klick","s":"Slang for a kilometer","d":"A klick (or click) is one kilometer, as in \"the objective is three klicks north.\" It is universal in US ground forces. Distances in military conversation are almost always metric.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Click","Klicks"],"r":["MGRS"]},{"t":"KLV","x":"Key-Length-Value","s":"Key-Length-Value binary encoding for metadata in video streams","d":"Key-Length-Value: a SMPTE standard (ST 336) binary encoding in which each data item is a universal key, a length and a value. MISB uses KLV local sets to carry drone metadata such as platform position, sensor pointing angles and frame center coordinates inside the video transport stream, which lets software geo-register every frame. Parsing KLV accurately is a basic requirement for FMV tools.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["SMPTE 336M"],"w":"KLV","r":["MISB","STANAG 4609","FMV"]},{"t":"KMI","x":"Key Management Infrastructure","s":"NSA's modern system for ordering, generating and delivering COMSEC key","d":"The Key Management Infrastructure is NSA's successor to EKMS, providing networked ordering, generation, distribution and accounting of cryptographic key and products for DoD and other users. Users access it through management clients and key loaders. Programs fielding Type 1 equipment must plan key ordering through KMI.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["EKMS","Key loader","COMSEC account"]},{"t":"KML","x":"Keyhole Markup Language","s":"XML format for geographic data, from Google Earth, now an OGC standard","d":"Keyhole Markup Language: an XML format for placemarks, paths, polygons, overlays and styling, created by Keyhole for what became Google Earth and adopted as an Open Geospatial Consortium standard in 2008. KMZ is a zipped KML with bundled images. It is a common lowest-common-denominator exchange format in military mapping tools, alongside GeoJSON and shapefiles.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["KMZ"],"w":"Keyhole Markup Language","r":["GeoTIFF","OGC"]},{"t":"Knock it off","s":"Brevity: stop all maneuvering immediately, usually for safety in training","d":"KNOCK IT OFF directs all participants to cease air combat maneuvers or the current exercise, typically for a safety issue. Anyone can call it. It is also used in ground training and test events to halt activity.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["KIO"],"r":["Abort"]},{"t":"Kosmos","s":"Designation given to most Russian and Soviet military satellites","d":"Kosmos (Cosmos) is the generic name, with a sequence number, assigned to most Soviet and Russian military and many experimental satellites since 1962, now numbering above 2,500. Some recent Kosmos satellites have performed proximity operations near US satellites or released objects in orbit, and Kosmos 1408 was the target of Russia's 2021 Nudol ASAT test.","c":"Space","k":["Cosmos"],"w":"Kosmos (satellite)","r":["Russian Space Forces","Nudol","Co-orbital ASAT"]},{"t":"KOV","s":"NSA nomenclature prefix for embeddable cryptographic modules","d":"KOV is the NSA nomenclature prefix used for embeddable cryptographic modules and cards. Radios and platforms integrate KOV-designated modules rather than developing their own Type 1 crypto. Designations follow the TSEC naming system in which KG denotes key generators and encryptors and KY denotes voice equipment.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["TSEC nomenclature"],"r":["Type 1","CCI"]},{"t":"KPP","x":"Key Performance Parameter","s":"A must-meet performance attribute whose failure can trigger program review or cancellation","d":"KPPs are the few performance attributes considered critical to the capability, each with a threshold and an objective value. Failing a KPP threshold can trigger a program reassessment. Several are mandatory in the joint requirements process, such as force protection, survivability, sustainment, net-ready and energy, where applicable.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Key Performance Parameter"],"r":["KSA","Threshold and objective","CDD","APB"]},{"t":"KRADOS","x":"Kessel Run All Domain Operations Suite","s":"Kessel Run software suite replacing TBMCS planning in the AOC","d":"KRADOS is the Kessel Run suite of applications for air operations planning, including master air attack planning and ATO production, built to replace legacy TBMCS functions. It has been fielded at operational AOCs. It is often cited as an example of DevSecOps delivering operational C2 software.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["Kessel Run","TBMCS","AOC"]},{"t":"Kropyva","s":"Ukrainian tablet mapping and fire control app for artillery and units","d":"A Ukrainian situational awareness and fire control software package, developed by the volunteer organization Army SOS, that runs on Android tablets with satellite or offline maps and helps artillery and other units calculate firing data and share positions. It has been widely used by Ukrainian forces since 2014 and illustrates how commercial hardware and volunteer software filled C2 gaps.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["Delta","Brave1"]},{"t":"KSA","x":"Key System Attribute","s":"An important performance attribute, one level below a KPP","d":"KSAs are performance attributes that matter enough to be tracked and approved by the requirements authority but not so critical that failure triggers a program review. They are often used for attributes that support a KPP, such as materiel reliability supporting the sustainment KPP.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Key System Attribute"],"r":["KPP","CDD"]},{"t":"kTB","s":"Thermal noise power: Boltzmann's constant times temperature times bandwidth","d":"Thermal noise power available from a resistor, k (Boltzmann's constant) times T (kelvin) times B (bandwidth in Hz). At 290 K this is -174 dBm/Hz, so a 1 MHz receiver has a noise floor of -114 dBm before adding noise figure. It sets the fundamental limit on receiver sensitivity.","c":"RF","k":["thermal noise","Johnson-Nyquist noise","-174 dBm/Hz"],"w":"Johnson–Nyquist noise","r":["Noise floor","Noise figure","Sensitivity"]},{"t":"Ku band","s":"12 to 18 GHz radar band used for compact fire control, seekers and counter-UAS","d":"Ku-band radars give fine angular resolution from small apertures, suiting counter-UAS sensors (KuRFS, several Echodyne products), helicopter fire control such as the AH-64's Longbow, and some SAR and missile seekers. Weather attenuation limits long-range use. It also hosts satellite communications downlinks.","c":"Radar","w":"Ku band","r":["IEEE radar bands","K band","Ka band","KuRFS","Counter-UAS radar","Ka-band","COMSATCOM","VSAT"]},{"t":"KuRFS","x":"Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor","s":"Raytheon Ku-band AESA used for counter-UAS and C-RAM fire control","d":"KuRFS is a Raytheon Ku-band multimission AESA radar that provides detection and fire control for counter-UAS and counter-RAM, notably as part of the US Army's LIDS system with Coyote interceptors. It is a commonly referenced sensor in Army C-UAS architectures.","c":"Radar","k":["Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor"],"r":["Counter-UAS radar","Ku-band"]},{"t":"KYK-13","s":"Legacy electronic transfer device for cryptographic keys","d":"The KYK-13 is a legacy US electronic key transfer device from the 1970s used to load keys into equipment such as SINCGARS and older encryptors. It holds a small number of keys and uses the DS-102 fill protocol. It has largely been replaced by the SKL and newer loaders, though it lingers in some units.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","w":"KYK-13","r":["Key loader","SKL"]},{"t":"L1C","s":"Modern civil GPS signal on L1 designed to interoperate with Galileo and others","d":"L1C is the fourth civil GPS signal, broadcast on L1 by GPS III satellites with a modulation compatible with Galileo E1, BeiDou B1C and QZSS. It improves tracking in difficult environments. Like other civil signals it has no authentication.","c":"PNT","r":["L1/L2/L5","GPS III","C/A code"]},{"t":"L1/L2/L5","s":"The three GPS carrier frequencies: 1575.42, 1227.60 and 1176.45 MHz","d":"GPS broadcasts on L1 (1575.42 MHz: C/A, P(Y), M-code, L1C), L2 (1227.60 MHz: P(Y), M-code, civil L2C) and L5 (1176.45 MHz: a civil safety-of-life signal in a protected aeronautical band). Using two or more frequencies removes ionospheric delay and improves robustness. L3 carries the Nuclear Detonation Detection System payload's link, not navigation.","c":"PNT","k":["L1","L2","L5","L2C"],"w":"GPS signals","r":["GPS","TEC","L1C","M-code"]},{"t":"LACE","x":"Liquid, Ammunition, Casualties, Equipment","s":"Status report on liquids (water), ammunition, casualties and equipment","d":"A LACE report summarizes Liquid (water), Ammunition, Casualties and Equipment, usually after contact or at set intervals. The ACE report is the shorter version without water. Leaders roll these up the chain to build a picture of combat power.","c":"Comms","k":["LACE report"],"r":["ACE report","SITREP"]},{"t":"LADAR","x":"Laser Detection and Ranging","s":"Military term for laser radar, often for 3D imaging and target identification","d":"LADAR is the term long used in defense for laser radar, especially 3D imaging ladars on seekers and ISR platforms that provide shape-based target identification and foliage penetration. Today 'lidar' is used for most applications and the terms overlap. Geiger-mode and flash ladar FPAs are key technologies.","c":"Sensors","k":["laser radar","flash LADAR","Geiger-mode lidar"],"r":["Lidar","ATR"]},{"t":"Lagrange points","s":"Five points where gravity of two bodies balances orbital motion, L1 to L5","d":"In a two-body system such as Earth-Moon or Sun-Earth there are five Lagrange points (L1 to L5) where a small object can keep a fixed position relative to both. L1, L2 and L3 are unstable and need station-keeping; L4 and L5 are stable. Sun-Earth L1 hosts solar-wind monitors used for space weather warning, Sun-Earth L2 hosts the James Webb telescope, and Earth-Moon points matter for cislunar operations.","c":"Space","k":["L1","L2","Lagrangian points"],"w":"Lagrange point","r":["Cislunar space","Space weather"]},{"t":"LAIRCM","x":"Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures","s":"Northrop DIRCM system, AN/AAQ-24, for transports and large aircraft","d":"The AN/AAQ-24 directional infrared countermeasures system from Northrop Grumman, protecting large aircraft such as C-17s, C-130s and tankers by directing a laser at incoming infrared missiles. It combines missile warning sensors with laser turrets.","c":"EW","k":["AN/AAQ-24","Nemesis"],"r":["DIRCM","CIRCM"]},{"t":"Lancet","s":"Russian ZALA loitering munition used heavily against artillery and armor","d":"Lancet is a Russian loitering munition from ZALA Aero (part of the Kalashnikov group) with an electro-optical seeker and an X-shaped wing layout. It has been used widely in Ukraine against artillery, air defense and armor, typically cued by a separate reconnaissance drone. It is a reference point for what an adversary loitering munition kill chain looks like.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["ZALA Lancet","Izdeliye 52"],"w":"ZALA Lancet","r":["Loitering munition","Switchblade"]},{"t":"Laser aiming module","s":"A weapon-mounted laser, often infrared, for aiming under night vision","d":"Laser aiming modules (LAMs) let a shooter aim using an IR laser visible through NVGs, often combined with an IR illuminator. Examples include the PEQ-15 and its successors. They mount on Picatinny rails.","c":"Ground","k":["LAM","IR laser"],"r":["PEQ-15","Picatinny rail"]},{"t":"Laser designator","s":"Laser that marks a target with coded pulses for laser-guided weapons to home on","d":"A laser designator illuminates a target with a pulse-coded 1.064 µm beam, and semi-active laser seekers on weapons such as Paveway, Hellfire and APKWS home on the reflected spot. Designators are carried in targeting pods, UAS turrets and by ground forces (for example JTACs). The PRF code matches designator and weapon so multiple engagements can run at once.","c":"Sensors","k":["laser target designator","LTD","SAL"],"w":"Laser designator","r":["Laser spot tracker","Targeting pod","Laser rangefinder"]},{"t":"Laser rangefinder","s":"Device that measures target distance by timing a laser pulse","d":"Laser rangefinders measure distance with eye-safe 1.5 µm lasers or 1.06 µm lasers, the latter not eye-safe at close range. They feed fire control and targeting solutions and are built into sights, binoculars, gimbals and handheld target locators. Laser warning receivers on vehicles and aircraft can detect them.","c":"Sensors","k":["LRF"],"w":"Laser rangefinder","r":["Laser designator","Laser warning receiver"]},{"t":"Laser spot tracker","s":"Sensor that finds and tracks a laser designator spot to cue an aircraft's sensors","d":"A laser spot tracker (LST) detects the coded spot from a ground or airborne designator and points the aircraft's sensors or weapon at it, simplifying handoff between a JTAC and aircrew. It is built into targeting pods and EOTS. SWIR cameras offer a related ability to see the spot in imagery.","c":"Sensors","k":["LST","spot tracker"],"r":["Laser designator","SWIR"]},{"t":"Laser warning receiver","s":"Sensor that detects and locates laser rangefinders, designators and beam riders","d":"Laser warning receivers alert crews when their vehicle or aircraft is being lasered and estimate the direction, prompting smoke, maneuver or countermeasures. They are part of vehicle and helicopter survivability suites. Covered more fully in EW.","c":"EW","k":["LWR","laser warner"],"r":["Laser rangefinder","Missile warning system"]},{"t":"LASSO","x":"Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance","s":"US Army program for a soldier-carried loitering munition","d":"LASSO is the Army requirement for a lethal loitering munition that infantry can carry and launch. Switchblade 600 was an early selection. It reflects the Army's push to give small units organic precision strike beyond the range of mortars and Javelins.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["Loitering munition","Switchblade"]},{"t":"Lattice","s":"Anduril's software platform for sensor fusion and autonomous C2, used in C-UAS","d":"Lattice is Anduril's operating system for fusing sensor data, building a common track picture and tasking autonomous assets and effectors. It underpins Anduril's C-UAS deployments and is used in several DoD programs. It is one of several commercial C2 layers competing to integrate third-party sensors and shooters.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Anduril Lattice"],"r":["C-UAS","Roadrunner","FAAD C2"]},{"t":"LAWS","x":"Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems","s":"Lethal autonomous weapon systems that select and engage targets without a human","d":"Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: weapons that, once activated, can select and engage targets without further human intervention. They have been debated since 2014 under the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Group of Governmental Experts, and the UN General Assembly has passed resolutions on them since 2023, but no binding treaty exists. The US position is that existing international law applies and that a ban is premature.","c":"Weapons","k":["killer robots","AWS"],"w":"Lethal autonomous weapon","r":["DoDD 3000.09","Meaningful human control","Human in the loop"]},{"t":"L band","s":"1 to 2 GHz band carrying GNSS, Iridium and Inmarsat mobile services","d":"L-band, roughly 1 to 2 GHz, carries GNSS signals, Iridium and Inmarsat mobile satellite services and some telemetry. It penetrates weather and works with small omnidirectional antennas, but bandwidth is limited and signals are susceptible to ionospheric scintillation.","c":"RF","w":"L band","r":["IEEE radar bands","S band","GNSS jamming","S-band","SMART-L","GPS","Iridium","Inmarsat"]},{"t":"L band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 40 to 60 GHz","d":"NATO EW band L covers 40 to 60 GHz, overlapping IEEE V band. It is unrelated to IEEE L band (1 to 2 GHz), a frequent cause of confusion in specifications.","c":"RF","r":["NATO EW bands","V band","L band"]},{"t":"LCS","x":"Littoral Combat Ship","s":"Navy small surface combatants in Freedom and Independence variants","d":"The LCS was designed as a fast, modular ship with swappable mission packages for mine countermeasures, surface warfare and ASW. Mission module problems, crew size and reliability led the Navy to retire several early hulls. The Independence variants remain in use, notably as mine countermeasures ships.","c":"Naval","k":["Freedom class","Independence class","littoral combat ship"],"w":"Littoral combat ship","r":["MCM","FFG-62"]},{"t":"LCSP","x":"Life Cycle Sustainment Plan","s":"Program document describing how a system will be sustained over its life","d":"The LCSP documents the product support strategy, maintenance concept, sustainment metrics and costs, and is updated at milestones. It shapes contract requirements for spares, data, training and depot support.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Life Cycle Sustainment Plan"],"r":["PSM","IPS elements","Sustainment"]},{"t":"LD","x":"Line of Departure","s":"Line of departure: the line from which an attack starts","d":"The LD is crossed at a specific time to coordinate the start of an attack; the line of contact (LC) is used when friendly and enemy forces are already in contact. \"Crossing the LD\" is a key report. It is a type of control measure.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["LD/LC"],"r":["Phase line","Objective"]},{"t":"Leader radio","s":"Army two-channel handheld radio for small unit leaders","d":"Leader radio is the Army's term for two-channel handheld radios for squad and platoon leaders, typically running a MANET waveform such as TSM on one channel and SINCGARS or another waveform on the other. The L3Harris AN/PRC-163 and Thales AN/PRC-148C are examples procured for this role. It replaced the single-channel Rifleman Radio for many users.","c":"Comms","r":["AN/PRC-163","AN/PRC-148","HMS"]},{"t":"Leading-edge tracking","s":"Radar ranging on the pulse leading edge to resist range deception","d":"A radar ECCM technique that tracks the leading edge of target returns so delayed false returns, as in range gate pull-off, are ignored. Jammers answer with range gate pull-in, which requires predicting the pulse timing.","c":"EW","k":["leading edge track"],"r":["Range gate pull-off","Range gate pull-in"]},{"t":"Leap second","s":"One-second adjustment to UTC to keep it near Earth rotation time","d":"Leap seconds have been inserted into UTC at irregular intervals to keep it within 0.9 s of Earth rotation time; GPS time and TAI do not use them. They cause software bugs in systems that assume uniform time. The international timekeeping community decided in 2022 to stop adding leap seconds by 2035.","c":"PNT","r":["GPS time","PTTI"]},{"t":"Left of boom","s":"Actions taken before an attack to prevent it; right of boom means after","d":"\"Boom\" is the moment of an attack, originally an IED blast. Left of boom refers to prevention, such as intelligence, disrupting networks and detection; right of boom refers to response, recovery and exploitation. Products are often pitched as moving the user left of boom.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Right of boom"],"r":["F3EAD"]},{"t":"Left of launch","s":"Defeating missiles before they are launched, by strike, cyber or EW","d":"Left of launch means acting before the adversary fires, against launchers, C2, supply chain or sensors, using kinetic strike, cyber or electronic attack. It complements active missile defense, which is expensive and limited in capacity. It reflects the cost-exchange problem of intercepting everything after launch.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","r":["IAMD","Cost-exchange ratio"]},{"t":"LEO","x":"Low Earth Orbit","s":"Orbits roughly 160 to 2,000 km up, periods of about 90 to 127 minutes","d":"Low Earth orbit covers altitudes from about 160 km to 2,000 km, where a satellite circles the Earth in roughly 90 to 127 minutes. Its short range to the ground gives low latency (a few to tens of milliseconds), small link losses and high imaging resolution, but each satellite is in view of a given spot for only minutes, so continuous coverage needs a large constellation with handovers. Most proliferated military architectures, including SDA's PWSA and Starshield, sit here.","c":"Space","w":"Low Earth orbit","r":["pLEO","VLEO","Proliferated constellation","MEO"]},{"t":"Leonidas","s":"Epirus solid-state high-power microwave system for counter-swarm defense","d":"Leonidas is Epirus' HPM system, built from gallium nitride solid-state amplifiers so the beam can be steered and shaped electronically. The Army selected it for IFPC-HPM prototypes, and Epirus has shown mobile and smaller versions as well as demos against swarms. It is one of the most visible HPM products for C-UAS.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["IFPC-HPM","Epirus Leonidas"],"r":["High-power microwave","THOR","GaN","HPM","Epirus","IFPC"]},{"t":"LEO PNT","s":"Using low Earth orbit satellite signals for navigation and timing","d":"LEO PNT uses signals from LEO satellites, which arrive roughly 1,000 times stronger than GPS and change geometry quickly, for positioning and timing. Approaches include dedicated navigation signals (Iridium's STL service, Xona Space Systems' Pulsar constellation) and opportunistic use of broadband signals such as Starlink. It is a leading alternative for GPS-degraded areas, though it needs precise orbit and clock knowledge.","c":"PNT","k":["Iridium STL","Satelles","Xona","signals of opportunity"],"r":["Alt-PNT","Iridium","Signals of opportunity"]},{"t":"LES","x":"Leave and Earnings Statement","s":"Leave and Earnings Statement: a service member's monthly pay statement","d":"The LES shows pay, allowances, deductions and leave balance. Allowances such as BAH and BAS appear on it. It is the military counterpart to a pay stub.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["BAH"]},{"t":"Lessons learned","s":"Insights captured from experience to improve future operations","d":"Formal lessons learned programs, such as the Army's Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) and the Joint Lessons Learned Information System, collect and distribute observations. Real lessons require change, and the joke is that many are \"lessons noted.\" Ukraine has produced a large volume of lessons on drones and EW.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["CALL","JLLIS"],"w":"Lessons learned","r":["AAR"]},{"t":"Lethality","s":"A force's ability to destroy or defeat the enemy, a frequent DoD priority word","d":"Lethality is used both as a technical attribute of weapons and as a broad priority for the force. Recent DoD leadership has stressed it heavily in messaging. Programs are often justified in terms of increasing lethality.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Force multiplier"]},{"t":"LF","x":"Low Frequency","s":"30 to 300 kHz, used for long-wave broadcast, navigation and time signals","d":"The ITU band from 30 to 300 kHz, which propagates by ground wave over long distances. Uses include long-wave broadcasting, time signals and the eLoran navigation system proposed as a GPS backup.","c":"RF","k":["low frequency","long wave"],"w":"Low frequency","r":["VLF","MF"]},{"t":"LFM","x":"Linear Frequency Modulation","s":"Chirp waveform whose frequency sweeps linearly across the pulse","d":"The linear FM chirp is the most widely used pulse compression waveform, valued for its Doppler tolerance and simple generation and processing. Its ambiguity function is a tilted ridge, so Doppler shift causes a small range offset (range-Doppler coupling) instead of loss of the peak. Amplitude weighting on receive reduces range sidelobes at a small SNR loss.","c":"Radar","k":["chirp","linear FM","LFM chirp"],"w":"Chirp","r":["Pulse compression","NLFM","Stretch processing"]},{"t":"LFT&E","x":"Live Fire Test and Evaluation","s":"Statutory testing of survivability and lethality against real threats and targets","d":"Required by 10 USC 4172 for covered systems and munitions, LFT&E fires realistic threats at production-representative systems to evaluate vulnerability and survivability, or fires munitions at realistic targets to evaluate lethality. Full-up system-level testing can be waived with an approved alternative plan.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Live Fire Test and Evaluation","live fire"],"r":["DOT&E","OT&E"]},{"t":"Lidar","x":"Light Detection and Ranging","s":"Laser sensor that measures distance by timing reflected light pulses, building 3D maps","d":"Lidar scans or flashes laser pulses and times their return to create precise 3D point clouds of terrain, structures and vegetation, including under partial canopy. Military uses include terrain mapping for mission planning, autonomous vehicle navigation, obstacle avoidance for helicopters and wire detection. Emissions at common wavelengths can be detected with the right sensors.","c":"Sensors","k":["laser scanning"],"w":"Lidar","r":["LADAR","Laser rangefinder"]},{"t":"Lieutenant","s":"Junior officer rank: O-1 or O-2 in most services, O-3 in the Navy","d":"Second lieutenant (O-1) and first lieutenant (O-2) are the entry officer ranks in the Army, Air Force and Marines; in the Navy, ensign (O-1) and lieutenant junior grade (O-2) come first, then lieutenant (O-3). Lieutenant colonel (O-5) and lieutenant general (O-9) are much more senior. Platoon leaders are typically lieutenants.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["2LT","1LT","LT","LTJG","Ensign","ENS"],"r":["Captain","Butter bar"]},{"t":"Life-cycle cost","s":"Total cost of a system from development through disposal","d":"Life-cycle cost includes research and development, procurement, operations and support, and disposal. O&S is usually the largest share. Program offices weigh it heavily, so design choices that cut maintenance, training or energy costs can be a strong selling point.","c":"Acquisition","k":["LCC","total ownership cost","TOC"],"r":["O&S","ICE","Sustainment"]},{"t":"Lima Charlie","s":"Loud and clear: a radio check response meaning good signal and readability","d":"Lima Charlie stands for L and C, loud and clear, the best answer to a radio check. Other answers include weak, distorted, broken or unreadable. In conversation it means \"I understand you perfectly.\"","c":"Comms","k":["Loud and clear"],"r":["Five by five","Comm check"]},{"t":"Limitations on subcontracting","s":"Rule capping how much of a set-aside contract a small prime may pass to others","d":"Under FAR 52.219-14, a small business prime on a set-aside may not pay more than 50 percent of the amount paid for services, or of the non-materials cost for supplies, to subcontractors that are not similarly situated. Violations can bring penalties and affect future eligibility.","c":"Acquisition","k":["LoS","52.219-14"],"r":["Small business set-aside","Prime","Subcontractor"]},{"t":"Limited rights","s":"Government rights in technical data developed exclusively at private expense","d":"Under DFARS 252.227-7013, limited rights let the government use such data internally but generally not disclose it outside the government, except in narrow cases such as emergency repair. Getting privately funded data properly asserted and marked is essential to keeping it limited.","c":"Acquisition","k":["LR"],"r":["Data rights","Restricted rights","Data rights markings"]},{"t":"Limiter","s":"Device that clips strong input signals to protect a receiver","d":"A device, typically PIN diode based, that passes small signals with little loss but clamps high-power inputs to protect sensitive components such as LNAs. EW receivers on platforms with powerful radars and jammers need limiters with fast recovery so they are not blinded after each pulse.","c":"RF","k":["RF limiter","PIN limiter"],"r":["LNA","Duplexer"]},{"t":"LIN","x":"Line Item Number","s":"Six-character Army code identifying a generic equipment type on authorization documents","d":"A LIN identifies a type of equipment, such as a particular truck class, on Army authorization documents like MTOEs and TDAs. Several NSNs can share a LIN. A new system needs a LIN assigned and type classification before it appears in unit authorizations.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Line Item Number","Army LIN"],"r":["MTOE","TDA","BOI","Type classification"]},{"t":"Line of bearing","x":"LOB","s":"Single DF bearing line from a sensor toward an emitter","d":"The line from a direction finding sensor along the measured bearing toward an emitter. A single LOB indicates direction only; two or more from different positions produce a cut or fix. LOBs are a common report format between DF sensors and EW planning tools.","c":"EW","k":["LOB","DF cut"],"r":["Triangulation","Direction finding"]},{"t":"Line of effort","s":"A logical thread linking tasks to objectives and the end state","d":"A line of effort links multiple tasks and missions by purpose, cause and effect, rather than geography, to reach objectives. Examples are governance, security, or partner capacity. It is used heavily in stability and competition planning, and dashboards for commanders are often organized by line of effort.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["LOE"],"r":["Line of operation","End state","Operational design"]},{"t":"Line of operation","s":"A physical path linking a force with its base and its objectives","d":"A line of operation is a line that defines the directional orientation of a force in time and space in relation to the enemy, connecting it to its base and objectives. Interior and exterior lines are classic variants. It is used for physical, geographic problems, while lines of effort handle logical ones.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["LOO"],"r":["Line of effort","Decisive point"]},{"t":"Line-of-sight stabilization","s":"Keeping an optical sensor's pointing steady despite vibration and motion","d":"LOS stabilization combines mechanical isolation, gyro feedback, fast steering mirrors and electronic image stabilization to hold the image steady. Residual jitter, measured in microradians, sets how much a long focal length can be used. It matters for both imaging and accurately holding a laser designator spot on target.","c":"Sensors","k":["LOS stabilization","image stabilization"],"r":["Gimbal","Laser designator"]},{"t":"Lines of communication","s":"The routes over which supplies and forces move between a base and a force","d":"Lines of communication are the land, sea and air routes connecting an operating force with its bases and sources of supply. Protecting your own and threatening the enemy's is a constant concern, especially across the Pacific. In military usage the term refers to logistics routes, not radio links.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["LOC","LOCs","SLOC"],"r":["MSR","Contested logistics"]},{"t":"Link 11","s":"Older HF/UHF netted datalink using polling, largely replaced by Link 16 and Link 22","d":"Link 11 is a 1960s-era tactical data link using HF or UHF with a polling protocol controlled by a net control station, used mainly by navies and maritime patrol aircraft. It carries M-series messages and is defined in MIL-STD-6011 and STANAG 5511. It is being phased out in favor of Link 22 and Link 16, though some allies still operate it.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["TADIL A","Link 11A"],"w":"MIL-STD-6011","r":["Link 22","Link 16","Link 11B"]},{"t":"Link 11B","s":"Point-to-point serial version of Link 11 used for ground air defense","d":"Link 11B is a point-to-point, full-duplex version of Link 11 over landline, microwave or satellite, used particularly by ground air defense units and C2 centers. It was designated TADIL B in the US. It persists in some legacy air defense systems.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["TADIL B"],"r":["Link 11"]},{"t":"Link 16","s":"Jam-resistant TDMA tactical datalink used by US and NATO forces","d":"Link 16 is the primary US and NATO tactical data link, using time division multiple access in the 960 to 1215 MHz band with frequency hopping and encryption for jam resistance. Participants exchange standardized J-series messages for surveillance tracks, precise participant location, weapons coordination and voice. Terminals include MIDS and JTIDS, and the message standard is MIL-STD-6016 (STANAG 5516). It is being upgraded with crypto modernization, Enhanced Throughput, and space-based Link 16 from the SDA Transport Layer.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["TADIL J","L16"],"w":"Link 16","r":["MIDS","JTIDS","J-series messages","MIL-STD-6016","NPG"]},{"t":"Link 16 crypto modernization","s":"Upgrade of Link 16 terminals to new NSA-approved cryptography","d":"Link 16 crypto modernization is the NSA-mandated replacement of the legacy Link 16 cryptographic algorithms with modernized ones, requiring terminal hardware or software upgrades. It is paired with frequency remapping to meet spectrum requirements. Platforms that miss the deadlines risk losing the ability to participate in US Link 16 networks, so it is a major retrofit driver.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["Link 16 CM","CM/FR"],"r":["Link 16","Crypto modernization","MIDS"]},{"t":"Link 16 Enhanced Throughput","s":"Link 16 mode that increases data rate beyond standard packing","d":"Link 16 Enhanced Throughput (ET) is a mode supported by newer terminals such as MIDS-JTRS that uses different coding to carry several times more data per time slot than standard Link 16. It is useful for passing more tracks or imagery. Both ends must support ET.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["LET","Link 16 ET"],"r":["Link 16","MIDS-JTRS"]},{"t":"Link 16 from space","s":"Carrying the Link 16 tactical data link through satellites to beyond line of sight","d":"Link 16 is normally a line-of-sight UHF tactical data link. SDA's Transport Layer satellites carry Link 16 payloads so that missile tracks and other J-series messages can reach existing Link 16 terminals far beyond the horizon, without new user equipment. SDA demonstrated this with Tranche 0 in 2024. Spectrum and crypto management for space-based Link 16 must be coordinated with existing network planning.","c":"Space","k":["space-based Link 16"],"r":["Transport Layer","Tranche 0","Link 16"]},{"t":"Link 16 network design","s":"Planning of time slot assignments, roles and parameters for a Link 16 network","d":"Link 16 network design allocates time slots, NPGs, nets, relays and roles to each participating unit, producing network design load files that are loaded into terminals. In the US, designs are produced by facilities such as the Joint Interoperability Division and theater network managers. A platform cannot simply join a network; it must be in the loaded design, which is a key constraint for new users such as drones.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["NPG","JICO","Link 16"]},{"t":"Link 22","s":"NATO successor to Link 11 with beyond-line-of-sight HF and UHF networking","d":"Link 22 is a NATO tactical data link designed to replace Link 11, using HF and UHF media with time division access, modern encryption and automatic relay to provide beyond line of sight networking. It carries F-series messages that are closely aligned with Link 16 J-series. It is defined by STANAG 5522 and was developed by a group of nations including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["NILE","STANAG 5522"],"w":"Link 22","r":["Link 11","Link 16"]},{"t":"Link 4A","s":"Legacy UHF datalink for controlling fighter aircraft","d":"Link 4A is a legacy one-way and two-way UHF datalink used to send control messages to fighter aircraft and for carrier landing support. It was designated TADIL C. It has been mostly replaced by Link 16, though some carrier systems retained it for automatic carrier landing.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["TADIL C","Link 4"],"w":"Link 4","r":["Link 16"]},{"t":"Link budget","s":"Accounting of all gains and losses from transmitter to receiver","d":"A tabulation of transmit power, antenna gains, path loss, cable and other losses, and receiver noise that predicts received signal level and margin over what the receiver needs. Link budgets are used for communications, radar, jamming (J/S) and intercept range estimates. A positive margin with allowance for fading and interference is the usual design goal.","c":"RF","k":["RF link budget","link margin"],"w":"Link budget","r":["Free-space path loss","Friis transmission equation","Noise figure","EIRP"]},{"t":"Link margin","s":"How much a satellite link's received signal exceeds what is needed to work","d":"Link margin is the difference, in dB, between the predicted received signal quality (Eb/N0 or C/N) and the minimum the modem needs at a target error rate. SATCOM link budgets account for EIRP, free-space path loss, atmospheric and rain losses, pointing loss, interference and receive G/T. Ka-band links typically reserve several dB for rain fade, and adaptive coding and modulation trades throughput for margin as conditions change.","c":"Comms","k":["link budget","Eb/N0","C/N"],"r":["EIRP","G/T","Rain fade"]},{"t":"LNA","x":"Low-Noise Amplifier","s":"First amplifier in a receiver, designed for minimum added noise","d":"An amplifier designed to boost weak received signals while adding as little noise as possible, placed at the front of the receiver to set the system noise figure. EW LNAs must also survive strong signals and nearby jammers, so they are often preceded by limiters.","c":"RF","k":["low noise amplifier"],"w":"Low-noise amplifier","r":["Noise figure","Friis noise formula","Limiter"]},{"t":"LOA","x":"Letter of Offer and Acceptance","s":"The government-to-government agreement that implements an FMS case","d":"The LOA lists the articles, services, estimated costs and terms of an FMS case and becomes binding when signed by the purchaser and funded. Industry contracts follow from it. A Letter of Request from the foreign government precedes it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Letter of Offer and Acceptance","LOR","Letter of Request","FMS case"],"r":["FMS"]},{"t":"LOAC","x":"Law of Armed Conflict","s":"The law of armed conflict governing how wars may be fought","d":"The Law of Armed Conflict: the body of international law regulating the conduct of hostilities and protecting persons who are not or no longer taking part, drawn from the Geneva and Hague Conventions, their protocols and customary law. Its core principles are military necessity, distinction, proportionality, humanity (avoiding unnecessary suffering) and honor. DoD's Law of War Manual sets out the US view, and weapons and targeting software must support compliance through legal review.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["law of war","LOW","IHL"],"w":"Law of war","r":["IHL","Distinction","Proportionality","Military necessity"]},{"t":"Lobe on receive only","x":"LORO","s":"Radar that scans only its receive beam so jammers cannot sense the scan","d":"A tracking technique in which the transmit beam stays fixed and only the receive beam scans, so the target's ES receiver sees a constant signal and cannot learn the scan to apply inverse gain jamming. COSRO (conical scan on receive only) is a variant.","c":"Radar","k":["LORO","COSRO"],"r":["Conical scan","Inverse gain jamming"]},{"t":"Local oscillator","x":"LO","s":"Oscillator that drives a mixer to set the conversion frequency","d":"The oscillator that drives a mixer in a heterodyne receiver or transmitter, its frequency determining which RF signal is converted to the IF. LO phase noise, tuning speed and spurious content directly limit receiver performance. Fast tuning LOs let EW receivers scan quickly.","c":"RF","k":["LO"],"w":"Local oscillator","r":["Mixer","Synthesizer","Phase noise"]},{"t":"LOCUST","s":"AeroVironment (formerly BlueHalo) laser weapon system used by the Army against drones","d":"LOCUST is a compact laser weapon originally developed by BlueHalo, now part of AeroVironment, and used in the Army's Palletized High Energy Laser and its AMP-HEL vehicle version. It has been deployed abroad for operational testing against drones. It shows the trend toward smaller lasers that fit common vehicles and pallets.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["P-HEL","AMP-HEL","Palletized High Energy Laser"],"r":["HEL","Directed energy"]},{"t":"Log-periodic antenna","s":"Directional antenna with nearly constant performance over a wide band","d":"A directional antenna with elements whose dimensions increase logarithmically, giving roughly constant gain and impedance over a wide frequency range. It is widely used for wideband monitoring, EMC testing and EW where one antenna must cover many octaves.","c":"RF","k":["LPDA","log periodic dipole array"],"w":"Log-periodic antenna","r":["Yagi antenna","Spiral antenna"]},{"t":"LOI","x":"Level of Interoperability","s":"STANAG 4586 levels 1 to 5, from receiving UAS data to full flight control","d":"STANAG 4586 defines five levels of interoperability with a UAS. LOI 1 is indirect receipt of payload data; LOI 2 is direct receipt; LOI 3 adds control of the payload; LOI 4 adds control of the air vehicle except launch and recovery; LOI 5 is full control including launch and recovery. Programs specify a required LOI, which sets what a GCS or manned platform must implement.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["LOA","levels of interoperability"],"r":["STANAG 4586","MUM-T","GCS"]},{"t":"Loitering munition","s":"Munition that circles a target area before diving onto a target it finds","d":"A loitering munition can wait over an area, search with its own sensor, and then attack on operator command or autonomously. It blurs the line between a UAS and a missile. US examples include Switchblade 300 and 600 and the Army's LASSO program; foreign examples include Lancet, Harop and Warmate.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["LM","suicide drone","kamikaze drone"],"w":"Loitering munition","r":["Switchblade","Lancet","OWA drone","LASSO"]},{"t":"Long lead","s":"Items that must be ordered well ahead of production because of long delivery times","d":"Long-lead items such as forgings, specialty electronics and energetics may need to be ordered a year or more before production. Programs often request advance procurement funding for them. Supply chain teams must flag long-lead items early to avoid schedule slips.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["long-lead items","LLI"],"r":["EOQ","Supply chain","DMSMS"]},{"t":"Long pole in the tent","s":"The item that takes longest and drives the schedule","d":"The long pole in the tent is the critical-path task holding up everything else. Program managers use it constantly. It is the equivalent of a bottleneck.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Long pole"],"r":["Suspense"]},{"t":"Look-down/shoot-down","s":"Ability to detect and engage aircraft below the radar against ground clutter","d":"Look-down/shoot-down capability depends on pulse-Doppler processing that separates target Doppler from mainlobe and sidelobe ground clutter. It became standard on fighter radars from the 1970s. Slow or beaming targets whose Doppler matches clutter can still be lost in the clutter notch.","c":"Radar","k":["LDSD"],"r":["Pulse-Doppler radar","Notching"]},{"t":"LOS","x":"Line of Sight","s":"Radio propagation limited to direct paths within the horizon","d":"Line of sight communications use VHF, UHF and higher frequencies that propagate mainly in straight lines, limited by the horizon and terrain. They offer higher bandwidth and lower latency than BLOS options. Antenna height and relays largely determine LOS range.","c":"Comms","r":["BLOS"]},{"t":"Lost link","s":"Loss of the C2 link; the UAS falls back to a preprogrammed behaviour","d":"Lost link is the state when the aircraft no longer receives commands from the GCS. The aircraft then executes a lost-link procedure such as loitering, returning home, flying to a rally point or landing. Designing, testing and documenting this behaviour is a core airworthiness and safety requirement, and adversaries jamming a link exploit it.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["datalink loss","lost-link procedure","loss of link"],"r":["C2 link","Return to home"]},{"t":"Lot","s":"A contracted production quantity, as in F-35 Lot 18","d":"A production quantity bought under one contract action, typically annually, such as low-rate initial production lots or F-35 Lots 18 and 19. Pricing, configuration changes and deliveries are tracked by lot. In aircraft programs, lot and block can differ, so a lot may deliver aircraft of a given block.","c":"Acquisition","k":["LRIP lot","production lot"],"r":["Block","Increment"]},{"t":"Low-band radar","s":"VHF and UHF radars valued for long range and counter-stealth potential","d":"Low-band radars at VHF and UHF have wavelengths comparable to aircraft features, where shaping-based RCS reduction is less effective and resonance scattering raises returns. They have poor angular resolution unless the aperture is very large, so they typically cue higher-band radars. Examples include the E-2D's APY-9, Russia's Nebo family and China's JY-27A.","c":"Radar","k":["VHF radar","UHF radar","metric wave radar"],"r":["Counter-stealth","AN/APY-9","Resonance region"]},{"t":"Lower 3 GHz band","s":"3.1 to 3.45 GHz band used by DoD radars, studied for commercial 5G","d":"The 3.1 to 3.45 GHz band, used by critical DoD radars including shipborne and airborne systems, and repeatedly studied for commercial 5G sharing (including the DoD-led Emerging Mid-band Radar Spectrum Sharing study). The 2025 budget reconciliation law that restored FCC auction authority excluded 3.1 to 3.45 GHz and 7.4 to 8.4 GHz from its mandated auction pipeline, though debate over the band continues.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["3.1-3.45 GHz","EMBRSS","lower 3 GHz"],"r":["National Spectrum Strategy","S band","Dynamic spectrum access"]},{"t":"Low observable","s":"Platform designed to minimize radar, IR, visual and acoustic signatures","d":"Low observable (LO) platforms reduce detectability through shaping, radar-absorbent materials, edge alignment, internal weapons carriage, inlet and exhaust treatment and emission control. Very low observable (VLO) refers to the most stringent RCS levels, as on the F-22, F-35 and B-2/B-21. LO coatings and maintenance drive sustainment cost and readiness.","c":"Radar","k":["LO","VLO","stealth","stealth technology"],"w":"Stealth technology","r":["RCS","RAM","Counter-stealth"]},{"t":"Loyal wingman","s":"An uncrewed combat aircraft that flies with and takes direction from a crewed jet","d":"Loyal wingman is the general concept of an uncrewed aircraft teamed with a crewed lead, which assigns it tasks such as sensing, jamming or carrying weapons. Boeing Australia's MQ-28 Ghost Bat and the US CCA program are the main examples. Engineering challenges include autonomy, assured datalinks, and a human-machine interface that does not overload the pilot.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["MQ-28 Ghost Bat"],"r":["CCA","MUM-T"]},{"t":"LPD","x":"Low Probability of Detection","s":"Signal designed so its very presence is hard to detect","d":"A design goal in which a signal's presence is hard to detect at all, usually by spreading it well below the noise floor and limiting transmit time and power. LPD/LPI waveforms are a priority for tactical networks operating under adversary ES, such as those in contested Pacific and European scenarios.","c":"Comms","k":["low probability of detection","LPD/LPI"],"r":["LPI","LPE","DSSS"]},{"t":"LPE","x":"Low Probability of Exploitation","s":"Signal hard to demodulate or exploit even if detected","d":"A design goal ensuring that even if a signal is detected and intercepted, an adversary cannot easily demodulate, decode or exploit it, through spreading codes, encryption and transmission security. It sits alongside LPI and LPD in requirements for tactical radios and data links.","c":"Comms","k":["low probability of exploitation"],"r":["LPI","LPD","TRANSEC"]},{"t":"LPI","x":"Low Probability of Intercept","s":"Emitter designed to be hard for intercept receivers to detect","d":"A property of radars and communications designed so that hostile receivers find them hard to detect, through low peak power, wide bandwidth spreading, frequency agility, narrow beams and careful power management. LPI radars often use long continuous-wave or pulse-compressed waveforms whose energy is spread below an ES receiver's threshold. LPI forces ES designs toward wider bandwidth and coherent processing.","c":"EW","k":["low probability of intercept","LPI radar"],"w":"Low-probability-of-intercept radar","r":["LPD","LPE","Frequency hopping","DSSS"]},{"t":"LPI/LPD","x":"Low Probability of Intercept / Low Probability of Detection","s":"Signal design that makes transmissions hard to detect or intercept","d":"LPI/LPD describes waveforms and emission practices that make a transmitter hard to detect, locate or intercept, using low power, directional antennas, spread spectrum and short bursts. It is increasingly demanded for tactical networks and command posts that are targeted by direction finding and drones. Datalinks such as MADL and IFDL are designed with these properties.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["LPI","LPD"],"r":["TRANSEC","MADL"]},{"t":"LPI radar","x":"Low Probability of Intercept radar","s":"Radar designed to detect targets before enemy receivers can detect the radar","d":"LPI radars use low peak power, wide bandwidth spreading, long coherent integration, frequency agility, narrow low-sidelobe beams and noise-like or FMCW waveforms so their emissions sit near or below an intercept receiver's sensitivity. Radar processing gain from a known waveform gives the radar an advantage over a receiver that must search unknown parameters. Fighter AESAs, missile seekers and small tactical radars increasingly use LPI modes, and the related term LPD means low probability of detection.","c":"Radar","k":["LPD radar","low probability of intercept","quiet radar"],"w":"Low-probability-of-intercept radar","r":["FMCW radar","Noise radar","Frequency agility"]},{"t":"LPRF","x":"Low Pulse Repetition Frequency","s":"Pulse mode with unambiguous range and ambiguous Doppler; typical of ground search radar","d":"Low PRF modes, commonly a few hundred hertz to a few kilohertz, place all targets of interest within the first range interval so range is measured directly. Doppler is heavily ambiguous, so clutter rejection relies on MTI rather than fine Doppler filtering. Airborne radars use low PRF for ground mapping and look-up search where clutter is light.","c":"Radar","k":["low PRF"],"r":["PRF","MPRF","HPRF","MTI"]},{"t":"LPTA","x":"Lowest Price Technically Acceptable","s":"Source selection where the cheapest acceptable proposal wins","d":"Under LPTA, proposals are rated only pass or fail on technical factors and the lowest-priced acceptable one wins. Recent NDAAs restricted DoD's use of LPTA for knowledge-based services and items where innovation matters.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Lowest Price Technically Acceptable"],"r":["Source selection"]},{"t":"LPVO","x":"Low-Power Variable Optic","s":"Low-power variable optic: a rifle scope that zooms from about 1x to 6x or 8x","d":"An LPVO gives near red-dot speed at 1x and magnification for longer shots. The Army's XM157 fire control for the XM7 rifle offers 1-8x magnification with a ballistic computer and laser rangefinder. LPVOs are common in SOF and Marine use.","c":"Ground","k":["Variable optic","XM157"],"r":["Red dot","Optics"]},{"t":"LRASM","x":"Long Range Anti-Ship Missile","s":"Lockheed Martin anti-ship cruise missile derived from JASSM, AGM-158C","d":"LRASM adapts the JASSM airframe for attacking ships, adding a multimode passive RF and imaging infrared seeker so it can find and pick targets with little external cueing. It is carried by B-1Bs and F/A-18E/Fs, with surface-launched versions in development. It is a key part of US plans for anti-ship strike in the Pacific.","c":"Weapons","k":["AGM-158C"],"w":"AGM-158C LRASM","r":["JASSM","ASuW","Maritime Strike Tomahawk"]},{"t":"LRDR","x":"Long Range Discrimination Radar","s":"Lockheed Martin S-band missile defense radar at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska","d":"LRDR is a large GaN S-band radar built for the Missile Defense Agency to track and discriminate ballistic missile threats to the US homeland, supporting the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system. It has two array faces and uses wide bandwidth for discrimination. Its technology was adapted into the AN/SPY-7.","c":"Radar","w":"Long Range Discrimination Radar","r":["AN/SPY-7","Discrimination","Cobra Dane","UEWR"]},{"t":"LRHW","x":"Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon","s":"Army ground-launched boost-glide missile, named Dark Eagle","d":"LRHW, called Dark Eagle, is the Army's road-mobile hypersonic missile using the Common Hypersonic Glide Body on a two-stage booster shared with the Navy's CPS. After test setbacks the program achieved successful end-to-end flight tests in 2024, and the Army has been fielding its first battery. Its range is publicly cited as over 1,700 miles.","c":"Weapons","k":["Dark Eagle"],"r":["HGV","CPS","Hypersonic"]},{"t":"LRIP","x":"Low-Rate Initial Production","s":"Initial production at minimal rate to supply test articles and prove the line","d":"LRIP produces the units needed for operational testing and establishes the production base before full-rate production. Under 10 USC 4231 the LRIP quantity for major programs is normally limited to about 10 percent of the total planned buy unless justified. Suppliers should treat LRIP as a proving period with frequent design and process adjustments.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Low-Rate Initial Production"],"r":["Milestone C","FRP","IOT&E"]},{"t":"LRSO","x":"Long Range Standoff weapon","s":"AGM-181A Raytheon stealthy nuclear cruise missile replacing ALCM","d":"LRSO is a new nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile for the B-52 and B-21, carrying the W80-4 warhead. It is intended to penetrate modern air defenses. It is expected to enter service around 2030.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["AGM-181","AGM-181A","W80-4"],"r":["ALCM","B-21 Raider","Standoff"]},{"t":"LRU","x":"Line Replaceable Unit","s":"Module designed to be swapped quickly at the operating unit","d":"An LRU is a sealed, modular unit that can be removed and replaced at organizational level with minimal tools, restoring the system quickly. Failed LRUs go to intermediate or depot level for repair. Designing good LRU boundaries with BIT that isolates faults to them is central to maintainability.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Line Replaceable Unit","LRM","line replaceable module","OLRU"],"w":"Line-replaceable unit","r":["SRU","WRA","BIT","O-level"]},{"t":"LSCO","x":"Large-Scale Combat Operations","s":"Large-scale combat operations: major war between sizable conventional forces","d":"Large-scale combat operations are extensive joint combat operations against a capable adversary, usually involving divisions and corps. Army doctrine since 2017 has refocused on LSCO after years of counterinsurgency. Expect LSCO to drive requirements for scale, mobility and survivability.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Peer adversary","Corps","Division"]},{"t":"LTAMDS","x":"Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor","s":"Raytheon GaN 360 degree radar replacing the Patriot radar for the US Army","d":"LTAMDS is a C-band GaN AESA with a large primary front array and two rear-facing arrays for 360 degree coverage, built by Raytheon to replace the Patriot AN/MPQ-65 and operate under the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS). It has been through developmental and operational tests and is entering production. Poland is also acquiring it.","c":"Radar","k":["Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor","AN/MPQ-65 replacement"],"r":["Patriot radar","IBCS","GaN","Patriot"]},{"t":"LWIR","x":"Long-Wave Infrared","s":"Infrared band of roughly 8 to 12 µm where room-temperature objects radiate most","d":"LWIR matches the peak emission of objects near ambient temperature, giving strong contrast on people and vehicles and better performance through smoke and dust than MWIR. Uncooled microbolometers operate here, making LWIR the standard for weapon sights, drivers' viewers and small drone payloads. Cooled HgCdTe and T2SL LWIR detectors serve higher-end systems.","c":"Sensors","k":["long-wave infrared","longwave IR"],"r":["MWIR","Microbolometer","Uncooled detector"]},{"t":"Lynx","s":"General Atomics AN/APY-8 SAR/GMTI radar used on MQ-9 and other platforms","d":"The Lynx multimode radar (AN/APY-8) from General Atomics Aeronautical provides high-resolution SAR, GMTI, MMTI and coherent change detection for UAS and manned aircraft, most notably the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C. It is a common reference for tactical ISR radar capabilities.","c":"Radar","k":["AN/APY-8","Lynx SAR"],"r":["SAR","CCD","GMTI"]},{"t":"LZ","x":"Landing Zone","s":"Landing zone: a place for helicopters or tiltrotors to land","d":"An LZ is a specified ground area for landing aircraft, usually helicopters, often marked by smoke, panels or IR lights. A hot LZ is under fire. Landing zones are tied to air assault and MEDEVAC planning.","c":"Aviation","k":["HLZ","Hot LZ"],"w":"Landing zone","r":["PZ","DZ"]},{"t":"M10 Booker","s":"Army light tank (Mobile Protected Firepower), cancelled in 2025","d":"The M10 Booker, built by General Dynamics Land Systems for the Mobile Protected Firepower program, was a tracked vehicle with a 105mm gun to support infantry brigades. The Army cancelled it in 2025 as part of its transformation, citing weight that was too high for airborne and light units and a changed view of the battlefield. It is often cited as a sign of the Army's shift toward drones and lighter systems.","c":"Ground","k":["MPF","Mobile Protected Firepower","Booker"],"r":["IBCT","Army Transformation Initiative"]},{"t":"M1 Abrams","s":"US main battle tank; M1E3 is the next major redesign","d":"The M1 Abrams has served since 1980 with major upgrades through the M1A2 SEPv3. In 2023 the Army stopped the SEPv4 upgrade in favour of the M1E3, a lighter, more modular tank with lower fuel use, active protection and open architecture, which has been accelerated with prototypes expected around 2026. Abrams were supplied to Ukraine and several allies.","c":"Ground","k":["Abrams","M1A2","SEPv3","M1E3"],"w":"M1 Abrams","r":["ABCT","APS","120mm"]},{"t":"M2 Bradley","s":"Tracked infantry fighting vehicle with 25mm cannon and TOW missiles","d":"The M2 Bradley carries an infantry squad, a 25mm Bushmaster cannon and TOW missiles. It performed well in Ukraine. The XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle is planned to replace it.","c":"Ground","k":["Bradley","M2A4","M3 Bradley","IFV"],"w":"M2 Bradley","r":["XM30","ABCT"]},{"t":"MAD","x":"Mutual Assured Destruction","s":"Mutual assured destruction: each side can destroy the other even after being attacked","d":"Mutual Assured Destruction: the condition, formalized during the Cold War, in which both superpowers had survivable nuclear forces able to inflict unacceptable damage even after a first strike, making nuclear war irrational to start. It underpinned arms control treaties such as the 1972 ABM Treaty, which limited missile defenses to preserve mutual vulnerability. Advanced missile defense such as Golden Dome reopens debate about it.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","w":"Mutually assured destruction","r":["Second-strike capability","Deterrence by punishment"],"h":"MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction"},{"t":"MAD","x":"Magnetic Anomaly Detector","s":"Magnetometer that detects submarines by their disturbance of Earth's magnetic field","d":"A MAD sensor detects the local distortion of the geomagnetic field caused by a submarine's steel hull at short range, usually a few hundred meters to around a kilometer. It was traditionally carried in tail booms on aircraft such as the P-3. The P-8A was fielded without a MAD boom, relying on acoustics, though drone-based MAD has been explored.","c":"Sensors","k":["magnetic anomaly detection","MAD boom"],"w":"Magnetic anomaly detector","r":["Sonobuoy","Magnetometer"],"h":"MAD – Magnetic Anomaly Detector"},{"t":"MADIS","x":"Marine Air Defense Integrated System","s":"Marine Corps JLTV-mounted short-range air defense and counter-UAS system","d":"MADIS pairs two JLTVs carrying a radar, EO/IR, electronic attack, Stinger missiles and a 30mm cannon to protect Marine units against drones, helicopters and aircraft. A lighter variant, L-MADIS, focused on jamming and saw use against Iranian drones in 2019.","c":"Naval","k":["L-MADIS"],"r":["C-UAS","Stinger","JLTV"]},{"t":"MADL","x":"Multifunction Advanced Data Link","s":"F-35 low probability of intercept directional datalink","d":"MADL is the F-35's stealthy, high-data-rate directional datalink for sharing sensor fusion data within flights of F-35s and, in some plans, with other platforms. Like IFDL, it does not interoperate natively with IFDL or Link 16, so gateways bridge it. The F-35 also carries Link 16.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Multifunction Advanced Data Link","r":["IFDL","Datalink gateway","Link 16"]},{"t":"Magnetic anomaly navigation","s":"Navigating by matching measured magnetic field variations to a map","d":"Magnetic anomaly navigation (MagNav) measures local variations in Earth's crustal magnetic field with a magnetometer and matches them to a magnetic anomaly map, giving position fixes that cannot be jammed. AFRL and MIT demonstrated it in flight, and companies such as SandboxAQ have flown quantum magnetometer versions. The vehicle's own magnetic noise and map coverage are the main limits.","c":"PNT","k":["MagNav","AQNav"],"r":["Alt-PNT","Quantum navigation","Terrain-referenced navigation"]},{"t":"Magnetometer","s":"Sensor measuring magnetic field strength or direction","d":"Magnetometers are used for MAD, unattended ground sensors detecting vehicles and weapons, mine detection, and navigation (including magnetic anomaly navigation as a GPS alternative). Types include fluxgate, optically pumped and emerging quantum sensors. Platform magnetic noise compensation is critical in airborne use.","c":"Sensors","k":["fluxgate","quantum magnetometer"],"w":"Magnetometer","r":["MAD","UGS"]},{"t":"Magnum","s":"Brevity: launch of a friendly anti-radiation missile","d":"MAGNUM announces the launch of an anti-radiation missile, such as the AGM-88 HARM or AARGM, that homes on enemy radar emissions. Friendly emitters nearby need to know so they are not targeted. It is part of suppression of enemy air defenses.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Rifle","Brevity code"]},{"t":"MAGTF","x":"Marine Air-Ground Task Force","s":"Marine air-ground task force: the Marine Corps' combined arms organization","d":"A Marine air-ground task force has four elements: a command element, a ground combat element (GCE), an aviation combat element (ACE) and a logistics combat element (LCE). It scales from a MEU to a MEF. Marines think about equipment in terms of which element uses it.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["GCE","LCE","Aviation combat element"],"r":["MEU","MEB","MEF"]},{"t":"Main effort","s":"The unit or activity given priority of resources at a given time","d":"The main effort is the designated subordinate unit whose mission is most critical to success at that point, and it gets priority of support. Supporting efforts enable it. The designation shifts as the operation progresses.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["ME","Supporting effort"],"r":["Scheme of maneuver","Economy of force"]},{"t":"Mainstay","s":"NATO name for the A-50 airborne early warning aircraft","d":"The NATO reporting name for the Beriev A-50, an airborne early warning and control aircraft built on the Il-76 airframe with a rotodome radar. Russia's small fleet is a high-value target, and Ukraine claimed shooting down or damaging several in 2023 and 2024.","c":"Aviation","k":["A-50","A-50U"],"w":"Beriev A-50","r":["Candid","KJ-500"]},{"t":"MAIS","x":"Major Automated Information System","s":"Former program category for large IT systems, eliminated as a category in 2017 law","d":"MAIS was a category for large information system programs with its own reporting rules. The FY2017 NDAA removed MAIS as a statutory category effective in 2019, and such systems now fall under the Defense Business Systems or Software Acquisition pathways. The term still appears in older documents.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Major Automated Information System"],"r":["DBS","Software Acquisition Pathway"]},{"t":"Major","s":"O-4 in the Army, Air Force, Marines and Space Force","d":"Majors usually serve as battalion operations officers, executive officers or staff officers. The Navy equivalent is lieutenant commander. Rank names can mislead here: a lieutenant general (O-9) outranks a major general (O-8), even though a major outranks a lieutenant.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["MAJ","Maj","LCDR"],"r":["Field grade","Colonel"]},{"t":"MALD","x":"Miniature Air-Launched Decoy","s":"Small air-launched cruise decoy that mimics aircraft signatures to air defenses","d":"The ADM-160 family, built by Raytheon (RTX), is a small turbojet air vehicle that flies a preprogrammed route and uses a signature augmentation payload to look like a combat aircraft to enemy air defenses. MALD-J (ADM-160C) adds a jammer, making it a stand-in jammer, and MALD-N is the Navy variant. MALDs saturate and stimulate air defenses during SEAD missions.","c":"EW","k":["ADM-160","MALD-J","MALD-N"],"w":"ADM-160 MALD","r":["Stand-in jamming","SEAD","Decoy"]},{"t":"MALE","x":"Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance","s":"UAS class flying at 10,000 to 30,000 ft for 24 hours or more","d":"MALE UAS such as the MQ-9 and MQ-1C fly at medium altitude with endurance of a day or more. They need satellite communications for beyond line-of-sight control. HALE (high-altitude long-endurance) aircraft such as the RQ-4 fly above 50,000 ft.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["HALE"],"r":["MQ-9 Reaper","RQ-4 Global Hawk"]},{"t":"MANET","x":"Mobile Ad hoc Network","s":"Self-forming, self-healing radio network without fixed infrastructure","d":"A mobile ad hoc network is a network of mobile radios that discover each other, route traffic through intermediate nodes and adjust as nodes move or drop out, with no fixed infrastructure. Military MANET waveforms include TSM, ANW2, Wave Relay and MN-MIMO. Applications on MANETs must handle variable latency, bandwidth and partitions.","c":"Comms","k":["mobile ad hoc network"],"w":"Wireless ad hoc network","r":["Mesh network","TSM","Wave Relay","MN-MIMO"]},{"t":"Maneuver warfare","s":"Defeating an enemy by disrupting its cohesion through speed and surprise","d":"Maneuver warfare seeks to shatter the enemy's cohesion through rapid, unexpected actions rather than destroying it piece by piece. It is the Marine Corps' stated warfighting philosophy in MCDP 1, Warfighting. It is closely tied to mission command and the OODA loop.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Maneuver warfare","r":["Attrition warfare","OODA loop","Mission command"]},{"t":"MANPADS","x":"Man-Portable Air-Defense System","s":"Shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile like Stinger or Igla","d":"MANPADS are shoulder-fired, usually infrared-guided missiles effective against low and slow aircraft, helicopters and drones. They are hard to detect and widely proliferated. Aircraft counter them with infrared countermeasures such as flares and directed IR countermeasures.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["MANPAD","Igla","Verba"],"w":"Man-portable air-defense system","r":["Stinger","SHORAD"]},{"t":"MANPRINT","x":"Manpower and Personnel Integration","s":"The Army's human systems integration program","d":"MANPRINT, established by the Army in the 1980s, requires programs to consider manpower, personnel, training, human factors and safety in design. Army programs typically include a MANPRINT assessment before fielding.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Manpower and Personnel Integration"],"r":["HSI","MIL-STD-1472"]},{"t":"MAPS","x":"Mounted Assured PNT System","s":"Army vehicle system providing assured PNT with M-code and inertial","d":"MAPS is the Army's assured PNT system for ground vehicles, combining an anti-jam GPS receiver and antenna, inertial sensors and a distribution hub that feeds PNT to the vehicle's systems. Generation 1 was fielded in Europe from about 2021, and Generation 2 adds M-code and alternative sources with a modular architecture.","c":"PNT","r":["A-PNT","DAPS","M-code"]},{"t":"Maritime Strike Tomahawk","s":"Tomahawk Block Va with a seeker for hitting moving ships","d":"Maritime Strike Tomahawk adds a seeker and datalink to the Block V Tomahawk so it can find and hit moving ships at long range. It significantly expands Navy anti-ship reach.","c":"Naval","k":["MST","Block Va"],"r":["Tomahawk","LRASM","ASuW"]},{"t":"Maritime surveillance radar","s":"Airborne or shore radar for detecting and classifying ships and periscopes","d":"Maritime surveillance radars combine sea-clutter-optimized search, MMTI, SAR and ISAR to detect and classify surface vessels and sometimes submarine periscopes or masts. Examples include the P-8A's AN/APY-10 and the MQ-4C's AN/ZPY-3 multi-function active sensor. Ship classification at standoff range is a central capability.","c":"Radar","k":["maritime patrol radar","AN/APY-10"],"r":["Sea clutter","ISAR","MMTI"]},{"t":"Mark and Mod","s":"Navy and ordnance version numbering, as in Mk 48 Mod 7 or Mk 41","d":"A designation scheme used mainly by the US Navy and for ordnance and equipment, where Mark (Mk) identifies a basic design and Mod (modification) a version of it, such as the Mk 48 Mod 7 torpedo, the Mk 41 vertical launch system or the Mk 82 bomb. A new Mod usually preserves form and fit with changed internals. Software and hardware baselines for naval systems often follow the same convention.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Mk","Mod"],"r":["Block","MDS"]},{"t":"Mark XII","s":"IFF system standard combining SIF modes with Mode 4 crypto","d":"Mark XII is the US and NATO IFF standard that combines SIF modes 1, 2, 3/A and C with the encrypted Mode 4. It was succeeded by Mark XIIA, which replaces Mode 4 with Mode 5. Many references to 'Mark XII equipment' now mean Mark XIIA-capable systems.","c":"Radar","k":["Mk XII","Mark 12"],"r":["Mark XIIA","Mode 4"]},{"t":"Mark XIIA","s":"Current IFF standard: Mark XII modes plus encrypted Mode 5","d":"Mark XIIA adds Mode 5 to the Mark XII mode set and is the standard US and NATO secure IFF system. Equipment is certified by the AIMS Program Office against DoD AIMS 03-1000 and related documents. It sits alongside civil Mode S and ADS-B capability in modern transponders.","c":"Radar","k":["Mk XIIA","Mark 12A"],"r":["Mode 5","AIMS","Mark XII"]},{"t":"MARS","x":"Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-repository System","s":"DIA's program to replace MIDB with a modern foundational intelligence system","d":"Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-repository System: DIA's program to replace the MIDB with a cloud-hosted, data-centric repository for foundational military intelligence such as order of battle, facilities and equipment. It is intended to support machine-speed updates and analytic tooling. Delivery has been incremental since the late 2010s.","c":"Intelligence","r":["MIDB","DIA"]},{"t":"MASINT","x":"Measurement and Signature Intelligence","s":"Intelligence from physical signatures: radar, acoustic, nuclear, spectral, seismic","d":"Technically derived intelligence that detects, characterizes and identifies targets from their distinctive physical signatures, other than the content of communications or literal imagery. Subdisciplines include radar, electro-optical and spectral, geophysical (acoustic and seismic), materials sampling, nuclear radiation and unintentional radiated emissions. DIA's Central MASINT Organization coordinated it historically. MASINT products feed signature libraries that automatic target recognition and sensor fusion software depend on.","c":"Intelligence","k":["measurement and signature intelligence"],"w":"Measurement and signature intelligence","r":["SIGINT","RC-135S Cobra Ball","RADINT","ACINT","Nuclear MASINT","TECHINT","Hyperspectral imaging","NCTR"]},{"t":"Mass","s":"Concentrating combat power, or simply having large numbers of systems","d":"A principle of war: concentrating the effects of combat power at the decisive place and time. In current debate it also means having enough numbers of platforms and munitions to absorb losses, which exquisite, expensive fleets lack. The war in Ukraine, with millions of drones and shells consumed, has revived the emphasis on mass in Western planning.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Principles of war","r":["Affordable mass","Attritable","Precise mass","Principles of war","Attrition warfare"],"k":["Affordable mass"]},{"t":"Matched filter","s":"Receive filter that maximizes SNR for a known waveform in white noise","d":"The matched filter correlates the received signal with a time-reversed conjugate of the transmitted waveform and gives the highest possible output SNR for that waveform, equal to pulse energy over noise density. It is the core of pulse compression and is usually implemented digitally with FFT-based fast convolution. Mismatch from Doppler or hardware distortion reduces gain and raises sidelobes.","c":"Radar","w":"Matched filter","r":["Pulse compression","Ambiguity function"]},{"t":"Materiel","s":"Military equipment and supplies, spelled with two e's, distinct from material","d":"Materiel means the equipment, apparatus and supplies of a military force: weapons, vehicles, spare parts and so on. Material refers to the substance something is made of. Military writing uses materiel for the M in DOTMLPF-P and in terms such as materiel release and materiel solution.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["materiel vs material"],"w":"Materiel","r":["DOTMLPF-P","Materiel release"]},{"t":"Materiel release","s":"Army approval that an item is safe, suitable and supportable for issue to soldiers","d":"Army materiel release, under AR 700-142, certifies that a system is safe, operationally suitable and logistically supportable before it is issued. Releases can be full, conditional with documented shortfalls, or urgent for operational needs. No item may be fielded without it.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["full materiel release","FMR","conditional materiel release","CMR","urgent materiel release","UMR","AR 700-142"],"r":["Type classification","Fielding"]},{"t":"Maven","s":"DoD program applying computer vision and AI to ISR and targeting","d":"Project Maven, started in 2017 as the Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team, applies machine learning to analyzing drone and satellite imagery and to targeting workflows. Google's participation ended in 2018 after employee protest. In 2023 its GEOINT components moved to NGA, while the Maven Smart System, built by Palantir, became a widely used targeting and C2 interface for combatant commands and NATO, which bought it in 2025.","c":"Intelligence","k":["Project Maven","Maven Smart System","MSS","AWCFT"],"w":"Project Maven","r":["NGA","PED","TITAN"]},{"t":"Maven Smart System","s":"Palantir-built AI-enabled C2 and targeting platform used across DoD and NATO","d":"Maven Smart System (MSS) is a software platform built by Palantir that fuses sensor, intelligence and operational data and uses AI models to help detect targets and manage targeting workflows. It is used by combatant commands and was a key tool in CJADC2 efforts, with its contract ceiling raised substantially in 2025 as demand grew. NATO acquired a version, Maven Smart System NATO, in 2025. Integrators often need to deliver data or models into it.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["MSS","MSS NATO"],"r":["Project Maven","CJADC2","CDAO"]},{"t":"MAVLink","s":"Lightweight open messaging protocol between small drones and ground stations","d":"MAVLink is an open protocol used by PX4 and ArduPilot autopilots and ground stations like QGroundControl. Because so many small military and commercial drones use it, it is also a common target of protocol-based C-UAS. Products integrating with small UAS often need a MAVLink interface, and versions without message signing are easy to spoof.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["GCS","Protocol manipulation","STANAG 4586"]},{"t":"M band (NATO)","s":"NATO EW band 60 to 100 GHz","d":"NATO EW band M covers 60 to 100 GHz, including the 94 GHz window used by millimeter-wave radars and seekers. It overlaps the upper IEEE V band and W band.","c":"RF","k":["M-band"],"r":["NATO EW bands","W band"]},{"t":"MBSE","x":"Model-Based Systems Engineering","s":"Practice of using integrated models instead of documents as the system's source of truth","d":"MBSE captures requirements, architecture, behavior and interfaces in connected models, usually in SysML, so that documents are generated from the model. DoD's Digital Engineering Strategy and DoDI 5000.97 push programs to adopt it, and many solicitations now request model deliverables.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Model-Based Systems Engineering"],"w":"Model-based systems engineering","r":["SysML","Digital engineering","Digital twin"]},{"t":"MCA","x":"Major Capability Acquisition","s":"The traditional milestone-based pathway for large, complex weapon systems","d":"The classic acquisition pathway, described in DoDI 5000.85, with Milestones A, B and C, formal requirements documents, independent cost estimates and congressional reporting for large programs. It suits big platforms such as aircraft, ships and major missile programs. Most Major Defense Acquisition Programs run on this pathway, and suppliers to them inherit its long schedules and heavy documentation.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Major Capability Acquisition","DoDI 5000.85"],"r":["Milestone A","Milestone B","Milestone C","MDAP"]},{"t":"MCEB","x":"Military Communications-Electronics Board","s":"US joint board that coordinates military communications-electronics matters","d":"A US joint body under the Joint Staff that coordinates communications-electronics matters among the services and with other agencies, including spectrum certification through its Joint Frequency Panel and US positions on international spectrum issues.","c":"Organizations","k":["USMCEB","Joint Frequency Panel"],"r":["J/F-12","Spectrum certification"]},{"t":"MCF","x":"Military-Civil Fusion","s":"China's Military-Civil Fusion strategy linking civilian tech to the PLA","d":"Military-Civil Fusion: a Chinese national strategy, elevated under Xi Jinping with a central commission established in 2017, to integrate civilian industry, academia and technology with the military, so that commercial advances in AI, semiconductors and aerospace flow to the PLA. US export controls, investment restrictions and entity listings frequently cite MCF. Companies need to screen partners and suppliers against these concerns.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Military–civil fusion","r":["Intelligentized warfare","PLA"]},{"t":"MCM","x":"Mine Countermeasures","s":"Detecting, avoiding and clearing naval mines","d":"MCM includes minehunting, minesweeping and mine neutralisation, increasingly done by unmanned surface and underwater vehicles with sonars rather than crewed ships entering minefields. The LCS mine countermeasures mission package is the main current US capability. It is a growing area for UUV autonomy and sensors.","c":"Naval","k":["mine countermeasures","minehunting"],"r":["UUV","LCS"]},{"t":"M-code","s":"Encrypted, jam-resistant military GPS signal on L1 and L2","d":"M-code is the modern military GPS signal, broadcast on L1 and L2 with a split-spectrum (BOC) modulation that sits apart from civil signals, so it can be transmitted at higher power and jammed civil signals do not interfere with it. It provides stronger encryption, better anti-spoofing and resistance to jamming than P(Y). DoD policy requires new GPS user equipment to use M-code, but fielding of receivers (MGUE) has been slow.","c":"PNT","k":["military code"],"r":["MGUE","P(Y) code","SAASM","GPS IIIF","OCX"]},{"t":"MCOO","x":"Modified Combined Obstacle Overlay","s":"Overlay showing terrain, obstacles and mobility corridors","d":"Modified Combined Obstacle Overlay: an IPB product that depicts terrain as unrestricted, restricted or severely restricted for movement, combined with obstacles, avenues of approach and mobility corridors. It is usually built with geospatial engineers from elevation, vegetation, soils and hydrography data. Automated mobility analysis in mapping software aims to produce MCOO-like layers quickly.","c":"Intelligence","r":["IPB","OAKOC","DEM"]},{"t":"MCPP","x":"Marine Corps Planning Process","s":"The Marine Corps' six-step planning process","d":"The Marine Corps Planning Process runs: problem framing, COA development, COA wargaming, COA comparison and decision, orders development, and transition. It parallels the Army MDMP and the joint JPP, with Marine terminology. Marine users will use these step names rather than the Army ones.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["MDMP","JPP"]},{"t":"MDA","x":"Milestone Decision Authority","s":"The official with authority to approve a program's entry into its next phase","d":"The MDA approves milestone decisions and the Acquisition Program Baseline. For ACAT ID programs it is the Defense Acquisition Executive, for ACAT IB and IC usually the service acquisition executive, and for smaller programs often a PEO. In other contexts MDA means the Missile Defense Agency.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Milestone Decision Authority","decision authority"],"r":["ACAT","DAE","CAE","APB"],"h":"MDA – Milestone Decision Authority"},{"t":"MDA","x":"Missile Defense Agency","s":"DoD agency developing the US ballistic missile defense system","d":"The Missile Defense Agency develops and tests the layered US missile defense system, including Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Aegis BMD and space sensors such as HBTSS and the Discriminating Space Sensor. It plays a major role in Golden Dome. It runs the SHIELD contract vehicle for Golden Dome-related work.","c":"Organizations","k":["SHIELD"],"r":["HBTSS","Discriminating Space Sensor","Golden Dome","BMD","GMD","NGI"],"h":"MDA – Missile Defense Agency"},{"t":"MDAP","x":"Major Defense Acquisition Program","s":"A program large enough by cost to fall under the heaviest statutory oversight","d":"An MDAP is an ACAT I program, defined in 10 USC 4201 by dollar thresholds, roughly over $525 million in RDT&E or $3.065 billion in procurement in FY2020 constant dollars, or so designated by the decision authority. MDAPs report to Congress through Selected Acquisition Reports and are subject to Nunn-McCurdy unit cost breach rules. Being a supplier to an MDAP means more flowdown clauses and more reporting.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Major Defense Acquisition Program"],"r":["ACAT","Nunn-McCurdy","SAR","APB"]},{"t":"MDD","x":"Materiel Development Decision","s":"The decision that a materiel solution is needed and analysis of alternatives may begin","d":"The entry point to the Major Capability Acquisition pathway. At the MDD the Milestone Decision Authority confirms that a validated capability need requires a materiel solution and authorizes the Analysis of Alternatives and the Materiel Solution Analysis phase. Nothing is being built yet, but this is when concepts start being shaped.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Materiel Development Decision"],"r":["MSA","AoA","Milestone A"]},{"t":"MDMP","x":"Military Decision-Making Process","s":"The Army's seven-step staff planning process from receipt of mission to orders","d":"The military decision-making process is the Army's analytical planning method for units with a staff: receipt of mission, mission analysis, COA development, COA analysis (wargaming), COA comparison, COA approval, and orders production, dissemination and transition. It is thorough and time-consuming, so units often run an abbreviated version under pressure. Planning software that maps cleanly onto MDMP steps is easier for Army staffs to adopt.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["JPP","MCPP","TLP","COA","Mission analysis"]},{"t":"MDO","x":"Multi-Domain Operations","s":"Operations that combine capabilities across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace","d":"Multidomain operations are the Army's operational concept, made doctrine in FM 3-0 (2022): combined arms employment of joint and Army capabilities to create and exploit relative advantages across all domains. The term is used more loosely across DoD for any cross-domain integration. In product discussions it usually signals a need to share data across services and domains.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Multidomain operations"],"r":["JADO","JADC2","JWC"]},{"t":"MDS","x":"Mission Design Series","s":"US aircraft designation, e.g. F-35A, KC-46A, MQ-9B, EA-18G","d":"Mission Design Series: the US tri-service designation system for aircraft and missiles under DoD Directive 4120.15E and its implementing manual. A designation reads as an optional status prefix (X experimental, Y prototype, N or J special test), optional modified mission letter (E special electronic, K tanker, M multimission, R recon, Q drone), basic mission letter (A attack, B bomber, C cargo, E special electronic, F fighter, K tanker, P patrol, R reconnaissance, T trainer, U utility, X research), optional vehicle type (H helicopter, Q unmanned, V VTOL/STOL, S spaceplane), a design number and a series letter. So EA-18G is an electronic attack modification of the F/A-18 design in series G.","c":"Aviation","k":["Mission Design Series","MDS designation","tri-service designation"],"w":"1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system","r":["JETDS","Block"]},{"t":"MDV","x":"Minimum Detectable Velocity","s":"Slowest radial speed a GMTI or MTI radar can separate from clutter","d":"MDV is set by clutter spread, platform motion, antenna aperture along track and STAP performance. Lower MDV lets a GMTI radar detect slow vehicles and dismounts. Long apertures and multichannel processing reduce it.","c":"Radar","r":["GMTI","DMTI","STAP"]},{"t":"MEA","x":"Munitions Effectiveness Assessment","s":"Assessment of whether weapons performed as expected","d":"Munitions Effectiveness Assessment: the analysis of how the weapon systems and munitions employed performed against a target, including fuzing, delivery accuracy and weaponeering assumptions, to recommend changes in tactics or munitions. It is one of the three parts of combat assessment, with BDA and reattack recommendation. Weapon performance data from MEA feeds the Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manuals (JMEM).","c":"Intelligence","r":["BDA","Combat assessment","JMEM"]},{"t":"Meaconing","s":"Receiving and rebroadcasting navigation signals to confuse navigation","d":"A system of receiving radio beacon or navigation signals and rebroadcasting them on the same frequency to confuse navigation, so that receivers compute false bearings or positions. Rebroadcasting GPS signals with delay is a form of meaconing and is closely related to GNSS spoofing.","c":"EW","k":["meacon"],"w":"Meaconing","r":["GNSS spoofing","Electromagnetic deception"]},{"t":"Meaningful human control","s":"Principle that humans must keep real control over weapons' use of force","d":"A principle, promoted by many states, NGOs and the ICRC in the LAWS debate, that humans should retain meaningful control over individual attacks by autonomous weapons. The US prefers the formulation appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force, used in DoDD 3000.09. The difference matters for system design, since it governs how much the system may decide on its own.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MHC","appropriate levels of human judgment"],"r":["LAWS","DoDD 3000.09","Human in the loop"]},{"t":"MEB","x":"Marine Expeditionary Brigade","s":"Marine expeditionary brigade: a mid-sized MAGTF of several thousand Marines","d":"A Marine expeditionary brigade is built around a regiment, an aircraft group and a logistics regiment, commanded by a brigadier general. It is scaled for larger crises than a MEU. MEB headquarters also handle maritime prepositioning force operations.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Marine Expeditionary Brigade","r":["MEU","MEF"]},{"t":"Mechanically scanned array","s":"Radar antenna that points by physically rotating or tilting","d":"Mechanically scanned antennas, from parabolic dishes to planar slotted arrays, steer by moving the antenna, which limits revisit rate and multitasking. They remain common where cost matters or where a rotating electronically scanned array gives 360 degree coverage, such as SPY-6(V)2 and many ground radars. Fighter radars such as APG-68 and APG-73 were mechanically scanned before AESA upgrades.","c":"Radar","k":["MSA","mechanical scan"],"r":["AESA","Rotating AESA"]},{"t":"MEDEVAC","x":"Medical Evacuation","s":"Medical evacuation with dedicated, medically equipped vehicles or aircraft","d":"MEDEVAC uses dedicated medical platforms with en route care, such as Army HH-60 \"Dustoff\" helicopters. CASEVAC is casualty evacuation using whatever vehicle or aircraft is available, without dedicated medical care. Casualties are categorized urgent, priority or routine.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Dustoff","Urgent","Priority","Routine"],"w":"Medical evacuation","r":["9-line MEDEVAC","CASEVAC","Golden hour"]},{"t":"MEDINT","x":"Medical Intelligence","s":"Intelligence on foreign medical, disease and environmental health threats","d":"Intelligence on foreign biological, medical and environmental conditions that affect military forces, including disease outbreaks, medical capabilities and biotechnology. In the US it is produced by DIA's National Center for Medical Intelligence at Fort Detrick, Maryland. Its warnings about the outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019 drew public attention to the function.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Medical intelligence","r":["All-source intelligence","CBRN"]},{"t":"MEF","x":"Marine Expeditionary Force","s":"Marine expeditionary force: the largest MAGTF, a division, wing and logistics group","d":"A Marine expeditionary force contains a Marine division, a Marine aircraft wing and a Marine logistics group, commanded by a lieutenant general. There are three: I MEF (California), II MEF (North Carolina) and III MEF (Okinawa). III MEF is the forward force for the Pacific.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Marine Expeditionary Force","r":["MEB","MAGTF"]},{"t":"MEMS","x":"Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems","s":"Tiny chip-based inertial sensors, cheap and small but less accurate","d":"MEMS gyros and accelerometers are micromachined silicon devices that are small, light, rugged and cheap, used in phones, drones and munitions. Their bias drift is much higher than optical gyros, though the best tactical-grade MEMS units now approach low single digit degrees per hour. They dominate small UAS and guided munition designs.","c":"PNT","k":["MEMS IMU","MEMS gyro"],"r":["IMU","FOG","Bias instability"]},{"t":"Mensuration","s":"Precisely measuring target coordinates and elevation from imagery","d":"The process of measuring a feature or location on Earth to determine an absolute latitude, longitude and elevation, typically using stereo imagery and controlled reference data to produce coordinates accurate enough for GPS-guided weapons. Coordinates are reported with circular and linear error at 90 percent (CE90/LE90). Point Positioning Data Base (PPDB) software and certified analysts are required for weapons-quality coordinates.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["coordinate mensuration","precise point mensuration"],"r":["Target folder","CE90","DTED"]},{"t":"Mentor-Protege","s":"Programs pairing large firms with small ones, allowing joint ventures to bid set-asides","d":"SBA's All Small Mentor-Protege Program lets a protege form a joint venture with its mentor that can compete for set-asides. DoD's own Mentor-Protege Program, made permanent in the FY2024 NDAA, reimburses or credits mentors for developmental assistance.","c":"Acquisition","k":["MPP","ASMPP"],"r":["Small business set-aside","Teaming agreement"]},{"t":"MEO","x":"Medium Earth Orbit","s":"Orbits between LEO and GEO, home of GPS and other GNSS constellations","d":"Medium Earth orbit is the band between about 2,000 km and geosynchronous altitude. GNSS constellations (GPS near 20,200 km, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou) live here because a couple of dozen satellites can cover the globe with multiple in view at once. It also hosts SES O3b mPOWER broadband and the Space Force's planned Missile Track Custody satellites; it sits in and near the Van Allen belts, so radiation tolerance drives the design.","c":"Space","w":"Medium Earth orbit","r":["GPS","MTC","Van Allen belts","LEO","GEO"]},{"t":"Merged","s":"Brevity: friendly and target aircraft have come together in the same visual arena","d":"MERGED means friendlies and targets have arrived in the same visual area, or radar returns have come together. After the merge, air combat often becomes close-in. Controllers may stop calling tracks they can no longer separate.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["The merge"],"r":["Commit","Tally"]},{"t":"MESA","x":"Multirole Electronically Scanned Array","s":"Northrop Grumman L-band AESA on the E-7 Wedgetail; also Echodyne's metamaterial ESA","d":"In airborne early warning, MESA is the Northrop Grumman L-band array in the E-7's dorsal 'top hat' structure, combining side-looking arrays with fore and aft coverage from a top-hat end fire array plus an integrated IFF. Separately, Echodyne uses MESA for its metamaterial electronically scanned array, a low-cost architecture used in compact counter-UAS and ground surveillance radars. Check context to know which is meant.","c":"Radar","k":["metamaterial electronically scanned array","Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array"],"r":["E-7 Wedgetail","Counter-UAS radar","AESA"]},{"t":"Mesh network","s":"Network where nodes relay traffic for each other","d":"A mesh network connects nodes so that each can relay traffic for others, giving multiple paths and resilience to individual node loss. Tactical MANETs are mesh networks, as are many drone swarm links. In marketing, mesh is often used interchangeably with MANET.","c":"Comms","k":["mesh"],"w":"Mesh networking","r":["MANET"]},{"t":"METT-TC","x":"Mission, Enemy, Terrain and weather, Troops and support available, Time available, Civil considerations","s":"Mission variables: mission, enemy, terrain, troops, time, civil considerations","d":"METT-TC is the checklist of mission variables used to analyze any tactical situation: Mission, Enemy, Terrain and weather, Troops and support available, Time available, and Civil considerations. The Army's 2022 doctrine extends it to METT-TC(I), adding informational considerations. Users frame almost every planning discussion through these headings.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["METT-T","METT-TC(I)"],"r":["OAKOC","ASCOPE","Mission analysis"]},{"t":"MEU","x":"Marine Expeditionary Unit","s":"Marine expeditionary unit: about 2,200 Marines and sailors embarked on amphibious ships","d":"A Marine expeditionary unit is the smallest standing MAGTF, built around a reinforced infantry battalion, a composite aviation squadron and a logistics battalion, commanded by a colonel. It deploys on an amphibious ready group of about three ships. MEUs respond to crises and are a common venue for testing new gear.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["ARG/MEU","marine expeditionary unit","MAGTF"],"w":"Marine Expeditionary Unit","r":["MAGTF","MEB","ARG","EABO"]},{"t":"MEZ","x":"Missile Engagement Zone","s":"Airspace where surface-to-air missiles have primary engagement responsibility","d":"A MEZ is airspace assigned to SAM systems, where friendly aircraft must stay out or follow strict identification procedures. It is paired with FEZs to deconflict fighters and missiles. Airspace control orders define them.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["HIMEZ","LOMEZ"],"r":["FEZ","WEZ"]},{"t":"MF","x":"Medium Frequency","s":"300 kHz to 3 MHz, home of AM broadcast and maritime distress","d":"The ITU band from 300 kHz to 3 MHz, used for AM broadcasting, maritime communications and non-directional beacons. It propagates by ground wave by day and by skywave at night.","c":"RF","k":["medium frequency","medium wave"],"w":"Medium frequency","r":["LF","HF"]},{"t":"MFEW-AL","x":"Multi-Function Electronic Warfare – Air Large","s":"US Army EW pod for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone","d":"A US Army program for an airborne electronic support and attack pod, developed by Lockheed Martin, carried by the MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft. It was intended to provide brigade and division commanders with airborne EW sensing and jamming integrated with ground EW systems through EWPMT.","c":"EW","k":["MFEW Air Large","MFEW"],"r":["TLS","EWPMT","Air-launched effects"]},{"t":"MF-TDMA","x":"Multi-Frequency Time Division Multiple Access","s":"Access scheme sharing several carriers and time slots across many terminals","d":"MF-TDMA allocates bursts across multiple carriers and time slots, giving a hub dynamic bandwidth assignment over a large terminal population. It is the common access method in VSAT networks, including military and commercial systems used over WGS and commercial satellites.","c":"Comms","r":["TDMA","VSAT"]},{"t":"MGRS","x":"Military Grid Reference System","s":"Military Grid Reference System: grid coordinates like 18SUJ2337106519","d":"Military Grid Reference System: the NATO standard for expressing locations, built on UTM and UPS projections, written as a grid zone designator, a 100 km square identifier and numeric easting and northing whose length sets the precision (10 digits is 1 meter). It is used in calls for fire, reports and maps. Software must convert accurately between MGRS and latitude/longitude on WGS 84.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["grid reference","grid"],"w":"Military Grid Reference System","r":["WGS 84","UTM","Grid reference","Azimuth"]},{"t":"MGUE","x":"Military GPS User Equipment","s":"DoD program developing M-code GPS receiver cards and modules","d":"MGUE is the Space Force program developing M-code receivers: Increment 1 provides ground and aviation/maritime receiver cards from vendors such as L3Harris, RTX/Collins and BAE Systems, and Increment 2 develops a miniature serial interface chip and handheld form factors. Platform integration is done by each service. Delays in MGUE have kept most forces on SAASM receivers well after M-code satellites were in orbit.","c":"PNT","k":["MGUE Inc 1","MGUE Inc 2"],"r":["M-code","SAASM","User segment"]},{"t":"MHT","x":"Multiple Hypothesis Tracking","s":"Tracker that keeps several association hypotheses open and resolves them later","d":"MHT defers hard association decisions by maintaining multiple hypotheses about which measurements belong to which tracks, pruning unlikely branches over time. It performs well in dense clutter and crossing targets at the cost of heavy computation and complexity. Track-oriented MHT is used in several air and ground surveillance systems.","c":"Sensors","k":["multiple hypothesis tracker","TOMHT"],"r":["Data association","IMM","Random finite sets"]},{"t":"Microbolometer","s":"Uncooled LWIR detector pixel whose resistance changes when heated by infrared","d":"A microbolometer is a thermally isolated membrane, usually vanadium oxide (VOx) or amorphous silicon, whose resistance changes as absorbed LWIR radiation warms it. Arrays of these pixels form uncooled thermal cameras. Major producers include Teledyne FLIR, L3Harris, BAE Systems, Leonardo DRS and Lynred, and supply constraints became visible as drone demand surged after 2022.","c":"Sensors","k":["VOx","amorphous silicon bolometer"],"w":"Microbolometer","r":["Uncooled detector","LWIR","NETD"]},{"t":"Micro-Doppler","s":"Doppler modulations from rotating or vibrating parts such as rotors, blades or limbs","d":"Micro-Doppler signatures come from motion beyond the bulk target velocity, like helicopter rotors, drone propellers, jet engine compressor blades or a walking person's arms and legs. They are a key feature for classifying drones versus birds in counter-UAS radars and for jet engine modulation identification of aircraft. Exploiting them needs high PRF or long dwells and good dynamic range.","c":"Radar","k":["JEM","jet engine modulation"],"r":["Doppler shift","Counter-UAS radar","NCTR"]},{"t":"Microwave","s":"Radio frequencies from about 300 MHz (or 1 GHz) to 300 GHz","d":"Electromagnetic waves with frequencies from roughly 300 MHz or 1 GHz up to 300 GHz, depending on the convention. Most radars, satellite links and EW systems operate in the microwave region, where antennas are compact and beams can be narrow.","c":"RF","k":["microwave frequencies"],"w":"Microwave","r":["Radio frequency","mmWave","SHF"]},{"t":"MIDB","x":"Modernized Integrated Database","s":"Main US database of military installations, units and equipment","d":"Modernized Integrated Database: the DoD's long-standing database of foreign military installations, units, equipment and facilities, managed by DIA and used for order of battle and target development. It underlies many target folders and is being modernized under the Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-repository System (MARS) program. Integration with it is a frequent requirement for targeting tools.","c":"Intelligence","r":["OB","Target folder","MARS"]},{"t":"Midcourse","s":"Middle part of a missile's flight, often inertial with datalink updates","d":"In the midcourse phase a missile flies toward the target area using inertial navigation, GPS and in-flight updates from the launcher or other sensors. For ballistic missiles it is the long coast through space, where systems like GMD and SM-3 intercept. Weapons with datalinks can be retargeted during this phase.","c":"Weapons","k":["midcourse phase","midcourse guidance"],"r":["Terminal guidance","Boost phase","GMD"]},{"t":"MIDS","x":"Multifunctional Information Distribution System","s":"Multinational program producing compact Link 16 terminals","d":"MIDS is a multinational cooperative program (US, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) that produces compact Link 16 terminals for fighters, helicopters, ships and ground systems. The main variants are MIDS-LVT and MIDS-JTRS, supplied by vendors including ViaSat, Data Link Solutions and L3Harris in the US, and EuroMIDS in Europe. Most Link 16 integrations on modern platforms are MIDS integrations.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Multifunctional Information Distribution System","r":["MIDS-LVT","MIDS-JTRS","Link 16"]},{"t":"MIDS-JTRS","s":"Software-defined MIDS terminal with Link 16 plus extra programmable channels","d":"MIDS-JTRS is a software-defined form-fit replacement for MIDS-LVT that adds programmable channels able to host other waveforms such as TTNT, along with Link 16 Enhanced Throughput, concurrent multi-netting and crypto modernization. It follows the Software Communications Architecture. It is fitted to the F/A-18, EA-18G and other aircraft.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["MIDS-J"],"r":["MIDS","TTNT","SCA"]},{"t":"MIDS-LVT","x":"MIDS Low Volume Terminal","s":"Standard compact MIDS Link 16 terminal","d":"MIDS-LVT is the original compact Link 16 terminal from the MIDS program, with variants such as LVT(1) for fighters and LVT(2) for ground use. It is installed on a wide range of US and allied aircraft. Many are being upgraded or replaced to meet Link 16 crypto modernization and frequency remapping requirements.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["LVT"],"r":["MIDS","MIDS-JTRS"]},{"t":"MILCON","x":"Military Construction","s":"Appropriation for building facilities, available for five years","d":"MILCON funds construction projects such as hangars, ranges and SCIFs above set dollar thresholds and is available for five years. Projects are approved line by line by Congress. Fielding a system that needs new facilities requires MILCON planning years in advance.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Military Construction"],"r":["Colors of money","DOTMLPF-P"]},{"t":"MILDEC","x":"Military Deception","s":"Actions intended to mislead adversary decision makers","d":"Military Deception: actions executed to deliberately mislead adversary military, paramilitary or violent extremist decision makers, causing them to take or not take specific actions that contribute to the friendly mission. JP 3-13.4 governs it. Operation Fortitude before D-Day is the textbook example.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Military deception","r":["Denial and deception","OPSEC","OIE"]},{"t":"MIL-DTL","x":"Military Detail Specification","s":"Specification that prescribes design, materials or construction in detail","d":"A MIL-DTL specifies how an item must be made, often for interchangeable parts such as connectors, for example MIL-DTL-38999 circular connectors. Detail specs ensure interchangeability but constrain innovation.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["detail specification","MIL-DTL-38999","MIL-C"],"r":["MIL-PRF","MIL-SPEC"]},{"t":"Milestone A","s":"Decision to begin technology maturation and risk reduction for a selected concept","d":"The first formal milestone in the Major Capability Acquisition pathway. It approves the program's entry into Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction and typically leads to competitive prototyping or risk reduction contracts. Programs may enter the pathway at later milestones if the technology is already mature.","c":"Acquisition","k":["MS A"],"r":["MSA","TMRR","Milestone B"]},{"t":"Milestone B","s":"Decision to start engineering development; usually the formal start of a program","d":"Milestone B approves entry into Engineering and Manufacturing Development and is normally considered the official start of a program of record. The Acquisition Program Baseline is set here, and for MDAPs the cost and schedule figures become the yardstick for Nunn-McCurdy breaches. Statute requires the decision authority to certify affordability and technical maturity for major programs.","c":"Acquisition","k":["MS B"],"r":["EMD","APB","Nunn-McCurdy","POR"]},{"t":"Milestone C","s":"Decision to enter production and deployment, usually starting with LRIP","d":"Milestone C approves entry into Production and Deployment, generally authorizing Low-Rate Initial Production. Testing results, manufacturing readiness and a stable design are reviewed. Suppliers should expect configuration to be frozen tightly from this point, with changes managed through engineering change proposals.","c":"Acquisition","k":["MS C"],"r":["P&D","LRIP","FRP","ECP"]},{"t":"MIL-HDBK-217","s":"Long-standing but outdated handbook for predicting electronic reliability","d":"MIL-HDBK-217, Reliability Prediction of Electronic Equipment, gives part failure rate models, with revision F Notice 2 from 1995 the long-standing version. Its data is considered outdated and predictions often diverge sharply from field results, yet it is still cited in contracts. Alternatives include Telcordia SR-332, ANSI/VITA 51 and physics-of-failure methods.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-HDBK-217F","217","reliability prediction"],"r":["MTBF","Reliability growth"]},{"t":"MIL-HDBK-516","s":"DoD handbook of airworthiness certification criteria","d":"MIL-HDBK-516, currently revision C, lists the criteria used to evaluate the airworthiness of military air systems across structures, flight controls, propulsion, software, electrical, safety and more. Programs tailor it into a certification basis. Software and complex electronics criteria reference practices similar to DO-178C and DO-254.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-HDBK-516C","airworthiness certification criteria"],"r":["Airworthiness certification","DO-178C"]},{"t":"Military departments","s":"The Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force, which organize, train and equip","d":"The three military departments are headed by civilian secretaries and contain the six services: Army; Navy and Marine Corps; Air Force and Space Force. They organize, train and equip forces and run most acquisition programs, then provide forces to combatant commands. The Coast Guard is the sixth armed force by statute but sits under Homeland Security in peacetime.","c":"Organizations","k":["Services","MILDEP","Service"],"r":["Service component","CCMD"]},{"t":"Military necessity","s":"LOAC principle permitting measures needed to defeat the enemy, within the law","d":"The principle that justifies using the force required to accomplish a legitimate military purpose, such as the complete or partial submission of the enemy, as long as it is not otherwise prohibited by the law of war. It cannot justify violating other rules, such as attacking civilians. It is balanced against the principle of humanity.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Military necessity","r":["LOAC","Proportionality"]},{"t":"Military time","s":"The 24-hour clock written without a colon, such as 1430 for 2:30 in the afternoon","d":"Military time uses four digits from 0000 to 2359, spoken as \"fourteen thirty\" or \"fourteen hundred\" for the hour. Midnight is often written 2400 or avoided entirely to prevent confusion about the date. Interfaces should default to 24-hour time.","c":"Comms","k":["24-hour time"],"w":"24-hour clock","r":["Zulu time","DTG"]},{"t":"Millimeter-wave seeker","s":"Radar seeker operating around 35 or 94 GHz, works through smoke and weather","d":"Millimeter-wave seekers use small high-frequency radars to detect and track targets, especially vehicles, through smoke, dust and weather. They provide fire-and-forget capability. They appear in JAGM, AARGM, SDB II and Brimstone.","c":"Weapons","k":["MMW seeker","mmW"],"r":["Seeker","JAGM","Multimode seeker"]},{"t":"MILNET","s":"Reported SpaceX-built proliferated military data transport network","d":"MILNET is a reported Space Force and NRO effort to field a proliferated LEO data transport network built on SpaceX Starshield satellites, described in public reports and budget documents in 2025. It has been discussed as a possible alternative to or partial replacement for later SDA Transport Layer tranches. Its size, schedule and relationship to the PWSA remain in flux, so treat specifics with caution.","c":"Space","r":["Starshield","Transport Layer","Tranche 3"]},{"t":"MILPERS","x":"Military Personnel","s":"One-year appropriation for military pay and allowances","d":"MILPERS pays service members' pay, allowances and related costs. It is available for one year. It rarely touches product companies directly but is part of the colors of money.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Military Personnel appropriation","MPA"],"r":["Colors of money"]},{"t":"MIL-PRF","x":"Military Performance Specification","s":"Specification stating required results and verification, not how to build the item","d":"A MIL-PRF states requirements in terms of required performance and interfaces, leaving design choices to the supplier, for example MIL-PRF-38534 for hybrid microcircuits or MIL-PRF-38535 for integrated circuits. Many are tied to Qualified Products or Manufacturers Lists maintained by DLA Land and Maritime.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["performance specification","QPL","QML"],"r":["MIL-DTL","MIL-SPEC"]},{"t":"Mils","s":"An angular unit; NATO uses 6,400 mils to a full circle","d":"Mils (milliradians) are used for artillery, mortars, optics and land navigation because one mil subtends about one meter at a kilometer. NATO uses 6,400 mils per circle; some other countries have used 6,000 or 6,300. Optics reticles may use true milliradians or MOA, a source of confusion.","c":"Ground","k":["Mil","Milliradian","MRAD"],"w":"Milliradian","r":["Azimuth"]},{"t":"MIL-SPEC","x":"Military Specification","s":"Umbrella term for DoD specifications and standards","d":"MIL-SPEC is informal shorthand for the family of defense specifications and standards, including MIL-STD standards, MIL-PRF performance specs, MIL-DTL detail specs and MIL-HDBK handbooks. Since the 1994 Perry memo, DoD has preferred performance specifications and commercial standards over military-unique ones where possible. Current documents are in ASSIST.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Perry memo"],"w":"United States Military Standard","r":["MIL-STD","MIL-PRF","MIL-DTL","ASSIST"]},{"t":"Milstar","s":"First-generation US protected EHF SATCOM constellation, launched 1994 to 2003","d":"Milstar was a constellation of protected EHF communications satellites providing survivable, jam-resistant links for strategic and tactical forces, with low (LDR) and medium (MDR) data rates and crosslinks. It was succeeded by AEHF, which is backward compatible with Milstar terminals.","c":"Comms","w":"Milstar","r":["AEHF","Protected SATCOM"]},{"t":"MIL-STD","x":"Military Standard","s":"DoD standard defining processes, practices, test methods or interfaces","d":"A MIL-STD establishes engineering and technical requirements for processes, procedures, practices and methods, such as test methods (MIL-STD-810) or interfaces (MIL-STD-1553). Revisions are lettered, such as 810H, and contracts specify which revision applies. Interface and test standards remain heavily used.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Military Standard"],"w":"United States Military Standard","r":["MIL-SPEC","MIL-PRF","MIL-HDBK-217"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-1275","s":"Standard for 28-volt DC electrical power characteristics in military ground vehicles","d":"MIL-STD-1275, currently revision E, defines steady state, surge and spike characteristics of 28 VDC vehicle power, including starter disturbances and generator-only operation. Electronics for ground vehicles must ride through these transients.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-1275E","28 VDC vehicle power"],"r":["MIL-STD-704","VICTORY"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-129","s":"Standard for military shipping and storage marking, including barcodes and RFID","d":"MIL-STD-129 defines markings on packages and shipping containers, including military shipping labels, linear and 2D barcodes, and passive RFID tagging required for many shipments to DoD. Incorrect markings can get shipments rejected at receiving depots.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-129R","MSL","military shipping label","RFID"],"r":["MIL-STD-2073","MIL-STD-130"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-130","s":"Standard for identification marking of US military property, including IUID","d":"MIL-STD-130 specifies how items are marked with identification and the 2D Data Matrix unique item identifier required for IUID. It covers marking methods, content, placement and verification of mark quality.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-130N","part marking","Data Matrix"],"r":["IUID","MIL-STD-129"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-1316","s":"DoD design safety criteria for fuze systems","d":"MIL-STD-1316 sets the safety requirements for fuzes, including at least two independent arming environments, defined probabilities of premature arming, and an arming delay that keeps the weapon safe near the launcher. Anyone building fuze electronics or software must design to it and pass service safety review. Related standards include MIL-STD-1901 for ignition systems.","c":"Weapons","k":["1316"],"r":["Fuze","S&A","ESAD","Insensitive munitions"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-1472","s":"DoD design criteria standard for human engineering","d":"MIL-STD-1472, currently revision H, provides human engineering criteria for controls, displays, labeling, anthropometry, workspace, maintainability and safety. It is the default reference for HSI requirements on hardware and user interfaces.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-1472H","human engineering"],"r":["HSI","MANPRINT"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-1553","s":"Dual-redundant 1 Mbps command-response data bus used in military aircraft and vehicles","d":"MIL-STD-1553 defines a serial bus with a bus controller and up to 31 remote terminals, using Manchester encoding over twisted pair, dual redundant for fault tolerance. Introduced in the 1970s, it remains ubiquitous in aircraft, weapons, spacecraft and ground vehicles. Faster successors exist but legacy compatibility keeps 1553 alive.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["1553","MIL-STD-1553B","1553 bus","1553B","MIL-STD-1760"],"w":"MIL-STD-1553","r":["MIL-STD-1760","ARINC 429"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-1760","s":"Standard electrical interface between aircraft and stores such as weapons and pods","d":"MIL-STD-1760 defines the aircraft-to-store electrical interconnection, including 1553 data, power, discrete signals and high-bandwidth lines, and the connectors. Smart weapons and pods use it to integrate with multiple aircraft. Store integration still requires platform-specific software and certification.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["1760","Universal Armament Interface","UAI"],"r":["MIL-STD-1553"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-188","s":"Series of DoD standards for communications systems interoperability","d":"The MIL-STD-188 series covers telecommunications technical standards, such as MIL-STD-188-110 for HF data modems, 188-141 for HF automatic link establishment, 188-181 to 188-184 for UHF satellite communications and 188-125 for HEMP protection of facilities. Radios and modems are often specified by compliance with specific parts of the series.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-188-110","MIL-STD-188-141","MIL-STD-188-181","MIL-STD-188-125"],"r":["MIL-STD-461"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-188-125","s":"DoD standard for HEMP protection of fixed and transportable C4I facilities","d":"The DoD standard (in parts for fixed and transportable systems) specifying high-altitude EMP protection for ground-based C4I facilities performing critical, time-urgent missions, using shielded enclosures, filtered penetrations and verification testing.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-188-125-1","MIL-STD-188-125-2"],"r":["HEMP","MIL-STD-464"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-1913","s":"The Picatinny rail standard for mounting accessories on weapons","d":"MIL-STD-1913 defines the dimensions of the Picatinny rail used to mount optics, lights, lasers and other accessories. The NATO Accessory Rail in STANAG 4694 is backward compatible with it.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Picatinny rail","Picatinny","1913 rail","STANAG 4694","NATO Accessory Rail"],"w":"Picatinny rail","r":["MIL-SPEC"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-2073","s":"DoD standard practice for military packaging","d":"MIL-STD-2073-1 specifies methods of preservation and packaging levels, such as military and commercial, and the codes used to specify them on contracts. It ensures items survive rough handling and long storage. Packaging requirements are often overlooked in pricing.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-2073-1","military packaging"],"r":["MIL-STD-129","PHS&T"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-3009","s":"Standard for lighting compatible with night vision imaging systems in aircraft","d":"MIL-STD-3009 defines requirements for NVIS-compatible cockpit and crew station lighting, so displays and lights do not interfere with night vision goggles. Any display or lit control installed in a night-vision-equipped aircraft is expected to comply.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["NVIS","NVIS compatible","NVG compatible lighting"],"r":["MIL-STD-1472"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-31000","s":"Standard for preparing technical data packages","d":"MIL-STD-31000, currently revision B, defines the content and format of technical data packages, including 3D model-based definitions alongside traditional 2D drawings. It is referenced in contracts that require delivery of a TDP.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-31000B","model-based definition","MBD"],"r":["TDP","Data rights"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-461","s":"DoD standard for equipment-level EMI emission and susceptibility limits","d":"The DoD standard defining requirements for controlling electromagnetic interference characteristics of subsystems and equipment, organized as conducted emissions (CE), conducted susceptibility (CS), radiated emissions (RE) and radiated susceptibility (RS) tests, such as CE102, CS114, RE102 and RS103. Tests are tailored by platform type (aircraft, ship, ground). Revision G (2015) is the long-standing baseline; check contracts for the revision required.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-461G","461","RE102","CE102","RS103","CS114"],"w":"MIL-STD-461","r":["MIL-STD-464","EMI","EMC"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-464","s":"DoD standard for electromagnetic environmental effects at the system level","d":"MIL-STD-464 sets interface requirements and verification criteria for electromagnetic environmental effects (E3) of entire platforms, including lightning, EMP, intra-system compatibility, external RF environments and hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance, personnel and fuel. It complements the equipment-level MIL-STD-461.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["E3","electromagnetic environmental effects","HERO","MIL-STD-464C","MIL-STD-464D"],"r":["MIL-STD-461","E3","HERO"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-6016","s":"US standard defining Link 16 messages and protocols","d":"MIL-STD-6016 is the US military standard for the Link 16 message catalog, transmit and receive rules and protocols. Its NATO equivalent is STANAG 5516. It is a controlled document available to authorized developers, and compliance is verified through interoperability certification testing.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["STANAG 5516"],"r":["Link 16","J-series messages"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-704","s":"Standard for aircraft electrical power characteristics","d":"MIL-STD-704 defines the quality of aircraft power at utilization equipment terminals, including 28 VDC, 270 VDC and 115 VAC at 400 Hz, with normal, abnormal and emergency limits. Companion handbook MIL-HDBK-704 gives test methods.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-704F","MIL-HDBK-704","aircraft power"],"r":["MIL-STD-1275","DO-160"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-810","s":"DoD test method standard for environmental engineering and laboratory tests","d":"MIL-STD-810, currently revision H, provides test methods for high and low temperature, shock, vibration, humidity, sand and dust, rain, altitude, salt fog, gunfire shock and more, along with guidance on tailoring tests to the actual life cycle. Claims of being MIL-STD-810 compliant mean little without stating which methods and procedures, at what levels.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-810H","810G","810"],"w":"MIL-STD-810","r":["Environmental testing","Qualification test","DO-160"]},{"t":"MIL-STD-882","s":"DoD standard practice for system safety","d":"MIL-STD-882, currently revision E, defines how to identify hazards, assess risk by severity and probability, mitigate and accept residual risk at defined authority levels. It includes software safety criticality analysis. Most hardware and software programs must provide 882 safety analyses as CDRLs.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-882E","system safety","SSPP","PHA"],"r":["FMEA","MIL-HDBK-516"]},{"t":"MIMO","x":"Multiple-Input Multiple-Output","s":"Using multiple transmit and receive antennas for capacity or resolution","d":"Systems using multiple transmit and receive antennas: in communications to increase capacity and robustness through spatial multiplexing and diversity (as in Wi-Fi and 5G), and in radar to synthesize larger virtual apertures with orthogonal waveforms. MIMO links also offer some resistance to jamming through spatial processing.","c":"RF","k":["MIMO radar","spatial multiplexing"],"w":"MIMO","r":["Beamforming","OFDM"]},{"t":"MIMO radar","x":"Multiple-Input Multiple-Output radar","s":"Radar transmitting distinct waveforms from multiple elements to form a virtual array","d":"MIMO radar sends mutually orthogonal waveforms (separated in code, frequency or time) from several transmit elements and separates them on each receiver, creating a virtual array with up to the product of transmit and receive element counts. Colocated MIMO improves angular resolution and flexibility, while distributed MIMO exploits geometric diversity. It is widespread in automotive radar chips and increasingly in military short-range and drone-detection radars.","c":"Radar","k":["MIMO"],"w":"MIMO radar","r":["Virtual array","Digital beamforming","Multistatic radar"]},{"t":"Minuteman III","s":"LGM-30G, the current US silo-based ICBM, in service since 1970","d":"Minuteman III is the only US ICBM, deployed in silos in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. It has been extended well beyond its original life and must remain in service until Sentinel arrives. Test launches from Vandenberg continue regularly.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["LGM-30G","MMIII"],"w":"LGM-30 Minuteman","r":["Sentinel","ICBM"]},{"t":"MIRV","x":"Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicle","s":"Missile payload carrying several warheads aimed at different targets","d":"A MIRVed missile carries a bus that releases multiple warheads on separate trajectories. It complicates missile defense and raises arms control stakes.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["MIRVs","reentry vehicle","RV"],"r":["Trident II D5","ICBM"]},{"t":"MISB","x":"Motion Imagery Standards Board","s":"Motion Imagery Standards Board: US body for motion imagery and metadata specs","d":"Motion Imagery Standards Board: the US government body, under NGA's GEOINT standards governance, that issues the standards (ST), recommended practices (RP) and profiles for motion imagery and its metadata. Key documents include ST 0601 (UAS Datalink Local Set, the main drone video metadata), ST 0102 (security metadata), ST 0903 (video moving target indicator) and ST 1402 (transport). NATO STANAG 4609 aligns with them.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MISB ST 0601","ST 0601","ST 0102","MISP"],"r":["STANAG 4609","KLV","FMV"]},{"t":"MISO","x":"Military Information Support Operations","s":"US military psychological operations aimed at foreign audiences","d":"Military Information Support Operations: planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, reasoning and behavior in ways favorable to US objectives. It is the doctrinal term that replaced PSYOP in 2010, though the Army reverted its branch name to Psychological Operations in 2014 and PSYOP remains common. Only foreign audiences may be targeted.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["PSYOP","PSYOPS"],"w":"Psychological operations (United States)","r":["IO","OIE","Influence operations","Information operations"]},{"t":"Missile warning system","x":"MWS","s":"Sensor that detects incoming missiles, usually by their UV or IR plume","d":"A sensor suite that detects missile launches and approaching missiles, usually by the ultraviolet or infrared signature of the motor plume, and cues flares or a DIRCM. Pulse-Doppler radar missile warners also exist. Examples include the AN/AAR-47 and the AN/AAR-57 CMWS. Low false alarm rate is the hard engineering problem.","c":"EW","k":["MWS","MAWS","missile approach warning system","missile approach warning"],"r":["DIRCM","AN/AAR-57 CMWS","Flare","DAS","Laser warning receiver","MWIR"]},{"t":"Mission analysis","s":"The planning step that works out what the mission really requires","d":"Mission analysis is the step where staff study the higher order, identify specified, implied and essential tasks, constraints, assumptions and information gaps, and produce a restated mission. It ends with a mission analysis brief to the commander. Much of a staff's information management load falls in this step.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Specified task","MDMP","CCIR"]},{"t":"Mission command","s":"Army and joint C2 philosophy of decentralized execution based on commander's intent","d":"Mission command is the approach to command that empowers subordinates to act on the commander's intent with disciplined initiative, rather than through detailed orders. Army doctrine ADP 6-0 defines it. It drives requirements for C2 systems that work when disconnected from higher headquarters and that share intent and graphics as well as tracks. The Army also used Mission Command as the name of its warfighting function and of a family of systems.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Mission command","r":["C2","DDIL","NGC2","Commander's intent","Decentralized execution"]},{"t":"Mission data file","x":"MDF","s":"Loadable threat and response data that tells an EW system what to look for and do","d":"The data package loaded into an EW system or sensor that defines the threat emitters it should recognize, how to identify them, and the response for each (warning, technique or dispense program). The F-35 depends on MDFs built by US and partner reprogramming laboratories. MDF generation is a key, often bottlenecked, part of fielding EW products.","c":"EW","k":["MDF","mission data","MDS"],"r":["Threat library","Reprogramming","Radar warning receiver"]},{"t":"Mission Delta","s":"Space Force operational unit built around one mission area","d":"A Mission Delta is the Space Force's operational unit, a colonel-level organization built around a mission such as navigation warfare, missile warning, electromagnetic warfare or space domain awareness. Mission Deltas replaced the earlier Deltas from 2024 onward, combining operations with sustainment and support for their systems. Squadrons such as 2 SOPS, which flies GPS, sit within them.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Delta","DEL"],"r":["SpOC","USSF"]},{"t":"Mission engineering","s":"Engineering analysis of how systems combine to accomplish missions end to end","d":"Mission engineering, led in OSD by the research and engineering organization, analyzes mission threads and kill chains to find gaps and the value of new capabilities. It informs requirements and portfolio decisions, and its importance grew with the 2025 requirements reforms.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["ME","mission thread","mission engineering thread"],"r":["Capability gap","Digital engineering"]},{"t":"Mission Partner Environment","s":"Framework for sharing networks and data with coalition partners","d":"A Mission Partner Environment is an operating framework and network enabling command and control and information sharing among US forces and allied and partner nations for a specific mission. DoD is consolidating legacy coalition networks such as CENTRIXS into a common MPE approach aligned with NATO Federated Mission Networking. Products intended for coalition use must support releasability labeling and partner access.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["MPE"],"r":["CENTRIXS","Federated Mission Networking","BICES"]},{"t":"Mission statement","s":"A short statement of who, what, when, where and why for an operation","d":"A mission statement answers the five Ws: who, what (the task), when, where and why (the purpose). It is paragraph 2 of an order and is often repeated twice when briefed. It usually combines a task with a purpose, as in \"seize the bridge in order to enable the brigade crossing.\"","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Task and purpose","Commander's intent"]},{"t":"MIST","x":"Mechanism, Injuries, Signs, Treatment","s":"Casualty handover report: mechanism of injury, injuries, signs, treatment","d":"A MIST report passes patient information to medical evacuation or receiving providers: Mechanism of injury, Injuries found, Signs (vital signs), and Treatment given. It follows the 9-line MEDEVAC. Digital casualty cards often use these fields.","c":"Comms","k":["MIST report"],"r":["9-line MEDEVAC","TCCC"]},{"t":"MITRE ATT&CK","s":"Knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques","d":"MITRE ATT&CK is a publicly available knowledge base of adversary tactics, techniques and procedures based on real-world observations, organized in matrices for enterprise, mobile and industrial control systems. Defenders map detections and threat intelligence to its technique IDs. Security products commonly report ATT&CK coverage.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["ATT&CK","TTPs"],"r":["MITRE D3FEND","Cyber kill chain","APT"]},{"t":"MITRE D3FEND","s":"Knowledge graph of defensive cybersecurity countermeasures","d":"MITRE D3FEND is a knowledge graph of defensive techniques, funded by NSA, that maps countermeasures to the offensive techniques in ATT&CK. It helps describe what a security product actually does in standard terms. Version 1.0 was released in 2025.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["D3FEND"],"r":["MITRE ATT&CK"]},{"t":"Mixer","s":"Nonlinear device that shifts signal frequency by combining it with an LO","d":"A nonlinear device that multiplies an input signal with a local oscillator to produce sum and difference frequencies, used to convert signals up or down in frequency. Mixer conversion loss, isolation, linearity and spurious products strongly affect receiver performance.","c":"RF","k":["frequency mixer","double-balanced mixer"],"w":"Frequency mixer","r":["Local oscillator","Superheterodyne receiver","Image frequency"]},{"t":"MLA","x":"Manufacturing License Agreement","s":"ITAR agreement authorizing a foreign party to manufacture a defense article","d":"An MLA, approved by DDTC, lets a US company grant a foreign person the right or know-how to manufacture defense articles abroad. It is used for licensed production and coproduction programs.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Manufacturing License Agreement"],"r":["Technical Assistance Agreement","ITAR"]},{"t":"ML-DSA","x":"Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithm","s":"NIST FIPS 204 post-quantum signature scheme, derived from Dilithium","d":"ML-DSA is the lattice-based digital signature algorithm standardized by NIST as FIPS 204 in 2024, derived from CRYSTALS-Dilithium. CNSA 2.0 specifies ML-DSA-87. PKI, code signing and authentication systems are planning migrations to it.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["FIPS 204","Dilithium"],"r":["PQC","ML-KEM","CNSA 2.0"]},{"t":"M-LIDS","x":"Mobile Low, Slow, Small UAS Integrated Defeat System","s":"Army vehicle-mounted counter-sUAS system with radar, jammer, gun and Coyote","d":"M-LIDS combines a radar, EO/IR, electronic attack and a 30mm cannon on MRAP vehicles, with a second vehicle carrying Coyote interceptors. It was fielded to protect forces in the Middle East and is one of the JCO-approved interim C-sUAS systems.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["FS-LIDS","Coyote","C-sUAS"]},{"t":"ML-KEM","x":"Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism","s":"NIST FIPS 203 post-quantum key establishment, derived from Kyber","d":"ML-KEM is the lattice-based key-encapsulation mechanism standardized by NIST as FIPS 203 in 2024, derived from CRYSTALS-Kyber. CNSA 2.0 specifies ML-KEM-1024 for national security systems. It is being deployed in TLS, IPsec and VPNs, often in hybrid mode with classical key exchange.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["FIPS 203","Kyber"],"r":["PQC","CNSA 2.0","ML-DSA"]},{"t":"MLR","x":"Marine Littoral Regiment","s":"Marine Littoral Regiment: a Marine unit built for distributed operations along coastlines","d":"A Marine Littoral Regiment includes a littoral combat team, a littoral anti-air battalion and a littoral logistics battalion, designed for EABO with anti-ship missiles, sensors and air defense. The first, the 3d MLR in Hawaii, stood up in 2022, followed by the 12th MLR in Okinawa. It is the signature unit of Force Design.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["EABO","Force Design 2030"]},{"t":"MLRS","x":"Multiple Launch Rocket System","s":"Tracked rocket launcher, M270, carrying two pods","d":"The M270 MLRS is a tracked launcher on a Bradley-derived chassis that carries two pods, twice what HIMARS carries. It fires the same family of munitions. Many allies operate it, and the US Army is upgrading to the M270A2.","c":"Weapons","k":["M270","M270A2"],"w":"M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System","r":["HIMARS","GMLRS"]},{"t":"MLS","x":"Multi-Level Security","s":"Systems that handle multiple classification levels while enforcing separation","d":"Multi-level security refers to systems that simultaneously process information at different classification levels and enforce access rules so users only see what they are cleared for. True MLS is hard to build and accredit, so many programs use multiple single levels (MSL) instead, with separate networks and cross-domain links. Data-centric security and labeling are modern approaches toward MLS.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["multilevel security","MSL","multiple single levels"],"w":"Multilevel security","r":["Cross-domain solution","Data-centric security"]},{"t":"MMIC","x":"Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit","s":"Single-chip microwave circuit such as an amplifier, mixer or switch","d":"An integrated circuit that performs microwave functions such as amplification, mixing, switching or phase shifting on one semiconductor die, typically GaAs, GaN or SiGe. MMICs make dense phased arrays and compact EW front ends possible, and their supply from trusted foundries is a defense concern.","c":"RF","k":["monolithic microwave integrated circuit","monolithic microwave IC"],"w":"Monolithic microwave integrated circuit","r":["GaN","GaAs","T/R module"]},{"t":"MMTI","x":"Maritime Moving Target Indicator","s":"Radar mode detecting and tracking ships and small boats over the sea","d":"MMTI adapts moving target detection to sea clutter for wide-area maritime surveillance, cueing ISAR or EO/IR for classification. It is a standard mode on Lynx, ZPY-3 on the MQ-4C Triton, AN/APY-10 and similar radars. Small fast boats in high sea states remain the hardest targets.","c":"Radar","k":["maritime MTI","maritime moving target indication"],"r":["GMTI","Sea clutter","ISAR"]},{"t":"mmWave","s":"Millimeter-wave frequencies, roughly 30 to 300 GHz","d":"Frequencies with wavelengths from 1 to 10 mm, about 30 to 300 GHz; in 5G usage the term also covers the 24 to 47 GHz bands. MmWave enables very wide bandwidths, compact antennas and fine radar resolution, but suffers from high path loss, rain fade and blockage. Military uses include seekers, high-capacity links, counter-UAS radar and imaging.","c":"RF","k":["millimeter wave","MMW","FR2"],"w":"Extremely high frequency","r":["EHF","Ka band","W band"]},{"t":"MN-MIMO","x":"Mobile Networked Multiple-Input Multiple-Output","s":"Silvus Technologies MIMO-based MANET waveform","d":"MN-MIMO is the MANET waveform from Silvus Technologies used in StreamCaster radios, combining MIMO techniques with mesh networking for high throughput and robustness. It is widely used on unmanned systems and by many militaries. Silvus was acquired by Motorola Solutions in 2025.","c":"Comms","k":["StreamCaster","Silvus"],"r":["MANET"]},{"t":"Mobilization","s":"Calling reserve forces to active duty and preparing the nation for war","d":"Mobilization means activating reserve units and individuals, and more broadly marshaling industry and resources for conflict. Industrial mobilization concerns, such as munitions production capacity, are prominent in current DoD planning. Demobilization reverses it.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Activation"],"r":["Reserve component"]},{"t":"MOD","x":"Ministry of Defence","s":"UK Ministry of Defence","d":"The UK Ministry of Defence: the government department responsible for UK defense policy and the armed forces, headed by the Secretary of State for Defence. Its delivery bodies include DE&S for equipment, Dstl for science and technology and the Defence Digital organization. Its procurement rules and standards (Def Stans, DEFCONs) apply to all suppliers.","c":"Organizations","k":["UK MOD"],"w":"Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)","r":["DE&S","Dstl","SDR 2025"]},{"t":"Mode 4","s":"Legacy encrypted military IFF mode, retired by the US in favor of Mode 5","d":"Mode 4 was the NATO and US cryptographically secure IFF mode used for decades. Its crypto was dated and vulnerable, and the US DoD set a deadline around 2020 to transition to Mode 5, with NATO members following. Some partners still operate Mode 4 equipment.","c":"Radar","k":["IFF Mode 4"],"r":["Mode 5","Mark XII"]},{"t":"Mode 5","s":"Current encrypted military IFF mode with stronger crypto and Level 2 position reports","d":"Mode 5 uses modern encryption and spread-spectrum style waveforms, with Level 1 giving a secure identity reply and Level 2 adding platform ID and GPS-derived position in the reply. It is the US and NATO standard secure IFF mode, defined in STANAG 4193 and certified through the DoD AIMS Program Office. Products integrating IFF need AIMS certification and NSA-approved crypto handling.","c":"Radar","k":["IFF Mode 5","Mode 5 Level 2"],"r":["Mark XIIA","AIMS","Mode 4"]},{"t":"Mode S","s":"Civil secondary radar mode with selective addressing via a 24-bit aircraft address","d":"Mode S lets interrogators address aircraft individually using a unique 24-bit ICAO address and carries data such as callsign, altitude and enhanced surveillance parameters. Its extended squitter (1090ES) is the main carrier for ADS-B. Military transponders support it for civil airspace access, and its broadcasts can reveal military aircraft to open-source flight trackers.","c":"Radar","k":["Mode Select","1090ES"],"w":"Aviation transponder interrogation modes","r":["ADS-B","Transponder"]},{"t":"Modulation","s":"Varying a carrier's amplitude, frequency or phase to carry information","d":"The process of varying a carrier wave's amplitude, frequency or phase to encode information. Analog types include AM and FM; digital types include ASK, FSK, PSK (BPSK, QPSK), QAM and OFDM, which trade spectral efficiency against robustness. Identifying the modulation is an early step in COMINT and EW signal analysis.","c":"Comms","k":["AM","FM","PSK","FSK","QAM"],"w":"Signal modulation","r":["OFDM","Automatic modulation classification"]},{"t":"MOE","x":"Measure of Effectiveness","s":"A measure of whether an action is achieving the desired effect","d":"A measure of effectiveness assesses changes in system behavior, capability or the operational environment tied to an objective, answering \"are we doing the right things?\" A measure of performance (MOP) instead checks whether a task was done as planned, answering \"are we doing things right?\" In test and evaluation, MOEs and MOPs are also used to judge how well a system meets mission needs.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Measure of Effectiveness","MOP","Measure of performance"],"r":["MOP","MOS","OT&E","Assessment","BDA"]},{"t":"MOLLE","x":"Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment","s":"Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment: the system for attaching pouches to gear","d":"MOLLE is the US load-carrying system introduced around 1997 that lets users attach pouches and accessories to vests, packs and belts. People say MOLLE when they mean the PALS webbing grid it uses. A \"MOLLE-compatible\" product mounts on that grid.","c":"Ground","w":"MOLLE","r":["PALS","Plate carrier"]},{"t":"Molniya orbit","s":"12-hour HEO at 63.4 degrees inclination with apogee over the northern hemisphere","d":"A Molniya orbit is a highly elliptical orbit with a period of about 12 hours, inclination near 63.4 degrees and apogee near 40,000 km over the northern hemisphere. The 63.4 degree critical inclination stops the apogee from drifting, so it stays over high latitudes for about eight hours per pass. The Soviet Union developed it for communications to its far north, and Russia still uses it for early warning and communications.","c":"Space","w":"Molniya orbit","r":["HEO","Tundra orbit","Critical inclination"]},{"t":"Monopole antenna","s":"Single vertical element over a ground plane, such as a whip","d":"A single conductor mounted over a ground plane, which acts as the missing half of a dipole; a quarter-wave monopole is the typical vehicle and manpack whip antenna. Its omnidirectional azimuth coverage suits tactical radios.","c":"RF","k":["whip antenna","quarter-wave"],"w":"Monopole antenna","r":["Dipole antenna"]},{"t":"Monopulse","s":"Angle measurement from one pulse by comparing sum and difference beams","d":"Monopulse forms sum and difference patterns, by amplitude or phase comparison, and derives the target angle within the beam from their ratio on a single pulse. It is far more accurate and jam-resistant than sequential lobing and is standard in tracking radars, phased arrays and missile seekers. Angle accuracy improves with SNR, often reaching a small fraction of the beamwidth.","c":"Radar","k":["monopulse radar","sum and difference"],"w":"Monopulse radar","r":["Cross-eye jamming","Cross-polarization jamming","Conical scan","Angle accuracy"]},{"t":"Monostatic radar","s":"Radar with collocated transmitter and receiver, usually sharing one antenna","d":"Most radars are monostatic: the transmitter and receiver share an antenna or sit close together. The geometry is simple and synchronization is internal, but the transmitter reveals the receiver's position to ESM. Low observable shaping is optimized mainly against monostatic threats.","c":"Radar","k":["monostatic"],"r":["Bistatic radar"]},{"t":"MOOTW","x":"Military Operations Other Than War","s":"Military operations other than war: peacekeeping, disaster relief and similar","d":"Military Operations Other Than War: a US doctrinal category from the 1990s for operations short of major combat, such as peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, noncombatant evacuation and counterdrug support. Later doctrine replaced it with the range of military operations and terms such as stability operations, though MOOTW is still used informally and in some allied militaries.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Military operations other than war","r":["Peacekeeping","HADR"]},{"t":"MOP","x":"Measure of Performance","s":"Metric of a system's technical performance, such as range or data rate","d":"MOPs are measurable technical characteristics that contribute to MOEs, such as detection range, latency or accuracy. They are verified in developmental test. Specifications are usually written in terms of MOPs.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Measure of Performance"],"r":["MOE","MOS","DT&E"],"h":"MOP – Measure of Performance"},{"t":"MOP","x":"Modulation On Pulse","s":"Intentional modulation within a radar pulse, such as chirp or phase codes","d":"Intentional intrapulse modulation applied to a radar pulse, such as linear frequency modulation (chirp) or phase coding (Barker, polyphase), usually for pulse compression. ES receivers detect and classify MOP to identify emitters and recognize LPI waveforms. It is distinct from unintentional modulation on pulse, which comes from hardware imperfections.","c":"EW","k":["intrapulse modulation","intentional modulation on pulse","IMOP"],"r":["UMOP","Pulse compression","Chirp"],"h":"MOP – Modulation On Pulse"},{"t":"MOPP","x":"Mission Oriented Protective Posture","s":"Levels 0 to 4 for how much CBRN protective gear troops wear","d":"MOPP levels define protective gear: MOPP 0 has gear available; MOPP 1 adds the overgarment; MOPP 2 adds overboots; MOPP 3 adds the mask and hood; MOPP 4 adds gloves for full protection. Higher levels sharply reduce performance from heat and restricted dexterity, so commanders balance risk. Equipment interfaces such as displays and controls must remain usable with MOPP 4 gloves and masks.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["MOPP 4","MOPP levels","MOPP gear"],"w":"MOPP (protective gear)","r":["JSLIST","CBRN"]},{"t":"MORA","x":"Modular Open RF Architecture","s":"US Army standard for sharing RF apertures and resources among systems","d":"The US Army's Modular Open RF Architecture defines interfaces and messaging that let different systems share antennas, RF front ends and processing resources on a platform. It is part of CMOSS and uses VITA 49 for data transport.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Modular Open RF Architecture"],"r":["CMOSS","VITA 49"]},{"t":"Mortar","s":"Short, high-angle tube weapon fired by infantry units: 60, 81, 120mm","d":"Mortars are simple, high-angle indirect fire weapons organic to infantry companies and battalions: the US uses 60mm M224, 81mm M252 and 120mm M120/M121. They fire high explosive, smoke and illumination rounds, and guided rounds exist for 120mm. Counter-mortar radars and C-RAM systems defend against them.","c":"Weapons","k":["M224","M252","M120"],"w":"Mortar (weapon)","r":["Indirect fire","Counter-battery","C-RAM"]},{"t":"MOS","x":"Measure of Suitability","s":"Metric of how well a system can be sustained and used in the field","d":"MOSs cover reliability, availability, maintainability, transportability, training, human factors and safety. Many systems that work technically fail operational test on suitability, which is why RAM and supportability deserve early attention.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Measure of Suitability"],"r":["MOE","MOP","RAM"],"h":"MOS – Measure of Suitability"},{"t":"MOS","x":"Military Occupational Specialty","s":"Military occupational specialty: an Army or Marine job code, such as 11B infantryman","d":"An MOS identifies a soldier's or Marine's job, for example Army 11B (infantryman), 25U (signal support systems specialist) or 17C (cyber operations specialist), and Marine 0311 (rifleman). It determines training and assignments. Product training materials are often targeted at specific MOSs.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["AFSC","Rating","NEC"],"h":"MOS – Military Occupational Specialty"},{"t":"MOSA","x":"Modular Open Systems Approach","s":"Required approach using modular design and open interfaces for competition and upgrades","d":"MOSA, required by 10 USC 4401 for major programs since the FY2017 NDAA, uses modular design with widely supported, consensus-based interface standards so components can be competed, upgraded and reused. Standards such as SOSA, CMOSS, FACE and VICTORY support it. Vendors should expect to deliver interface definitions with government rights.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Modular Open Systems Approach","open architecture","10 USC 4401"],"r":["SOSA","CMOSS","FACE","VICTORY","OMS","Data rights"]},{"t":"Mosaic warfare","s":"DARPA concept of composing many simple systems into adaptable kill webs","d":"Mosaic warfare is a concept developed by DARPA's Strategic Technology Office around 2017 that envisions assembling many lower-cost, single-function systems into flexible force packages, like tiles in a mosaic. It emphasizes automated composition of effects chains and decision support. It influenced later JADC2 and kill web thinking.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["Kill web","JADC2"]},{"t":"MPRF","x":"Medium Pulse Repetition Frequency","s":"Pulse mode ambiguous in both range and Doppler, resolved with multiple PRFs","d":"Medium PRF, typically around 10 to 30 kHz in X-band fighters, accepts ambiguity in both range and Doppler and resolves it by cycling several PRFs and correlating detections (for example 3-of-8 schemes). It gives good all-aspect look-down detection, including tail-chase targets, at the cost of more processing and sidelobe clutter. It is the workhorse of modern airborne fire control radars.","c":"Radar","k":["medium PRF"],"r":["PRF","LPRF","HPRF","Pulse-Doppler radar"]},{"t":"MQ-1C Gray Eagle","s":"Army General Atomics MALE UAS for division-level ISR and strike","d":"The MQ-1C Gray Eagle is the Army's version of the Predator family, with a heavy-fuel engine, used for ISR, communications relay and Hellfire strike. It is teamed with AH-64E Apaches in MUM-T operations. The Army moved in 2025 to stop further investment in it as part of its transformation effort.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Gray Eagle","ER Gray Eagle"],"w":"General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle","r":["MQ-9 Reaper","MUM-T"]},{"t":"MQ-25 Stingray","s":"Boeing carrier-based uncrewed aerial refueling aircraft","d":"MQ-25 Stingray is the Navy's first carrier-based operational UAS, built by Boeing to provide aerial refueling and free F/A-18s from tanker duty, with a secondary ISR role. It will be controlled from carrier-based Unmanned Mission Control stations. Program milestones have slipped, with fleet introduction expected later this decade.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Stingray"],"w":"Boeing MQ-25 Stingray","r":["AAR","CSG"]},{"t":"MQ-4C Triton","s":"US Navy high-altitude long-endurance maritime surveillance drone","d":"The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is a high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aircraft for broad area maritime surveillance, derived from the RQ-4 Global Hawk. Its multi-INT configuration (IFC-4) adds SIGINT capability, taking on part of the retired EP-3E's mission. Australia also operates it.","c":"SIGINT","k":["Triton","MQ-4C"],"w":"Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton","r":["EP-3E ARIES II","SIGINT","RQ-4 Global Hawk","P-8A Poseidon"]},{"t":"MQ-9 Reaper","s":"General Atomics medium-altitude long-endurance armed UAS","d":"The MQ-9 Reaper is a turboprop MALE UAS used by the US Air Force and many allies for ISR and strike, carrying Hellfire, GBU-12 and other weapons. It is flown from a GCS via line-of-sight and satellite links, often with launch and recovery crews forward and mission crews in the US. The Air Force is drawing down its fleet, but the MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian variants are selling widely abroad.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Reaper","MQ-9B","SkyGuardian","Predator B"],"w":"General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper","r":["Group 5 UAS","MALE","Hellfire","GCS"]},{"t":"MRAP","x":"Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected","s":"Armored vehicles with V-shaped hulls designed to survive IED blasts","d":"MRAPs were rushed into service in 2007 to protect troops from IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan, using V-shaped hulls that deflect blast. They are heavy and have limited off-road mobility. Many now serve as bases for C-UAS and route clearance systems.","c":"Ground","k":["M-ATV","Cougar","MaxxPro"],"w":"Mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle","r":["IED","JLTV","Route clearance"]},{"t":"MRE","x":"Meal, Ready-to-Eat","s":"Meal, Ready-to-Eat: the US military's packaged field ration","d":"MREs are self-contained individual rations with a flameless heater, designed for long shelf life. They are a familiar part of field life and frequent subject of jokes. Their packaging dimensions sometimes set space allowances in gear.","c":"Ground","k":["Meal Ready to Eat","ration"],"w":"Meal, Ready-to-Eat","r":["Class I","Ruck"]},{"t":"MRL","x":"Manufacturing Readiness Level","s":"Scale from 1 to 10 measuring maturity of the manufacturing process","d":"MRLs assess whether a product can be manufactured at quality, rate and cost. MRL 6 is expected around Milestone B, MRL 8 at Milestone C for LRIP, and MRL 9 for full-rate production. The DoD Manufacturing Readiness Level Deskbook defines the criteria.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Manufacturing Readiness Level","MRA"],"w":"Manufacturing readiness level","r":["TRL","LRIP","Milestone C"]},{"t":"MRO","x":"Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul","s":"Commercial term for aircraft and equipment maintenance services","d":"MRO is the common industry term for maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses and activities. In defense it often refers to commercial providers supporting military aircraft, engines and components, sometimes under public-private partnerships with depots.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Maintenance Repair and Overhaul"],"r":["Depot","CLS"]},{"t":"MRTD","x":"Minimum Resolvable Temperature Difference","s":"Thermal imager metric combining sensitivity and resolution, measured with bar targets","d":"MRTD is the smallest temperature difference at which an observer can resolve a four-bar pattern of a given spatial frequency. It captures both NETD and MTF and feeds range performance models. Modern range prediction uses the NVIPM model from the Army's C5ISR Center (successor to NVESD), which builds on these measurements.","c":"Sensors","k":["MRT","minimum resolvable temperature"],"r":["NETD","Johnson criteria","NVIPM"]},{"t":"MRTFB","x":"Major Range and Test Facility Base","s":"The set of DoD ranges and test facilities designated as national test assets","d":"The MRTFB includes about two dozen major ranges and facilities such as White Sands Missile Range, Edwards AFB, the Pacific Missile Range Facility and the Arnold Engineering Development Complex. Industry may use them, with charges set by policy, and range scheduling is a frequent constraint on test programs.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Major Range and Test Facility Base","test range","ranges"],"r":["DT&E","6.6"]},{"t":"MSA","x":"Materiel Solution Analysis","s":"First MCA phase, where alternatives are studied and a preferred concept is chosen","d":"The phase between the Materiel Development Decision and Milestone A. The Analysis of Alternatives is completed, a preferred solution is selected, and cost, schedule and technical risks are assessed. Industry often contributes through RFIs, concept studies and market research during this phase.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Materiel Solution Analysis"],"r":["MDD","AoA","Milestone A"]},{"t":"M-SHORAD","x":"Maneuver Short Range Air Defense","s":"Army Stryker-mounted air defense with Stinger, Hellfire, 30mm and radar","d":"M-SHORAD Increment 1 put a Leonardo DRS turret on the Stryker with Stinger missiles, a 30mm cannon, machine gun and Hellfire, plus a radar, to protect maneuver forces against aircraft and drones. Later increments add directed energy and next-generation interceptors. Ukraine and the Middle East raised its priority as drones became pervasive.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Sgt Stout"],"r":["SHORAD","Stinger","DE M-SHORAD"]},{"t":"MSR","x":"Main Supply Route","s":"Main supply route: the primary road used for supply and movement in an area","d":"An MSR is the designated main route for logistics traffic, with alternate supply routes (ASRs) as backups. Routes are named, often after cars, animals or sports teams. Route status, such as open, restricted or closed, is a common feature in logistics tools.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["ASR","Alternate supply route"],"w":"Main supply route","r":["Lines of communication"]},{"t":"MTA","x":"Middle Tier of Acquisition","s":"Fast pathway to prototype or field within five years, outside JCIDS and milestones","d":"Created by Section 804 of the FY2016 NDAA and governed by DoDI 5000.80, MTA lets programs skip JCIDS requirements documents and the formal milestone process. It has two paths, rapid prototyping and rapid fielding, each expected to complete within five years. MTA is one of the most common ways a promising commercial or prototype product gets onto a funded government path.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Section 804","middle tier","DoDI 5000.80"],"r":["Rapid Prototyping","Rapid Fielding","Section 804","OTA"]},{"t":"MTBF","x":"Mean Time Between Failures","s":"Average operating time between failures of a repairable item","d":"MTBF is a core reliability metric, often split into variants such as MTBOMF (operational mission failures) or MTBCF (critical failures). Predicted MTBF from handbooks often differs from demonstrated MTBF in test, so programs require reliability growth testing.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Mean Time Between Failures","MTBOMF","MTBCF","MTBM","MTTF"],"w":"Mean time between failures","r":["RAM","MTTR","Reliability growth","MIL-HDBK-217"]},{"t":"MTC","x":"Missile Track Custody","s":"Space Force MEO missile tracking layer between LEO and GEO","d":"Missile Track Custody, also called Resilient Missile Warning/Missile Tracking MEO, is a Space Force Space Systems Command program to field infrared satellites in medium Earth orbit, in epochs, for missile warning and tracking. MEO trades coverage per satellite against the closer range of LEO. Millennium Space Systems received an early Epoch 1 award. Some sources write MTT for missile tracking or MW/MT for the overall mission.","c":"Space","k":["MEO MW/MT","Resilient MW/MT","MTT"],"r":["Tracking Layer","Next-Gen OPIR","MEO"]},{"t":"MTC2","x":"Maritime Tactical Command and Control","s":"Navy program replacing GCCS-M with modern C2 software","d":"MTC2 is the Navy program to replace GCCS-M with modern, modular C2 applications for planning, tasking and maritime operations, delivered with agile software practices. It supports maritime operations centers and fleet staffs. It is one of the main Navy C2 applications aligned with Project Overmatch.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["GCCS-M","Project Overmatch"]},{"t":"MTCR","x":"Missile Technology Control Regime","s":"Multilateral regime restricting export of missiles and large drones","d":"The MTCR limits transfers of systems able to deliver at least a 500 kg payload to 300 km or more, including large unmanned aircraft, and related technology. The US has reinterpreted how it applies MTCR policy to large UAS more than once, most recently in 2025, to ease drone exports. Long-range drone and missile makers must account for it in export plans.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Missile Technology Control Regime"],"w":"Missile Technology Control Regime","r":["Wassenaar Arrangement","ITAR"]},{"t":"MTD","x":"Moving Target Detector","s":"MTI followed by a Doppler filter bank and per-filter CFAR thresholds","d":"The moving target detector, developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory for air traffic control radars, combines clutter cancellation, a bank of Doppler filters, clutter maps and adaptive thresholds. It improves detection of targets in clutter over plain MTI and handles weather and tangential targets better. Its principles carry into most modern surveillance radar processors.","c":"Radar","k":["moving target detection"],"r":["MTI","Doppler filter bank","Clutter map"]},{"t":"MTI","x":"Moving Target Indication","s":"Processing that cancels stationary clutter by comparing successive pulses","d":"Classic MTI subtracts or filters echoes from consecutive pulses so stationary returns cancel and moving targets remain. It is simple and suits low PRF ground radars, but has blind speeds and cannot separate targets by velocity. The term is also used broadly for any moving-target mode, as in GMTI and AMTI.","c":"Radar","k":["moving target indicator","delay line canceller"],"w":"Moving target indication","r":["MTD","Blind speed","GMTI"]},{"t":"MTOE","x":"Modified Table of Organization and Equipment","s":"The Army document listing a unit's authorized personnel and equipment","d":"A modified table of organization and equipment shows exactly what people and equipment a specific Army unit is authorized; the base version is the TOE. If a system is not on the MTOE, the unit usually has no official way to keep, fund or maintain it. Other services have equivalents, such as the Marine T/O&E.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Modified Table of Organization and Equipment","TOE","table of organization and equipment","TO&E","T/O&E"],"r":["TDA","LIN","BOI","Billet","Readiness"]},{"t":"MTS-B","x":"Multi-Spectral Targeting System B","s":"Raytheon AN/DAS-1 EO/IR targeting turret used on the MQ-9 Reaper","d":"MTS-B (AN/DAS-1) is a Raytheon turret combining MWIR, daylight and low-light TV, laser rangefinder and designator and laser illuminator, famously the main sensor on the MQ-9 Reaper. The smaller MTS-A (AN/AAS-52) equips the MQ-1C and other aircraft. Raytheon has offered later MTS variants with improved sensors.","c":"Sensors","k":["AN/DAS-1","MTS-A","Multi-Spectral Targeting System"],"r":["Gimbal","Laser designator","Lynx"]},{"t":"MTTR","x":"Mean Time To Repair","s":"Average time to restore a failed item to operation","d":"MTTR measures maintainability, usually counting active repair time at a given maintenance level. Design for quick access, built-in test and line-replaceable units reduces it.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Mean Time To Repair"],"w":"Mean time to repair","r":["RAM","MTBF","LRU","BIT"]},{"t":"Mud","s":"Brevity: radar warning receiver indicates a surface-based threat","d":"MUD reports a radar warning indication from a surface threat, such as a surface-to-air missile radar, often with type and bearing. In slang, \"mud\" also refers to ground attack missions and the \"Mudhen\" F-15E. NAKED means no RWR indications.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Spiked","Naked"]},{"t":"MultiCam","s":"A commercial camouflage pattern by Crye Precision, widely used by US and allied forces","d":"MultiCam is a multi-environment camouflage pattern designed to work across varied terrain and lighting. The Army's OCP pattern derives from a closely related Crye design. Gear makers commonly offer products in MultiCam or OCP.","c":"Ground","w":"MultiCam","r":["OCP","Coyote brown"]},{"t":"Multifunction radar","s":"Single radar performing search, track, fire control and other roles by interleaving","d":"A multifunction radar (MFR) uses electronic beam steering to switch rapidly among tasks, replacing separate search, tracking and illumination radars. Examples include AN/SPY-1 and SPY-6, AN/TPY-2, SAMPSON and modern fighter AESAs. Its capacity is limited by timeline and energy, managed by the radar resource manager.","c":"Radar","k":["MFR"],"r":["Radar resource management","AESA"]},{"t":"Multimode seeker","s":"Seeker combining two or more sensors, e.g. MMW radar, IIR and laser","d":"Multimode seekers fuse sensors such as millimeter-wave radar, imaging IR, semi-active laser and passive RF so the weapon works in more conditions and resists countermeasures. Examples are SDB II's tri-mode seeker, JAGM's dual mode and LRASM. The trade-off is cost and integration complexity.","c":"Weapons","k":["dual-mode seeker","tri-mode seeker"],"r":["Seeker","SDB","JAGM"]},{"t":"Multi-orbit","s":"Using GEO, MEO and LEO SATCOM together for resilience and performance","d":"Multi-orbit SATCOM combines services from different orbits, for example GEO for broad coverage and LEO for low latency, with terminals or networks that switch between them. DoD sees it as a resilience measure against jamming and outages. It demands multi-band or electronically steered terminals and network management that can route across providers.","c":"Comms","k":["multi-orbit SATCOM","hybrid SATCOM"],"r":["COMSATCOM","Phased array user terminal","Resilience"]},{"t":"Multipath","s":"Echoes arriving by both direct and reflected paths, causing fades and angle errors","d":"Multipath occurs when radar energy reaches a target both directly and via reflection off the sea or ground, producing interference lobes and nulls in elevation coverage. For low-altitude targets over water it corrupts elevation measurement, a long-standing problem for tracking sea-skimming missiles. Higher frequencies, narrow beams, frequency diversity and specialized low-angle tracking algorithms reduce its effect.","c":"Radar","k":["multipath propagation","lobing"],"w":"Multipath propagation","r":["Ducting","Radar horizon"]},{"t":"Multispectral imaging","s":"Imaging in a handful of discrete spectral bands, such as visible plus NIR and SWIR","d":"Multispectral sensors capture a few to roughly a dozen broad bands, enabling vegetation indices, camouflage detection and better discrimination than a single-band camera. Commercial satellites such as Maxar's WorldView series and Sentinel-2 provide multispectral data widely used for defense analysis. Military gimbals increasingly fuse multiple bands in one display.","c":"Sensors","k":["MSI","multispectral"],"w":"Multispectral imaging","r":["Hyperspectral imaging","Image fusion"]},{"t":"Multistatic radar","s":"Network of several transmitters and receivers combined into one radar picture","d":"Multistatic radars fuse returns from multiple separated nodes, gaining spatial diversity against target fluctuation, stealth shaping and jamming, and resilience if a node is lost. They need precise time synchronization, georegistration and data links. Multistatic active sonobuoy fields are the underwater analogue.","c":"Radar","k":["netted radar","multistatic"],"w":"Multistatic radar","r":["Bistatic radar","Passive radar","MIMO radar"]},{"t":"Multiyear procurement","s":"Contract covering up to five years of production in one award, with congressional approval","d":"Multiyear procurement, authorized under 10 USC 3501, lets DoD buy several years of production in one contract, giving suppliers stable demand and the government lower unit costs. Each multiyear requires congressional authorization. It is common on mature programs such as munitions and aircraft.","c":"Acquisition","k":["MYP"],"r":["FRP","Procurement appropriation","EOQ"]},{"t":"MUM-T","x":"Manned-Unmanned Teaming","s":"Crewed platforms controlling or receiving data from unmanned systems in a mission","d":"MUM-T is the integration of crewed and uncrewed platforms so they share sensor data and the crewed platform can direct the unmanned one. Army AH-64E crews, for example, can receive video and control the sensors of Gray Eagle and Shadow UAS. The levels of interoperability defined in STANAG 4586 describe how deep that control goes.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["manned-unmanned teaming"],"r":["LOI","STANAG 4586","Loyal wingman","AH-64 Apache"]},{"t":"MUOS","x":"Mobile User Objective System","s":"US Navy UHF narrowband SATCOM system using 3G-style WCDMA","d":"MUOS is the US narrowband SATCOM system, with five Lockheed Martin GEO satellites (four operational plus an on-orbit spare) launched 2012 to 2016. Each carries a WCDMA cellular-style payload giving handheld and manpack terminals much more capacity than legacy UHF channels, plus a legacy UHF payload. Terminals such as the AN/PRC-155 and AN/PRC-117G with MUOS waveform use it. The Space Force has taken responsibility for narrowband SATCOM acquisition, and a MUOS service life extension is underway.","c":"Comms","w":"Mobile User Objective System","r":["TACSAT","AN/PRC-158","UHF SATCOM","UFO","IW waveform","Narrowband SATCOM"],"k":["MUOS SLE"]},{"t":"Murder board","s":"A tough rehearsal briefing where reviewers grill the presenter","d":"A murder board is a practice session before an important brief, where colleagues ask hard questions to expose weak points. Vendors may face one internally before a big government meeting, and government teams use them before senior reviews. It improves the real brief.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Read-ahead"]},{"t":"Music","s":"Brevity: electronic deceptive jamming from an aircraft","d":"MUSIC refers to airborne electronic deceptive jamming. Pilots call it to indicate jamming is being used or detected. Related calls cover radar and comms jamming.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Spiked","Brevity code"]},{"t":"MVCR","x":"Minimum Viable Capability Release","s":"First software release with enough capability to field operationally","d":"The MVCR is the first fieldable release under the Software Acquisition Pathway, and DoDI 5000.87 expects it within one year of the program entering execution. Subsequent releases are expected at least annually.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Minimum Viable Capability Release"],"r":["MVP","Software Acquisition Pathway"]},{"t":"MVP","x":"Minimum Viable Product","s":"Earliest software version delivered to users to test assumptions and get feedback","d":"In the Software Acquisition Pathway, the MVP is an early version with enough features to be used and evaluated, delivered quickly to learn from users. It precedes the Minimum Viable Capability Release. The term is borrowed directly from commercial product development.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Minimum Viable Product"],"w":"Minimum viable product","r":["MVCR","Software Acquisition Pathway"]},{"t":"MWIR","x":"Mid-Wave Infrared","s":"Infrared band of roughly 3 to 5 µm, favored for long-range cooled thermal imaging","d":"MWIR sensors, usually cooled InSb, HgCdTe or T2SL, give high resolution with smaller optics than LWIR and perform well in hot, humid conditions. Hot targets such as engine exhaust and missile plumes are especially bright in MWIR, so it dominates missile warning and IRST. Most long-range targeting pods and ISR gimbals use MWIR.","c":"Sensors","k":["mid-wave infrared","midwave IR"],"r":["LWIR","InSb","Cooled detector"]},{"t":"NAC","x":"North Atlantic Council","s":"North Atlantic Council: NATO's principal political decision-making body","d":"The North Atlantic Council: NATO's senior political body, where each member is represented by a permanent representative (ambassador), or by ministers or heads of state at summits, and decisions are taken by consensus. It is chaired by the Secretary General, currently Mark Rutte, who took office in October 2024. NATO summits and ministerials are meetings of the NAC.","c":"NATO & Allied","w":"North Atlantic Council","r":["NATO","Military Committee"]},{"t":"NAF","x":"Numbered Air Force","s":"Numbered Air Force: an operational Air Force command above wings","d":"Numbered Air Forces, such as Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) or Seventh Air Force in Korea, provide operational leadership to wings and often serve as a component's air headquarters. Some are functional, like Sixteenth Air Force for information warfare. They are commanded by major or lieutenant generals.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Numbered Air Force","r":["Wing","Service component"]},{"t":"NAI","x":"Named Area of Interest","s":"Area where activity is expected to confirm or deny an enemy course of action","d":"Named Area of Interest: a geospatial area or systems node or link against which information that will satisfy a specific requirement can be collected, usually to confirm or deny an adversary course of action. NAIs come out of IPB and drive where sensors are pointed. On a map they appear as numbered polygons, and C2 and mission planning tools need to model them as first-class objects.","c":"Intelligence","r":["TAI","IPB","Collection management"]},{"t":"NAICS code","x":"North American Industry Classification System","s":"Industry code on each solicitation that sets the small business size standard","d":"Each solicitation is assigned one NAICS code, and the SBA size standard for that code, by revenue or employees, determines whether a firm is small for that procurement. Register all relevant NAICS codes in SAM.gov. A related Product and Service Code (PSC) classifies what is being bought.","c":"Acquisition","k":["NAICS","size standard","PSC","Product and Service Code"],"w":"North American Industry Classification System","r":["Small business set-aside","SAM.gov"]},{"t":"Naked","s":"Brevity: no radar warning receiver indications","d":"NAKED means the RWR shows no threats. It tells a controller or wingman that the aircraft is not being tracked. It is the counterpart to SPIKED and MUD.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Spiked","Mud"]},{"t":"Narrowband SATCOM","s":"Low data rate UHF military SATCOM for small mobile terminals","d":"Narrowband SATCOM refers to UHF military satellite communications supporting handheld, manpack and vehicle terminals at low data rates. It is provided by MUOS and remaining legacy UHF satellites, with the Space Force running narrowband acquisition and studying commercial options. Demand far exceeds capacity in many theaters.","c":"Comms","r":["MUOS","UHF SATCOM","IW waveform"]},{"t":"NASAMS","x":"National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System","s":"Kongsberg/Raytheon short to medium range system firing AMRAAM","d":"NASAMS fires AMRAAM, AMRAAM-ER and AIM-9X from ground launchers, with Sentinel radars and a fire distribution center. It protects the Washington, DC area and has performed well in Ukraine. Its use of air-to-air missiles makes munitions supply easier for air forces already buying them.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","w":"NASAMS","r":["AMRAAM","SHORAD"]},{"t":"NASIC","x":"National Air and Space Intelligence Center","s":"Air Force center analyzing foreign air, space and missile threats","d":"National Air and Space Intelligence Center: the US Air Force's primary source of foreign air and space threat intelligence, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. It produces S&TI on foreign aircraft, missiles and space systems, and publishes the unclassified Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat report periodically with DIA. Space intelligence now also comes from the Space Force's National Space Intelligence Center.","c":"Organizations","w":"National Air and Space Intelligence Center","r":["S&TI","DIA"]},{"t":"National Guard","s":"State militia forces that also serve as a federal reserve component","d":"The Army and Air National Guard serve their governors under state status or Title 32 and can be federalized under Title 10. They handle domestic emergencies and deploy abroad. Each state has an adjutant general commanding its Guard.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["ARNG","ANG","Guard"],"w":"National Guard (United States)","r":["Title 32","Title 10","NGB"]},{"t":"National Spectrum Strategy","s":"2023 US strategy identifying bands to study for repurposing and sharing","d":"A US strategy released in November 2023 that identified about 2,786 MHz of spectrum for in-depth study for possible repurposing or sharing, including the lower 3 GHz (3.1 to 3.45 GHz) and 7/8 GHz (7.125 to 8.4 GHz) bands heavily used by DoD. Studies under it, together with later legislation, shape which military bands may be shared with commercial users.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["NSS","US National Spectrum Strategy"],"r":["Lower 3 GHz band","Dynamic spectrum access","NTIA"]},{"t":"NATO","x":"North Atlantic Treaty Organization","s":"North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the 32-member transatlantic alliance","d":"The North Atlantic Treaty Organization: the political and military alliance founded by the 1949 Washington Treaty, now with 32 members after Finland joined in 2023 and Sweden in 2024. Decisions are made by consensus in the North Atlantic Council, and the military side is led by the Military Committee and two strategic commands, ACO and ACT. NATO standards (STANAGs) and procurement agencies (NSPA, NCIA) make it a significant market in its own right.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["OTAN","the Alliance"],"w":"NATO","r":["Article 5","SHAPE","ACT","STANAG"]},{"t":"NATO classification levels","s":"NATO UNCLASSIFIED, RESTRICTED, CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET and COSMIC TOP SECRET","d":"NATO information is marked NATO UNCLASSIFIED, NATO RESTRICTED, NATO CONFIDENTIAL, NATO SECRET or COSMIC TOP SECRET, the last being NATO's highest level. ATOMAL is an additional marking for US or UK atomic information released to NATO. NATO RESTRICTED has no exact US equivalent and is generally protected like US CUI or FOUO. Systems handling NATO information need accreditation under NATO security policy.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["NATO RESTRICTED","NATO SECRET","COSMIC TOP SECRET","CTS","ATOMAL","NU","NR","NS"],"r":["NATO","FVEY"]},{"t":"NATO DIANA","x":"Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic","s":"NATO's defense innovation accelerator for dual-use startups","d":"Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic: a NATO body launched in 2023 that runs challenge programmes funding startups and small firms working on dual-use technologies such as energy resilience, sensing, secure information sharing and human health. Selected companies get funding and access to a network of accelerator sites and test centers across allied nations. Headquarters are in London, with a European office in Tallinn.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["DIANA"],"w":"Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic","r":["NATO Innovation Fund","ACT"]},{"t":"NATO EW bands","s":"NATO letter bands A through M (0 to 100 GHz) used in EW and ECM","d":"The NATO band designations used in electronic warfare: A 0 to 250 MHz, B 250 to 500 MHz, C 500 MHz to 1 GHz, D 1 to 2 GHz, E 2 to 3 GHz, F 3 to 4 GHz, G 4 to 6 GHz, H 6 to 8 GHz, I 8 to 10 GHz, J 10 to 20 GHz, K 20 to 40 GHz, L 40 to 60 GHz, M 60 to 100 GHz. Jammer and RWR coverage is often stated in these bands (for example E to J band), and the letters clash with IEEE radar bands, so always confirm which scheme is in use.","c":"RF","k":["NATO bands","ECM bands","A to M bands","EU/NATO/US ECM bands"],"r":["IEEE radar bands","A band (NATO)","J band (NATO)"]},{"t":"NATO Force Model","s":"NATO's 2022 force readiness model with tiers of up to 300,000 ready troops","d":"The force structure model agreed at the 2022 Madrid summit and implemented from 2024, replacing the NATO Response Force. It assigns forces to readiness tiers, with well over 300,000 troops at high readiness (within 30 days) and more within 180 days, pre-assigned to SACEUR's regional plans. The Allied Reaction Force sits within it.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["NFM"],"r":["NRF","ARF","SACEUR"]},{"t":"NATO frequency bands","s":"A through M lettering of frequency bands used by NATO and the EW community","d":"The NATO (formerly ECM) band designations run from A (below 250 MHz) through M (60 to 100 GHz), for example E/F roughly matches IEEE S-band and I/J roughly matches X- and Ku-band. EW specs and threat descriptions often use these letters, which collide with IEEE letters of different meaning, such as NATO C-band (500 MHz to 1 GHz) versus IEEE C-band (4 to 8 GHz).","c":"Radar","k":["ECM bands","EU/NATO/US bands"],"r":["IEEE radar bands"]},{"t":"NATO Innovation Fund","s":"Roughly 1 billion euro venture fund backed by most NATO allies","d":"A multi-sovereign venture capital fund, launched in 2023 with about 1 billion euros committed by most allies, that invests in early-stage companies developing deep tech with defense and security applications, such as AI, space, biotechnology and advanced materials. It operates independently of NATO's command structure and complements DIANA.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["NIF"],"r":["NATO DIANA"]},{"t":"NATO phonetic alphabet","s":"Spelling alphabet for radio: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and so on","d":"The internationally used spelling alphabet is Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu. Military users name units, grid zones and objectives with it, and many slang terms (Charlie Mike, Oscar Mike) come from it. Numbers have standard pronunciations too, such as \"niner\" for 9 and \"tree\" for 3.","c":"Comms","k":["Phonetic alphabet","ICAO alphabet","Niner"],"w":"NATO phonetic alphabet","r":["Proword"]},{"t":"NATO reporting name","s":"Western code names for Soviet, Russian and Chinese equipment, like Flanker","d":"Code names assigned by NATO's Air Standardization Coordinating Committee (now handled through the Five Eyes Air Force Interoperability Council) to Soviet, Russian and some Chinese military equipment, because the real designations were often unknown. The first letter shows the type: F fighters, B bombers, C cargo and transport, H helicopters, M miscellaneous; for fixed-wing aircraft, one syllable means propeller-driven and two syllables jet. Missiles get a numeric designator plus a name, such as SA-21 Growler. They remain in wide use in intelligence and threat libraries.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["reporting name","ASCC name"],"w":"NATO reporting name","r":["Flanker","SA-21 Growler","AA, AS, SA, SS designators"]},{"t":"NATO space domain","s":"NATO's recognition of space as an operational domain, adopted in 2019","d":"NATO declared space an operational domain in December 2019 and later established the NATO Space Centre at Allied Air Command, Ramstein, to coordinate space support to operations. In 2021 allies agreed that attacks to, from or within space could trigger Article 5. NATO relies on member nations' and commercial satellites, through initiatives such as the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS).","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["NATO Space Centre","APSS"],"r":["Counterspace","USSPACECOM"]},{"t":"Naval Operational Architecture","s":"Navy network, data and C2 architecture delivered through Project Overmatch","d":"The Naval Operational Architecture (NOA) is the Navy's term for the networks, data architecture and applications that link ships, aircraft, submarines and unmanned systems. Project Overmatch is the effort that builds it. It matters for integrators because Navy programs are expected to fit its data and transport approach.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["NOA"],"r":["Project Overmatch"]},{"t":"NavalX","s":"Department of the Navy innovation office with regional Tech Bridges","d":"NavalX connects Navy and Marine Corps organizations with commercial and academic innovators, largely through regional Tech Bridges co-located with industry hubs. It helps companies navigate Navy contracting and find sponsors.","c":"Organizations","k":["Tech Bridge","NavalX Tech Bridges"],"r":["AFWERX","DIU"]},{"t":"NavIC","x":"Navigation with Indian Constellation","s":"India's regional navigation satellite system, formerly IRNSS","d":"NavIC is India's regional satellite navigation system, using satellites in GEO and inclined geosynchronous orbits to cover India and surrounding areas. It provides a standard positioning service and an encrypted restricted service for authorized users. Several earlier satellites suffered atomic clock failures, and replacements are being launched.","c":"PNT","k":["IRNSS"],"r":["GNSS"]},{"t":"Navigation radar","s":"Commercial-style X- and S-band ship radars for collision avoidance and navigation","d":"Navigation radars on ships use X-band and S-band to show coastlines, buoys and other ships, often integrated with AIS and electronic charts. Warships carry them alongside combat radars, and their emissions are a common identifier for ESM. Small boats and unmanned surface vessels often rely on commercial units.","c":"Radar","k":["marine radar","ARPA radar"],"w":"Marine radar","r":["Maritime surveillance radar"]},{"t":"NAVWAR","x":"Navigation Warfare","s":"Military operations to protect friendly PNT and deny it to adversaries","d":"Navigation warfare covers ensuring friendly use of PNT, preventing adversary use, and doing so without unduly affecting civil users. It includes jamming and spoofing GNSS, protecting receivers and the GPS system, and alternative PNT. The Space Force operates GPS under a Mission Delta focused on navigation warfare.","c":"PNT","k":["navigation warfare"],"r":["GNSS jamming","GNSS spoofing","A-PNT"]},{"t":"NBC","x":"Nuclear, Biological and Chemical","s":"Older term for CBRN, still used in some equipment names","d":"NBC was the Cold War term for what is now called CBRN. It survives in vehicle and equipment names such as NBC overpressure systems.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["ABC"],"r":["CBRN"]},{"t":"NC3","x":"Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications","s":"Systems that let the President command US nuclear forces under any condition","d":"NC3 is the set of warning sensors, command centers, communications links and procedures that support Presidential authority over US nuclear forces. It includes systems such as survivable satellite communications, VLF/LF links and airborne command posts. USSTRATCOM is the operational lead, and NC3 modernization is a major multi-decade effort. Products in this space face the strictest assurance, cybersecurity and nuclear surety requirements.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["C3","USSTRATCOM","AEHF","ESS","SBIRS","FAB-T","Triad","EMP"],"k":["NC2","nuclear C3"]},{"t":"NCIA","x":"NATO Communications and Information Agency","s":"NATO Communications and Information Agency: C4ISR, cyber and IT for NATO","d":"NATO Communications and Information Agency: NATO's agency for C4ISR, cyber defense, IT and missile defense integration, headquartered in Brussels with sites at The Hague, Mons and elsewhere. It acquires and runs NATO's networks and command systems and procured the Maven Smart System for NATO in 2025. It publishes business opportunities open to firms from member nations.","c":"Organizations","k":["NCI Agency"],"w":"NATO Communications and Information Agency","r":["NSPA","FMN"]},{"t":"NCO","x":"Noncommissioned Officer","s":"Noncommissioned officer: an enlisted leader, roughly sergeant and above","d":"NCOs lead small units, train soldiers and run day-to-day operations. In the Army, NCOs start at corporal (E-4, while specialist is not an NCO); in the Marines at corporal; in the Air Force at staff sergeant (E-5); the Navy equivalent is petty officer (E-4 and up). NCOs are frequently the people who decide whether gear actually gets used.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Non-commissioned officer","Petty officer","Sergeant"],"w":"Non-commissioned officer","r":["SNCO","E-1 to E-9"]},{"t":"NCTR","x":"Non-Cooperative Target Recognition","s":"Identifying aircraft or ships from radar signatures without their cooperation","d":"NCTR identifies targets from features like jet engine modulation, high-range-resolution profiles and ISAR images, without relying on IFF replies. It supports combat identification when IFF fails or is not trusted. Signature databases and confidence thresholds are sensitive and generally classified.","c":"Radar","k":["non-cooperative target recognition","NCTI","HRR profile"],"r":["Micro-Doppler","ISAR","IFF","Combat identification"]},{"t":"NDA","x":"Non-Disclosure Agreement","s":"Agreement protecting proprietary information shared between companies or with government","d":"NDAs, sometimes called proprietary information agreements, protect technical and business information shared during teaming and pursuit. They do not authorize sharing export-controlled or classified information, which have their own rules. Government support contractors who see your data often must sign NDAs under DFARS 252.227-7025.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Non-Disclosure Agreement","PIA","proprietary information agreement"],"w":"Non-disclosure agreement","r":["Teaming agreement","ITAR"]},{"t":"NDAA","x":"National Defense Authorization Act","s":"Annual law that authorizes DoD programs and sets defense policy","d":"The NDAA has passed every year since 1961 and sets policy, authorizes funding levels and amends Title 10, often with dozens of acquisition provisions. It does not appropriate money; that comes from the defense appropriations act. Acquisition practitioners refer to provisions by NDAA year and section number, such as Section 804 of the FY2016 NDAA.","c":"Acquisition","k":["National Defense Authorization Act"],"w":"National Defense Authorization Act","r":["Section 804","PPBE","CR"]},{"t":"NDAA Section 848","s":"FY2020 NDAA ban on DoD buying or operating drones made by covered foreign firms","d":"Section 848 of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act bars DoD from operating or procuring UAS, and critical components such as flight controllers, radios, cameras and gimbals, made in or by entities of covered foreign countries, chiefly China. It is the basis for 'NDAA compliant' claims in the drone industry. Later laws extended similar limits to other federal agencies.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Section 848","NDAA compliant","FY20 NDAA 848"],"r":["American Security Drone Act","Blue UAS","DJI"]},{"t":"NDIS","x":"National Defense Industrial Strategy","s":"DoD's January 2024 strategy for resilient supply chains, workforce and acquisition","d":"The National Defense Industrial Strategy, released in January 2024, set four priorities: resilient supply chains, workforce readiness, flexible acquisition and economic deterrence. An implementation plan followed. Later administration priorities emphasized munitions production and commercial technology.","c":"Acquisition","k":["National Defense Industrial Strategy"],"r":["Industrial base","DPA Title III"]},{"t":"NDPP","x":"NATO Defence Planning Process","s":"NATO Defence Planning Process that assigns capability targets to each ally","d":"NATO Defence Planning Process: the four-year cycle in which NATO determines the forces and capabilities it requires, apportions capability targets to individual allies, and reviews their progress. The 2025 capability targets, agreed in June 2025, were the most demanding since the Cold War, with emphasis on air and missile defense, long-range fires and enablers. National defense budgets and procurement plans are shaped by them.","c":"NATO & Allied","r":["ACT","Defence Investment Pledge"]},{"t":"NDS","x":"National Defense Strategy","s":"National Defense Strategy: the Secretary of Defense's capstone strategy","d":"The National Defense Strategy: DoD's capstone strategic guidance, required by law and produced under the Secretary of Defense to translate the National Security Strategy into priorities for the force. The 2018 NDS made great power competition the priority, and the 2022 NDS called the PRC the pacing challenge and Russia an acute threat. The second Trump administration produced a new NDS that places greater weight on homeland defense and the Western Hemisphere. Industry reads it as the signal for where budgets will go.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"National Defense Strategy","r":["NSS","NMS","NPR","Pacing challenge","Pacing threat","Integrated deterrence"]},{"t":"NEC","x":"Navy Enlisted Classification","s":"Navy Enlisted Classification: a code for a sailor's specialized skill or qualification","d":"An NEC identifies specialized training or skills beyond a sailor's rating, such as qualification on a particular radar or weapon system. Billets on ships are coded with required NECs. A new system may require a new NEC and training pipeline.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["Rating","Billet"]},{"t":"Need to know","s":"Requirement that access to classified information be necessary for official duties","d":"Even a fully cleared person may only access specific classified information if they need it to perform their job. Holders of classified information are responsible for confirming need to know before disclosure. It is the principle behind compartments and SAPs.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["NTK"],"w":"Need to know","r":["PCL","SAP","SCI"]},{"t":"NEO","x":"Noncombatant Evacuation Operation","s":"Evacuating noncombatants such as US citizens from a dangerous foreign country","d":"A noncombatant evacuation operation is conducted to evacuate US citizens and designated others when their lives are threatened abroad, led by the State Department with military support. The 2021 Kabul evacuation is a well-known example. NEOs demand tracking of large numbers of civilians and coordination with embassies.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["HADR"]},{"t":"NET","x":"New Equipment Training","s":"Initial training delivered to units when they receive a new system","d":"NET teams, often including contractor trainers, teach operators and maintainers to use and sustain new equipment during fielding. Training materials and trainer qualifications are often contract deliverables. Sustainment training then transitions to the service schoolhouse.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["New Equipment Training","NETT","new equipment training team","Radio net","NCS","Net control station"],"r":["Fielding","IPS elements","Call sign","PACE plan"]},{"t":"Net capture","s":"Defeating drones by entangling them in nets fired from guns or other drones","d":"Net capture uses shoulder-fired net launchers, ground cannons or drones towing or firing nets to catch a drone, sometimes lowering it by parachute. It is useful where debris or jamming is unacceptable and preserves the drone for exploitation. Range is short and it works best on small, slow targets.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["net gun","drone net"],"r":["Kinetic defeat","Interceptor drone"]},{"t":"Net control station","s":"Station that manages a radio net's procedures and membership","d":"A net control station (NCS) manages a radio net by controlling traffic, authenticating stations and maintaining discipline. In Link 11 the NCS also polls participants in sequence. In networking waveforms many of these functions are automated.","c":"Comms","k":["NCS"],"r":["Link 11","Combat net radio"]},{"t":"NETD","x":"Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference","s":"Smallest temperature difference a thermal imager can resolve, in millikelvin","d":"NETD is the temperature difference that produces a signal equal to the sensor's noise, a key sensitivity figure. Uncooled microbolometers typically quote under about 50 mK and cooled detectors around 20 mK or better, measured with a specified f-number and scene temperature. Always compare NETD at the same f-number and conditions.","c":"Sensors","k":["NE delta T","NEΔT"],"r":["MRTD","Microbolometer"]},{"t":"Nett Warrior","s":"Army dismounted leader situational awareness kit built on a smartphone","d":"Nett Warrior is the Army's dismounted leader system that pairs a commercial smartphone-class end user device with a tactical radio such as the AN/PRC-154 or a leader radio, running ATAK-based software. It shows the leader's position, teammates and graphics and allows messaging. It is a standard example of the commercial device plus tactical radio pattern.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["ATAK","AN/PRC-154","End user device"]},{"t":"Network Time Reference","s":"Link 16 unit that defines system time for the network","d":"The Network Time Reference (NTR) is the Link 16 participant designated to establish system time, which all other terminals synchronize to. TDMA requires precise timing, so the NTR role is critical to network operation. It is assigned in the network design.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["NTR"],"r":["Link 16"]},{"t":"New start","s":"A program or effort that did not receive funding in the prior year","d":"A new start is an effort not previously funded by Congress. Under a continuing resolution new starts are usually prohibited, and starting one via reprogramming generally requires congressional notification. New starts are one of the main reasons a funded effort still cannot award a contract in the first months of a fiscal year.","c":"Acquisition","r":["CR","Reprogramming"]},{"t":"Next-Gen OPIR","x":"Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared","s":"Successor to SBIRS for missile warning from GEO and polar orbits","d":"Next-Gen OPIR is the Space Force program replacing SBIRS for strategic missile warning. It includes GEO satellites built by Lockheed Martin and Polar satellites built by Northrop Grumman, with a new ground segment (FORGE). The first GEO launch was planned for around 2026, and the system is meant to be more survivable than SBIRS. It complements the LEO Tracking Layer and the MEO Missile Track Custody layer.","c":"Space","k":["NGG","Next-Gen OPIR GEO","Next-Gen OPIR Polar","FORGE"],"r":["SBIRS","Tracking Layer","MTC","OPIR"]},{"t":"NFA","x":"No-Fire Area","s":"No-fire area: an area where fires are not delivered without special approval","d":"An NFA is a restrictive measure prohibiting fires into an area, often around friendly units, civilians or sensitive sites, except when the establishing commander approves or a friendly force is engaged and returns fire. Free-fire areas (FFAs) are the opposite. Fires systems must enforce NFAs reliably.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["FFA","Free-fire area"],"r":["RFA","FSCM"]},{"t":"NGA","x":"National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency","s":"National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, manager of US GEOINT","d":"National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: the DoD combat support agency and IC element that leads the GEOINT discipline, producing imagery analysis, maps, charts, elevation data and geodetic standards such as WGS 84. Headquartered in Springfield, Virginia, with a large campus in St. Louis, it buys substantial commercial imagery and analytics. It took over the GEOINT portions of Project Maven in 2023.","c":"Organizations","w":"National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency","r":["GEOINT","WGS 84","Maven","NRO"]},{"t":"NGB","x":"National Guard Bureau","s":"National Guard Bureau, the federal office overseeing the Army and Air National Guard","d":"The National Guard Bureau is a joint activity of DoD that manages the Army and Air National Guard and links the states with the federal government. Its chief is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Guard units serve both state governors and federal missions.","c":"Organizations","r":["National Guard","Title 32"]},{"t":"NGC2","x":"Next Generation Command and Control","s":"Army program replacing legacy mission command systems with a data-centric C2 stack","d":"NGC2 is the Army's effort to replace its stovepiped mission command systems with a common, data-centric architecture built from layered transport, an integrated data layer and applications. Prototyping began with the 4th Infantry Division, with a team led by Anduril awarded a prototype agreement in 2025 and the Ivy Sting exercise series used to test it. The approach emphasizes commercial software, frequent releases and a single data layer that applications share.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["Next Gen C2","Next-Generation Command and Control"],"r":["Mission command","Project Convergence","CPCE"]},{"t":"NGI","x":"Next Generation Interceptor","s":"Lockheed Martin replacement interceptor for GMD, selected in 2024","d":"NGI is MDA's new interceptor for Ground-based Midcourse Defense, intended to be more reliable and more capable against complex threats. MDA selected Lockheed Martin in 2024 after a competition with Northrop Grumman. First emplacement is planned around the end of the decade.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","r":["GMD","MDA"]},{"t":"NGJ-LB","x":"Next Generation Jammer Low-Band","s":"L3Harris low-band jamming pod in development for the EA-18G","d":"The low-band increment of the Next Generation Jammer, developed by L3Harris for the EA-18G Growler to replace the ALQ-99 low-band pod. It targets lower frequency threats such as long-range early warning radars and communications. It followed NGJ-MB into development and was in engineering and manufacturing development in the mid-2020s.","c":"EW","k":["Next Generation Jammer Low Band"],"r":["NGJ-MB","AN/ALQ-99","EA-18G Growler"]},{"t":"NGJ-MB","x":"Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band","s":"Raytheon AESA jamming pod, AN/ALQ-249, for the EA-18G","d":"The AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band, built by Raytheon (RTX), is a pod for the EA-18G Growler that uses gallium nitride active electronically scanned arrays to produce high EIRP in multiple simultaneous beams. It replaces the mid-band ALQ-99 pods and reached the fleet in the mid-2020s; Australia is a cooperative partner.","c":"EW","k":["AN/ALQ-249","ALQ-249","Next Generation Jammer"],"r":["NGJ-LB","AN/ALQ-99","EA-18G Growler","GaN"]},{"t":"NGSW","x":"Next Generation Squad Weapon","s":"Army program replacing M4 and M249 with SIG Sauer XM7 rifle and XM250 machine gun","d":"NGSW selected SIG Sauer in 2022 to provide the XM7 rifle, XM250 automatic rifle and 6.8mm ammunition, along with the XM157 fire control optic. Fielding started with close combat units. It is the biggest change in US infantry small arms in decades.","c":"Weapons","k":["XM7","XM250","XM157"],"r":["6.8mm","5.56 NATO"]},{"t":"NIAP","x":"National Information Assurance Partnership","s":"US program that evaluates commercial IT security products against protection profiles","d":"NIAP, run by NSA, oversees Common Criteria evaluations of commercial IT products against US protection profiles and maintains the Product Compliant List. National security system acquisitions generally require NIAP-validated products where a profile exists. NIAP validation is a prerequisite for CSfC component listing.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Common Criteria","Product Compliant List"],"r":["CSfC","FIPS 140-3"]},{"t":"NIE","x":"National Intelligence Estimate","s":"National Intelligence Estimate: the IC's coordinated top-level assessment","d":"National Intelligence Estimate: the Director of National Intelligence's most authoritative written judgment on a national security issue, coordinated across the IC and produced by the National Intelligence Council. Dissenting views are footnoted. Some NIEs, such as the 2007 Iran nuclear estimate, have had declassified key judgments released. The ODNI also publishes an unclassified Annual Threat Assessment each year.","c":"Intelligence","w":"National Intelligence Estimate","r":["ODNI","Annual Threat Assessment"]},{"t":"NIFC-CA","x":"Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air","s":"Navy kill web linking E-2D, Aegis ships and fighters to engage air threats","d":"NIFC-CA is a Navy capability that links sensors such as the E-2D Hawkeye and F-35, the Aegis weapon system and SM-6 missiles through CEC and Link 16 so ships can engage targets beyond their own radar horizon. It is a working example of the kill web concept. Its architecture is a model for joint integrated fire control.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","r":["CEC","Kill web","Link 16"]},{"t":"Night vision device","s":"Goggle, monocular or sight that lets users see in low light","d":"Night vision devices include image-intensified goggles that amplify starlight and NIR, thermal devices, and fused devices combining both. US examples include the PVS-14 monocular, PVS-31 binocular and ENVG-B. Export of high-performance tubes is tightly controlled under ITAR.","c":"Sensors","k":["NVD","NVG","night vision goggles","PVS-14","PVS-31"],"w":"Night-vision device","r":["Image intensifier","ENVG-B","Thermal imaging"]},{"t":"NIIN","x":"National Item Identification Number","s":"The nine-digit item-specific part of an NSN","d":"The NIIN is the last nine digits of an NSN. The first two digits are the NATO Codification Bureau code, such as 00 or 01 for the US, and the remaining seven are assigned sequentially. Logisticians often search by NIIN alone.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["National Item Identification Number"],"r":["NSN","FSC"]},{"t":"NIIRS","x":"National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale","s":"0 to 9 scale rating what tasks an image can support","d":"National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale: a 10-level scale (0 to 9) describing the interpretability of an image by the tasks it supports, such as identifying large aircraft at low levels or individual rivets near the top. Separate scales exist for visible, radar, infrared and multispectral imagery, and video NIIRS for motion imagery. The General Image Quality Equation estimates NIIRS from GSD and other parameters.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["V-NIIRS","GIQE","Video NIIRS"],"w":"NIIRS","r":["GSD","IMINT","SAR"]},{"t":"NIJ 0101.07","x":"National Institute of Justice Standard 0101.07","s":"The 2023 NIJ body armor standard, replacing Level IIA to IV with HG and RF levels","d":"NIJ Standard 0101.07, published in 2023, replaces the old levels with HG1 and HG2 for handgun threats and RF1, RF2 and RF3 for rifle threats, adding more realistic rounds such as 5.56mm M855. RF3 roughly corresponds to the old Level IV. Manufacturers and buyers are transitioning from 0101.06.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["HG1","HG2","RF1","RF2","RF3","NIJ 0101.06"],"r":["Body armor protection levels"]},{"t":"NIPRNet","x":"Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network","s":"DoD network for unclassified and CUI traffic with controlled internet access","d":"NIPRNet is DoD's network for unclassified information, including CUI, with connections to the public internet through DISA-managed internet access points. Most DoD business systems, email and cloud at impact levels 2 to 5 connect through it. Systems on NIPRNet must meet DoD cybersecurity requirements and use CAC authentication.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["NIPR","Non-secure Internet Protocol Router Network"],"w":"NIPRNet","r":["SIPRNet","CAC","Impact levels"]},{"t":"NIR","x":"Near Infrared","s":"Infrared just beyond visible red, roughly 0.75 to 1 µm, seen by night vision tubes","d":"Near-infrared is reflected light that silicon sensors and image intensifiers can detect, which is why IR illuminators and laser pointers at around 850 nm are visible through night vision goggles. Because adversaries also have night vision, NIR illuminators and markers can reveal friendly positions.","c":"Sensors","k":["near-IR","VNIR"],"r":["Infrared bands","Image intensifier","SWIR"]},{"t":"NISP","x":"National Industrial Security Program","s":"Program governing how cleared contractors protect classified information","d":"The NISP, established by Executive Order 12829, sets the framework under which industry accesses classified information, with requirements in the NISPOM. DCSA is the cognizant security agency for DoD and most other agencies.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["National Industrial Security Program","EO 12829"],"w":"National Industrial Security Program","r":["NISPOM","DCSA","FCL"]},{"t":"NISPOM","x":"National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual","s":"Federal rule (32 CFR 117) setting security requirements for cleared contractors","d":"The NISPOM became a federal rule at 32 CFR Part 117, effective February 2021, replacing the older DoD 5220.22-M manual. It covers facility and personnel clearances, safeguarding, reporting, insider threat programs, training and classified information systems. Cleared contractors are reviewed against it by DCSA.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["32 CFR 117","DoD 5220.22-M","National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual"],"r":["NISP","FSO","FCL","DCSA","Insider threat"]},{"t":"NIST SP 800-171","s":"Security requirements for protecting CUI in contractor systems","d":"NIST SP 800-171 specifies security requirements for protecting controlled unclassified information in nonfederal systems. Revision 2 has 110 requirements and is the basis of DFARS 7012 compliance and CMMC Level 2, while Revision 3 (May 2024) restructured them, though DoD has kept Revision 2 as the CMMC baseline for now. Contractors handling CUI must implement it and report a score in SPRS.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["800-171","NIST 800-171","SSP","POA&M","NIST SP 800-172","NIST 800-171 Rev 2","NIST 800-171 Rev 3"],"r":["CMMC","DFARS 7012","SPRS","CUI","CMMC 2.0","DFARS 252.204-7012"]},{"t":"NIST SP 800-172","s":"Enhanced security requirements for CUI against advanced threats","d":"NIST SP 800-172 adds enhanced security requirements to 800-171 for CUI associated with critical programs or high-value assets, aimed at advanced persistent threats. CMMC Level 3 uses a subset of these requirements, assessed by the government DIBCAC. Few contractors need it, but those on sensitive programs do.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["NIST SP 800-171","CMMC 2.0"]},{"t":"NIST SP 800-218","s":"Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF)","d":"NIST SP 800-218 defines the Secure Software Development Framework, a set of practices for secure software development. Vendors selling to the federal government attest to SSDF practices using the CISA secure software development attestation form. DoD software authorization initiatives build on it.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["SSDF","Secure Software Development Framework"],"r":["SBOM","DevSecOps"]},{"t":"NIST SP 800-37","s":"NIST guide defining the Risk Management Framework","d":"NIST SP 800-37, currently Revision 2, describes the Risk Management Framework for information systems and organizations, including the steps, tasks and roles. DoD implements it through DoDI 8510.01. Security staff cite it when discussing authorization process.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["RMF","NIST SP 800-53"]},{"t":"NIST SP 800-53","s":"Catalog of security and privacy controls for federal systems","d":"NIST SP 800-53, currently Revision 5, is the catalog of security and privacy controls, organized in families such as access control (AC) and audit (AU), used by federal and DoD systems. Baselines are selected through FIPS 199 categorization for civilian systems or CNSSI 1253 for national security systems. FedRAMP and DoD cloud requirements build on it.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["800-53 Rev 5"],"w":"NIST SP 800-53","r":["RMF","CNSSI 1253","FedRAMP"]},{"t":"NITF","x":"National Imagery Transmission Format","s":"National Imagery Transmission Format, the DoD and NATO imagery file standard","d":"National Imagery Transmission Format: the DoD and IC standard (MIL-STD-2500C) for formatting digital imagery and associated data, such as text, graphics and extensive metadata in Tagged Record Extensions (TREs). Its NATO profile is NSIF under STANAG 4545. NITF files may carry JPEG 2000 compressed imagery and RPC sensor models. Supporting NITF correctly, including its security marking fields, is required for most government imagery systems.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-2500C","NSIF","TRE"],"w":"National Imagery Transmission Format","r":["STANAG 4545","RPC","GeoTIFF"]},{"t":"NLAW","x":"Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon","s":"Saab/Thales disposable short-range anti-tank missile, UK and Swedish service","d":"NLAW is a disposable shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon using predicted line-of-sight guidance and an overfly top-attack mode. It is cheaper and shorter range than Javelin and was supplied to Ukraine in large numbers by the UK.","c":"Weapons","k":["MBT LAW","RB 57"],"w":"NLAW","r":["Javelin","Top attack"]},{"t":"NLFM","x":"Nonlinear Frequency Modulation","s":"Chirp with nonlinear frequency sweep to lower range sidelobes without weighting loss","d":"Nonlinear FM shapes the frequency sweep so the spectrum is tapered, producing low range sidelobes from the matched filter without the mismatch loss of amplitude weighting. It is less Doppler tolerant than LFM. Common in modern solid-state radars that cannot easily amplitude-modulate their transmitters.","c":"Radar","k":["nonlinear FM"],"r":["LFM","Pulse compression","Range sidelobes"]},{"t":"NLT","x":"No Later Than","s":"No later than: the deadline by which something must happen","d":"NLT sets a deadline, as in \"submit NLT 1700Z 14 NOV.\" NET (no earlier than) sets a start. Both appear constantly in orders and emails.","c":"Comms","k":["NET","No earlier than"],"r":["Suspense","DTG"]},{"t":"NMESIS","x":"Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System","s":"Unmanned JLTV-based launcher firing two Naval Strike Missiles","d":"NMESIS mounts two NSM launchers on an unmanned JLTV chassis (ROGUE-Fires) so Marines can strike ships from shore. It is central to Marine Littoral Regiments under EABO and was deployed in exercises in Japan and the Philippines.","c":"Naval","k":["ROGUE-Fires"],"r":["NSM","EABO","JLTV"]},{"t":"NMS","x":"National Military Strategy","s":"National Military Strategy from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs","d":"The National Military Strategy: the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's strategy describing how the joint force will support the NDS, including military objectives and how forces will be employed. Recent versions have been largely classified. It shapes joint concepts such as the Joint Warfighting Concept.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"National Military Strategy","r":["NDS","NSS"]},{"t":"NNSA","x":"National Nuclear Security Administration","s":"Department of Energy agency responsible for US nuclear warheads","d":"NNSA, part of DOE, designs, produces and maintains US nuclear weapons through its national laboratories and plants, such as Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia and Pantex. It also runs nonproliferation programs and naval reactor work.","c":"Organizations","r":["W93","B61-12"]},{"t":"NOFORN","x":"Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals","s":"Dissemination control barring release to any foreign government or person","d":"NOFORN marks classified information that may not be released to foreign governments, organizations or individuals without originator approval. It complicates coalition programs and FMS, and products whose documentation is NOFORN cannot easily be shared with allies.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals","NF"],"r":["REL TO","ORCON"]},{"t":"Noise figure","x":"NF","s":"How much a device degrades SNR, in dB","d":"The ratio, in dB, of input SNR to output SNR for a device or receiver at a standard 290 K source temperature; it measures how much noise the device adds. Receiver sensitivity is roughly -174 dBm/Hz + 10 log10(bandwidth) + NF + required SNR. Low NF matters most in ES receivers and satellite terminals that work near the noise floor.","c":"RF","k":["NF","noise factor"],"w":"Noise figure","r":["Noise temperature","Friis noise formula","Sensitivity","kTB","SNR","T/R module"]},{"t":"Noise floor","s":"Total noise level in a receiver below which signals cannot be seen","d":"The level of noise in a receiver, the sum of thermal noise in its bandwidth, the noise added by its components and external noise. Signals must exceed it by the required SNR to be detected, although spread spectrum signals arrive below it and are recovered by processing gain. Jamming works by raising it.","c":"RF","k":["receiver noise floor"],"w":"Noise floor","r":["kTB","Noise figure","SNR"]},{"t":"Noise jamming","s":"Radiating noise-like energy to mask the victim signal","d":"Jamming that radiates a noise-modulated signal to raise the victim receiver's noise floor so the wanted signal is lost. It is simple and robust against unknown waveforms but needs more power than deception, and modern radars counter it with processing gain and home-on-jam. Barrage, spot and swept jamming are noise jamming techniques distinguished by bandwidth.","c":"EW","k":["denial jamming","masking jamming"],"r":["Barrage jamming","Spot jamming","Swept jamming","Burn-through range"]},{"t":"Noise radar","s":"Radar transmitting random or pseudo-random noise waveforms","d":"Noise radars transmit noise-like waveforms and correlate the echo with a stored copy of what was sent, producing a thumbtack ambiguity function free of range and Doppler ambiguities. The waveform is hard to detect and identify, giving LPI properties, and it resists repeater jamming. Practical limits include sidelobe floor from finite time-bandwidth and the processing load.","c":"Radar","k":["random signal radar"],"r":["LPI radar","Ambiguity function"]},{"t":"Noise temperature","s":"Noise expressed as an equivalent physical temperature in kelvin","d":"A way of expressing noise power as the temperature of a resistor that would produce it, used especially for low noise and satellite systems. Noise temperature T relates to noise factor by T = 290 (F - 1). Antenna noise temperature includes sky, ground and galactic contributions.","c":"RF","k":["system noise temperature","Tsys"],"w":"Noise temperature","r":["Noise figure","G/T","kTB"]},{"t":"No Joy","s":"Brevity: I do not have sight of the target or enemy","d":"NO JOY means the aircrew does not have visual contact with the target, bandit or object, the opposite of TALLY. In everyday speech it means no luck. It does not concern friendlies, which use VISUAL and BLIND.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Tally","Blind"]},{"t":"Non-coherent integration","s":"Summing detected echo magnitudes without phase; less gain than coherent integration","d":"Non-coherent, or post-detection, integration sums amplitudes or powers across pulses or dwells. Its gain grows more slowly than the number of pulses, but it works when phase coherence is lost, such as across frequency hops or long scan-to-scan intervals. Binary M-of-N detection is a common form.","c":"Radar","k":["post-detection integration","video integration"],"r":["Coherent integration","Track before detect"]},{"t":"Non-kinetic","s":"Effects created without physical destruction, such as EW, cyber or information","d":"Non-kinetic effects include electronic attack, cyberspace operations, information operations, deception and economic or diplomatic measures. Planners increasingly integrate them with kinetic fires in targeting. Counter-UAS products often distinguish between kinetic and non-kinetic defeat.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Non-lethal"],"r":["Kinetic","EBO"]},{"t":"Non-kinetic defeat","s":"Defeating drones without hitting them: jamming, spoofing, cyber, HPM","d":"Non-kinetic defeat uses electronic or cyber effects to stop a drone, including RF jamming, GNSS spoofing, protocol takeover and often high-power microwave. These effects can be cheap per engagement and avoid debris, but they depend on the drone's radios or electronics being vulnerable. Lasers are usually grouped with directed energy, and sometimes counted as non-kinetic.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["soft kill","non-kinetic"],"r":["Kinetic defeat","RF jamming","HPM"]},{"t":"Nontraditional defense contractor","s":"A firm that has not held a full CAS-covered DoD contract in the prior year","d":"Defined in 10 USC 3014, a nontraditional defense contractor has not performed a DoD contract or subcontract subject to full Cost Accounting Standards coverage in the previous year. Significant participation by such a firm is one of the conditions for a prototype OT, so startups are often valuable teammates for primes.","c":"Acquisition","k":["NDC","nontraditional"],"r":["OTA","CAS"]},{"t":"NORTHCOM","x":"United States Northern Command","s":"US Northern Command, responsible for homeland defense of North America","d":"US Northern Command covers the continental US, Alaska, Canada, Mexico and nearby waters, headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Its commander also leads NORAD, the binational US-Canada aerospace defense command. It handles homeland air and missile defense and defense support of civil authorities.","c":"Organizations","k":["USNORTHCOM","NORAD"],"w":"United States Northern Command","r":["DSCA","CCMD"]},{"t":"No-strike list","s":"Protected objects such as hospitals and religious sites that must not be attacked","d":"A list of objects or entities that are protected by the law of armed conflict, international agreements or policy and must not be attacked, such as hospitals, schools, places of worship, cultural property and diplomatic facilities. A separate restricted target list holds valid targets with specific restrictions on how they may be engaged. Targeting tools check nominations against both lists.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["NSL","restricted target list","RTL"],"r":["LOAC","CDE","Target development"]},{"t":"Notching","s":"Flying perpendicular to a radar so radial velocity falls into its clutter notch","d":"A target flying across a pulse-Doppler radar's line of sight has near-zero radial velocity relative to the ground clutter and can drop out of the Doppler filters. Pilots call this beaming or notching. Radar designers counter it with clutter maps, narrower notches, STAP and multiple sensor geometries.","c":"Radar","k":["beaming","Doppler notch"],"r":["Look-down/shoot-down","Pulse-Doppler radar"]},{"t":"NPG","x":"Network Participation Group","s":"Functional grouping of Link 16 time slots, such as surveillance or PPLI","d":"A network participation group is a set of Link 16 time slots dedicated to a function, such as PPLI, surveillance, electronic warfare, mission management or voice. Network designers assign slot blocks to NPGs for each participant. Understanding which NPG carries which J-series messages is necessary when configuring or monitoring a Link 16 network.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["Link 16 network design","PPLI","J-series messages"]},{"t":"NPR","x":"Nuclear Posture Review","s":"Nuclear Posture Review: US nuclear policy and force structure","d":"The Nuclear Posture Review: a periodic DoD review establishing US nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities and force posture. The 2018 NPR added a low-yield SLBM warhead and a nuclear sea-launched cruise missile; the 2022 NPR, published with the NDS, cancelled the SLCM-N, which Congress later revived and funded. It addresses declaratory policy and modernization of the triad.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","w":"Nuclear Posture Review","r":["NDS","Nuclear triad"]},{"t":"NRF","x":"NATO Response Force","s":"NATO Response Force, the rapid reaction force replaced by the NATO Force Model","d":"The NATO Response Force was a multinational high-readiness joint force, created in 2003, whose spearhead, the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), was set up after Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea. Elements were activated for the first time for collective defense in February 2022. It was succeeded by the NATO Force Model and the Allied Reaction Force in 2024.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["VJTF"],"w":"NATO Response Force","r":["NATO Force Model","ARF"]},{"t":"NRO","x":"National Reconnaissance Office","s":"US intelligence agency that builds and operates reconnaissance satellites","d":"The National Reconnaissance Office designs, builds, launches and operates US intelligence satellites for imagery, signals intelligence and related missions, serving both the Intelligence Community and DoD. Its existence was declassified in 1992. It is now fielding a large proliferated LEO constellation and buys commercial imagery and radar data for the government.","c":"Organizations","w":"National Reconnaissance Office","r":["NGA","GEOINT","Intelligence Community","NRO proliferated architecture","SILENTBARKER","Starshield"]},{"t":"NRO proliferated architecture","s":"NRO's large LEO reconnaissance constellation launched from 2024","d":"Since May 2024 the NRO has launched batches of small reconnaissance satellites into LEO as part of a proliferated architecture built largely by SpaceX with Northrop Grumman, with other providers expected. The NRO has said it aims to fly hundreds of satellites to increase revisit and resilience. Missions are designated NROL with numbers.","c":"Space","k":["NROL proliferated"],"r":["NRO","Starshield","Proliferated constellation"]},{"t":"NSA","x":"National Security Agency","s":"National Security Agency: SIGINT and cybersecurity for the US government","d":"National Security Agency: the DoD combat support agency responsible for signals intelligence and for cybersecurity of national security systems, headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland. It is dual-hatted with US Cyber Command under a single leader. For vendors, NSA matters through its approval of cryptographic products (Type 1, Commercial Solutions for Classified) and its cybersecurity guidance.","c":"Organizations","w":"National Security Agency","r":["Intelligence Community","SIGINT"]},{"t":"NSANet","s":"NSA's internal classified network","d":"NSANet is the National Security Agency's internal network for top secret and compartmented information, separate from JWICS though interconnected by approved means. It is used for signals intelligence processing and reporting. Vendors encounter it mainly in intelligence community contracts.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"National Security Agency","r":["JWICS"]},{"t":"NSDC","x":"National Space Defense Center","s":"Joint military and intelligence center for protecting space assets","d":"The National Space Defense Center at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, brings USSPACECOM and the NRO together to monitor threats to US space systems and coordinate defensive responses. It focuses on protect-and-defend operations and indications and warning of attack.","c":"Organizations","r":["USSPACECOM","NRO","CSpOC"]},{"t":"NSM","x":"Naval Strike Missile","s":"Kongsberg/Raytheon stealthy anti-ship missile used by Navy and Marines","d":"NSM is a low-observable subsonic anti-ship and land attack missile with an imaging infrared seeker. The US Navy fits it to LCS and frigates as the Over-the-Horizon Weapon System, and Marines fire it from NMESIS. It is widely used by allies.","c":"Naval","k":["Naval Strike Missile","OTH-WS","RGM-184"],"w":"Naval Strike Missile","r":["NMESIS","ASuW"]},{"t":"NSN","x":"National Stock Number","s":"13-digit number identifying an item of supply across DoD and NATO","d":"An NSN consists of a four-digit Federal Supply Class plus a nine-digit National Item Identification Number, whose first two digits identify the country that cataloged it. Items get NSNs through DLA cataloging, often driven by provisioning. Having an NSN makes an item orderable through the military supply system.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["National Stock Number","NATO Stock Number"],"w":"NATO Stock Number","r":["NIIN","FSC","CAGE code","FLIS"]},{"t":"NSPA","x":"NATO Support and Procurement Agency","s":"NATO Support and Procurement Agency: multinational buying and logistics","d":"NATO Support and Procurement Agency: NATO's agency for acquisition, logistics and support, headquartered in Capellen, Luxembourg. It runs multinational procurement and support partnerships for systems such as NH90, Patriot and Stinger, manages ammunition buying for allies and Ukraine support, and operates the Central Europe Pipeline System. Companies register with NSPA to bid on its competitions.","c":"Organizations","w":"NATO Support and Procurement Agency","r":["NCIA","NATO"]},{"t":"NSS","x":"National Security Strategy","s":"National Security Strategy: the President's overarching security strategy","d":"The National Security Strategy: the President's report to Congress, required by the Goldwater-Nichols Act, setting out national security interests and how all instruments of power will advance them. The Biden administration issued one in October 2022 and the second Trump administration issued one in December 2025. The NDS and NMS cascade from it.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"National Security Strategy (United States)","r":["NDS","NMS"]},{"t":"NSSL","x":"National Security Space Launch","s":"Space Force program that buys launches for national security missions","d":"National Security Space Launch, formerly EELV, buys launch services for the most important DoD and NRO payloads under strict mission assurance. Phase 3 split work into Lane 1, task orders for less demanding missions to a broader pool, and Lane 2, the most demanding missions, awarded in April 2025 to SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin. New providers must complete vehicle certification before flying the hardest missions.","c":"Space","k":["EELV","Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle","NSSL Phase 3","Lane 1","Lane 2"],"w":"National Security Space Launch","r":["SSC","Rideshare","ESPA"]},{"t":"NTIA","x":"National Telecommunications and Information Administration","s":"US Commerce agency that manages federal (including DoD) spectrum use","d":"The agency in the US Department of Commerce that manages the federal government's use of spectrum, including DoD's, advised by the Interagency Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC). It authorizes federal frequency assignments, certifies federal systems through its Spectrum Planning Subcommittee and leads federal participation in spectrum repurposing studies.","c":"Organizations","k":["IRAC","Interagency Radio Advisory Committee","NTIA Redbook"],"w":"National Telecommunications and Information Administration","r":["FCC","GMF","Spectrum certification"]},{"t":"Nuclear MASINT","s":"Detection of nuclear tests and materials through radiation and debris","d":"The branch of MASINT that detects and characterizes nuclear events and materials through radiation, debris sampling, seismic and hydroacoustic signals and optical flashes. The US Atomic Energy Detection System, run by the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC), monitors nuclear test treaties. Satellites in the US Nuclear Detonation Detection System, hosted on GPS spacecraft, are part of the same effort.","c":"Intelligence","k":["NUCINT"],"r":["MASINT","CBRN"]},{"t":"Nuclear sharing","s":"NATO arrangement where allied aircraft can deliver US nuclear bombs","d":"Under NATO nuclear sharing, US B61 bombs are stored in several European countries and allied dual-capable aircraft are certified to carry them. The F-35A is replacing older aircraft in this role.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["DCA","dual-capable aircraft"],"w":"Nuclear sharing","r":["B61-12","F-35"]},{"t":"Nuclear triad","s":"Nuclear forces split across ICBMs, ballistic missile submarines and bombers","d":"A nuclear force structure with three legs: land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and strategic bombers, each offering different survivability, responsiveness and flexibility. The US is replacing all three legs with Sentinel ICBMs, Columbia-class submarines and B-21 bombers. Russia and China also field triads.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["triad"],"w":"Nuclear triad","r":["Second-strike capability","NPR"]},{"t":"Nudol","s":"Russian ground-launched direct-ascent anti-satellite missile","d":"Nudol (PL-19, also designated 14A042) is a Russian ground-based missile system for anti-ballistic missile and direct-ascent ASAT missions. In November 2021 Russia used it to destroy the defunct Kosmos 1408 satellite, creating over 1,500 pieces of tracked debris and forcing the ISS crew to shelter.","c":"Weapons","k":["PL-19","A-235"],"r":["DA-ASAT","Kosmos","Space debris"]},{"t":"Nulka","s":"Hovering rocket-powered naval decoy that seduces anti-ship missiles","d":"An active expendable decoy developed by Australia and the United States that is launched from ships and hovers using a rocket motor while radiating a signal that draws anti-ship missiles away from the ship. It is used by the US, Australian and Canadian navies.","c":"EW","k":["Mk 234 Nulka"],"w":"Nulka","r":["Decoy","AN/SLQ-32"]},{"t":"Nunn-McCurdy","s":"Law requiring action when an MDAP's unit cost grows beyond set thresholds","d":"The Nunn-McCurdy provisions, now in 10 USC 4371 to 4377, require notifying Congress when program acquisition or procurement unit cost grows 15 percent over the current baseline or 30 percent over the original (significant breach), and recertification or termination for 25 or 50 percent growth (critical breach). Recent breaches include Sentinel in 2024.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Nunn-McCurdy breach","critical breach","significant breach"],"w":"Nunn–McCurdy Amendment","r":["MDAP","APB","SAR"]},{"t":"NVG","x":"Night Vision Goggles","s":"Night vision goggles: image-intensifying devices for seeing in low light","d":"Night vision goggles amplify available light, and many units now field binocular goggles or fused image-intensified and thermal devices such as the Army's ENVG-B. Laser aimers, IR strobes and IR patches are designed to be seen through them. \"Under NODs\" means wearing them.","c":"Ground","k":["NODs","Night vision","ENVG-B","PVS-14"],"r":["NVG mount","IR strobe","PEQ-15"]},{"t":"NVG mount","s":"The helmet shroud and arm that hold night vision goggles in front of the eyes","d":"An NVG mount attaches to a shroud on the front of the helmet and lets the goggles flip up or down and adjust. A counterweight on the back of the helmet balances the load. Helmet-mounted electronics must share space and weight with this setup.","c":"Ground","k":["Shroud","J-arm","Counterweight"],"r":["NVG","Ballistic helmet"]},{"t":"NVIPM","x":"Night Vision Integrated Performance Model","s":"US Army model for predicting EO/IR sensor detection and identification ranges","d":"NVIPM, maintained by the Army's C5ISR Center night vision directorate, predicts range performance for visible, NIR, SWIR and thermal imagers using sensor, atmosphere, target and display inputs. It uses the Targeting Task Performance (TTP) metric, which updated the Johnson criteria approach. It is distributed to US government and approved industry users.","c":"Sensors","k":["NVThermIP","TTP metric"],"r":["Johnson criteria","MRTD","DRI"]},{"t":"NVIS","x":"Near Vertical Incidence Skywave","s":"HF technique bouncing signals almost straight up for 0 to 400 km coverage","d":"Near vertical incidence skywave sends HF signals nearly straight up so the ionosphere reflects them back over a wide circle, filling the gap between ground wave and long-range skywave. It covers out to roughly 400 km and works over mountains and terrain that block line of sight. It requires low frequencies, typically 2 to 10 MHz, and suitable antennas.","c":"Comms","w":"Near vertical incidence skywave","r":["HF"]},{"t":"Nyquist rate","s":"Sampling rate of twice the signal bandwidth needed to avoid aliasing","d":"The minimum sampling rate, twice the bandwidth of a signal, needed to represent it without aliasing (the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem). The Nyquist zone concept lets receivers deliberately sample signals in higher zones (undersampling or bandpass sampling) using anti-alias filters.","c":"RF","k":["Nyquist frequency","sampling theorem","Nyquist zone","Nyquist-Shannon"],"w":"Nyquist rate","r":["Aliasing","ADC","Direct RF sampling"]},{"t":"O-1 to O-10","s":"Commissioned officer pay grades, from second lieutenant or ensign to four-star","d":"O-1 to O-3 are company grade (Navy: junior officers), O-4 to O-6 are field grade, and O-7 to O-10 are general officers (Army, Air Force, Marines, Space Force) or flag officers (Navy, Coast Guard). An O-6 is a colonel or Navy captain; an O-10 is a four-star general or admiral. Knowing the grade helps judge who can approve what.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Officer pay grades","O-1","O-3","O-4","O-5","O-6","O-10"],"r":["Company grade","Field grade","General officer"]},{"t":"O3b mPOWER","s":"SES MEO broadband constellation used by government customers","d":"O3b mPOWER is SES's medium Earth orbit Ka-band system providing high-throughput, lower-latency broadband than GEO with flexible, steerable beams, succeeding the original O3b. It is used by navies and government customers for high-capacity links. SES acquired Intelsat in 2025, expanding its multi-orbit offering.","c":"Comms","k":["O3b"],"r":["MEO","COMSATCOM","Multi-orbit"]},{"t":"OAKOC","x":"Observation and fields of fire, Avenues of approach, Key terrain, Obstacles, Cover and concealment","s":"Terrain analysis factors: observation, avenues, key terrain, obstacles, cover","d":"Observation and fields of fire, Avenues of approach, Key terrain, Obstacles, and Cover and concealment: the US Army and Marine Corps checklist for military aspects of terrain during IPB. Older publications order it as OCOKA. Terrain analysis tools and geospatial engineering products are often organized around these factors.","c":"Intelligence","k":["OCOKA","KOCOA"],"r":["IPB","MCOO","METT-TC","JIPOE"]},{"t":"OB","x":"Order of Battle","s":"Identification, strength, structure and disposition of enemy forces","d":"Order of battle: the identification, strength, command structure and disposition of the personnel, units and equipment of a military force. OB analysis is broken down by type, such as ground, air, naval, missile and electronic order of battle, and maintained in databases that targeting and planning tools query. In the US, the Modernized Integrated Database (MIDB) has long been the main repository.","c":"Intelligence","k":["ORBAT"],"w":"Order of battle","r":["EOB","ROB","MIDB"]},{"t":"OBE","x":"Overcome by Events","s":"Overcome by events: no longer relevant because circumstances changed","d":"A tasking, plan or question is OBE when events have made it moot. It is a common email reply. It is a quick way to close a request.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Overtaken by events"],"r":["Tasker"]},{"t":"Objective","s":"A clearly defined goal, or a specific location to seize or hold","d":"An objective is both a principle of war (direct every operation toward a clearly defined goal) and a terrain location on a map, labeled OBJ plus a name. Operations orders specify them for subordinate units. On graphics they appear as outlined areas.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["OBJ"],"r":["LD","End state"]},{"t":"OBP","x":"Object-Based Production","s":"Organizing intelligence around objects such as units and facilities","d":"Object-Based Production: an IC approach, promoted by DIA and NGA, of organizing intelligence around the objects of interest (people, units, facilities, equipment, networks) and their attributes and relationships. Each object becomes a continuously updated record that many analysts contribute to. It maps naturally onto knowledge graphs and entity resolution in software.","c":"Intelligence","r":["ABI","MARS","OB"]},{"t":"Obsolescence","s":"When parts, software or technologies are no longer produced or supported","d":"Obsolescence is a major sustainment cost for systems that last decades. Strategies include proactive monitoring, lifetime buys, form-fit-function replacements and technology refresh cycles built into the plan. Open architectures make refresh cheaper.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["tech refresh","technology refresh"],"r":["DMSMS","MOSA"]},{"t":"OCA","x":"Original Classification Authority","s":"Official authorized to classify information in the first instance","d":"An OCA, designated in writing, decides that information requires classification and at what level and duration. Their decisions are captured in security classification guides. Contractors never classify originally; they apply derivative classification based on guides.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Original Classification Authority","original classification"],"r":["Derivative classification","SCG","Classification levels"],"h":"OCA – Original Classification Authority"},{"t":"OCA","x":"Offensive Counterair","s":"Attacking enemy air power at its source, including airfields and missiles","d":"OCA destroys or neutralises enemy aircraft, missiles, launchers and their support, ideally before they launch. It includes attack operations, SEAD and fighter sweeps. It is paired with DCA in counterair doctrine.","c":"Aviation","k":["offensive counter-air"],"r":["DCA","SEAD"],"h":"OCA – Offensive Counterair"},{"t":"OCO","x":"Offensive Cyberspace Operations","s":"Cyber operations intended to project power by creating effects in adversary systems","d":"Offensive cyberspace operations are actions intended to project power in and through cyberspace, such as disrupting or degrading adversary networks and systems. They require specific authorities and are conducted by Combat Mission Teams and National Mission Teams. Companies providing OCO tooling or access work under classified contracts.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["DCO","CMF","Cyberspace operations"]},{"t":"OCONUS","x":"Outside the Continental United States","s":"Outside the continental United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and overseas","d":"OCONUS covers overseas locations and US states and territories outside the lower 48. Supporting a product OCONUS raises export, shipping, power standards and field service questions. Deployed units are by definition OCONUS in most cases.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["CONUS"]},{"t":"OCP","x":"Operational Camouflage Pattern","s":"Operational Camouflage Pattern: the current Army, Air Force and Space Force camouflage","d":"OCP replaced the pixelated Universal Camouflage Pattern starting in 2015 and is now worn by the Army, Air Force and Space Force. It is visually close to MultiCam. Marines use their own MARPAT patterns and the Navy its own working uniforms.","c":"Ground","k":["Scorpion W2","MARPAT"],"w":"Operational Camouflage Pattern","r":["MultiCam","ACU"]},{"t":"OCX","x":"Next Generation Operational Control System","s":"Long-delayed RTX ground system to control GPS III and modern signals","d":"OCX is the GPS ground control system built by RTX (Raytheon) to replace the legacy Architecture Evolution Plan system, adding cybersecurity and full control of modern civil signals and M-code. It was years late and far over budget; RTX delivered it to the Space Force in 2025, with operational acceptance and transition from the legacy system following. Until it is operational, modern signals are only partly usable.","c":"PNT","k":["GPS OCX","AEP","Architecture Evolution Plan"],"r":["GPS","GPS III","M-code","Ground segment"]},{"t":"OCXO","x":"Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator","s":"Quartz oscillator held at constant temperature for high frequency stability","d":"An OCXO keeps its quartz crystal in a small heated oven to minimize temperature-driven frequency change, giving much better stability than a TCXO at the cost of power and warm-up time. It is a common reference in radios, radars and GNSS-disciplined timing equipment, bridging between cheap quartz and atomic clocks.","c":"PNT","k":["TCXO","crystal oscillator"],"r":["Holdover","CSAC","Atomic clock"]},{"t":"ODIN","x":"Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy","s":"Navy low-power laser dazzler for blinding drone sensors on destroyers","d":"ODIN is a Navy laser system that dazzles the optical sensors of drones, blinding them without destroying the aircraft. It has been installed on several Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. It is an example of low-power directed energy used for sensor denial.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["Dazzler","HELIOS"]},{"t":"ODNI","x":"Office of the Director of National Intelligence","s":"Office that leads and integrates the US Intelligence Community","d":"Office of the Director of National Intelligence: created by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 after the 9/11 Commission, it leads the IC, oversees the National Intelligence Program budget and serves as principal intelligence adviser to the President. It includes the National Counterterrorism Center, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center and the National Intelligence Council. ODNI issues Intelligence Community Directives (ICDs) that apply across all elements.","c":"Organizations","k":["DNI"],"w":"Office of the Director of National Intelligence","r":["Intelligence Community","ICD 203","NIE"]},{"t":"OE","x":"Operational Environment","s":"The conditions, circumstances and influences that affect how forces are used","d":"The operational environment includes physical areas and domains, the information environment, the electromagnetic spectrum, and the actors present. Doctrine analyzes it with PMESII and ASCOPE. A product's operating environment requirements (heat, dust, EMI) are a different, engineering meaning.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Operating environment"],"r":["PMESII","Battlespace","JIPOE"]},{"t":"OFDM","x":"Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing","s":"Modulation carrying data on many closely spaced orthogonal subcarriers","d":"A multicarrier scheme that splits a data stream across many narrow, orthogonal subcarriers, giving resistance to multipath and efficient use of spectrum. It underlies Wi-Fi, LTE, 5G NR and many drone video links and MANET radios. Its high peak-to-average power ratio stresses PA linearity, and its pilots and cyclic prefix are known targets for efficient jamming.","c":"Comms","k":["orthogonal frequency division multiplexing","OFDMA"],"w":"Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing","r":["Modulation","MIMO"]},{"t":"Offset strategy","s":"US approach of using technology to counter an adversary's numerical advantage","d":"A strategy of leveraging technological advantage to offset an adversary's quantitative strengths. The first offset (1950s) relied on nuclear weapons to counter Soviet conventional forces; the second (1970s) on precision-guided munitions, stealth and networked ISR. The third offset was launched in 2014.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Offset strategy","r":["Third offset","RMA"]},{"t":"OGC","x":"Open Geospatial Consortium","s":"Open Geospatial Consortium, body behind WMS, WFS, KML and GeoPackage","d":"Open Geospatial Consortium: the international standards body for geospatial interoperability, responsible for standards such as Web Map Service (WMS), Web Feature Service (WFS), Web Map Tile Service (WMTS), GeoPackage, KML and the OGC API family. NGA and NATO rely heavily on OGC standards, and DGIWG profiles them for defense use.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["WMS","WFS","GeoPackage","DGIWG"],"w":"Open Geospatial Consortium","r":["KML","GeoTIFF"]},{"t":"OIE","x":"Operations in the Information Environment","s":"Military actions that affect or use the information environment","d":"Operations in the Information Environment: the US doctrinal term, formalized in JP 3-04 Information in Joint Operations (2022) and the 2023 DoD Strategy for OIE, for military activities that affect information, its systems and the people who use it. It broadens IO beyond a staff cell, treating information as an effect in every operation. The information environment has physical, informational and human dimensions.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["IO","Information warfare","MISO"]},{"t":"OISL","x":"Optical Intersatellite Link","s":"Laser communication link between satellites","d":"An optical intersatellite link (also called laser crosslink or OCT link) uses lasers to pass data between satellites at gigabit rates with very narrow beams that are hard to intercept or jam and need no spectrum license. Pointing, acquisition and tracking is the core engineering challenge, especially across orbital planes. Starlink and the PWSA Transport Layer rely on them, and SDA's OCT standard lets terminals from different vendors interoperate.","c":"Space","k":["laser crosslink","OCT","ISL","lasercom"],"r":["SDA OCT standard","Transport Layer","Starlink"]},{"t":"O-level","x":"Organizational level maintenance","s":"Maintenance done by the operating unit itself, such as inspections and LRU swaps","d":"O-level maintenance is performed by the using unit's own personnel: servicing, inspections, troubleshooting and replacing line replaceable units. It is the first of the traditional three levels, used especially in aviation.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["organizational maintenance","flight line maintenance","operator maintenance"],"r":["I-level","D-level","LRU","Field-level maintenance"]},{"t":"O&M","x":"Operation and Maintenance","s":"One-year appropriation for operating forces, training, sustainment and many services","d":"O&M funds day-to-day operations, including training, fuel, depot maintenance, civilian pay, base operations and many services and supplies. It is available for only one fiscal year, which drives end-of-year spending. Commercial software subscriptions and sustainment services are often bought with O&M.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Operation and Maintenance","O&M funds","3400"],"r":["Colors of money","Sustainment","Bona fide need"]},{"t":"OMS","x":"Open Mission Systems","s":"Air Force open architecture standard for integrating avionics and mission subsystems","d":"OMS defines a service-oriented architecture and message set for integrating mission systems on aircraft, and is used with UCI, the Universal Command and Control Interface, which standardizes messages for command and control of sensors and platforms. Air Force programs, including advanced aircraft and autonomy efforts, increasingly require them.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Open Mission Systems","UCI","Universal Command and Control Interface","OMS/UCI"],"r":["MOSA","FACE"]},{"t":"OneWeb","s":"Eutelsat's LEO broadband constellation of about 650 satellites","d":"OneWeb is a LEO broadband constellation operating around 1,200 km in polar planes, merged with Eutelsat in 2023 to form Eutelsat OneWeb. It serves enterprise, government and mobility users through distribution partners, with the UK government as a shareholder, and is seen as a European sovereign alternative to Starlink. Second-generation satellites are planned to sustain the network.","c":"Comms","k":["Eutelsat OneWeb"],"w":"Eutelsat OneWeb","r":["PLEO SATCOM","Starlink"]},{"t":"On-orbit servicing","s":"Repairing, refueling, upgrading or moving satellites in space","d":"On-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing (OSAM) covers spacecraft that refuel, repair, reposition or upgrade others. Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicles have docked with commercial GEO satellites since 2020 to extend their lives, and the Space Force has funded refueling demonstrations and standard refueling interfaces. Servicing could ease delta-v limits for dynamic space operations.","c":"Space","k":["OSAM","in-space servicing","refueling"],"r":["RPO","Delta-v","Dynamic space operations"]},{"t":"OODA loop","s":"Observe, orient, decide, act: Boyd's model of decision cycles","d":"The OODA loop is Colonel John Boyd's model of decision making as cycles of observe, orient, decide and act. It is widely used to argue that faster, better-informed decisions defeat an adversary, and it frames much of the C2 and AI decision support pitch. Boyd emphasized orientation, the shaping of perception, more than raw speed.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"OODA loop","r":["Decision advantage","C2","Tempo","Maneuver warfare"]},{"t":"Oorah","s":"Marine Corps spirit cry","d":"Oorah is the Marine Corps equivalent of the Army's hooah and the Navy's hooyah. It expresses enthusiasm and acknowledgment. Marines use it, and others usually should not.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Ooh-rah"],"w":"Oorah","r":["Hooah","Hooyah"]},{"t":"OP","x":"Observation Post","s":"Observation post: a position from which to watch an area and report","d":"An OP is a position for observing the enemy or an area and calling for fire, often manned by scouts. Listening posts (LPs) do the same by sound. OP also abbreviates operation, as in \"the op.\"","c":"Ground","k":["LP","OP/LP","Listening post"],"r":["SALUTE"]},{"t":"OPCON","x":"Operational Control","s":"Operational control: authority to organize and direct assigned forces for missions","d":"Operational control lets a commander organize and employ commands and forces, assign tasks, designate objectives and give authoritative direction for the mission. It does not by itself include logistics, administration or discipline. It is commonly delegated to JTF and component commanders.","c":"Organizations","r":["TACON","ADCON","COCOM authority"]},{"t":"Open DAGIR","x":"Open Data and Applications Government-owned Interoperable Repositories","s":"CDAO approach to let third-party apps and data plug into government-owned platforms","d":"Open DAGIR is a CDAO initiative announced in 2024 to create an open ecosystem where government and third-party vendors can deliver data and applications onto government-owned platforms such as the CJADC2 data integration layer. It aims to prevent vendor lock-in by keeping data and interfaces government owned. For vendors it defines how to integrate into platforms rather than replace them.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["CDAO","CJADC2","Data mesh"]},{"t":"OpenVPX","s":"VITA 65 standard for rugged plug-in card systems in defense electronics","d":"The ANSI/VITA 65 standard defining profiles for VPX boards, backplanes and chassis used in rugged embedded computing for radar, EW and SIGINT. It provides the hardware foundation for SOSA and CMOSS.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["VITA 65","VPX","3U VPX"],"r":["VPX","SOSA","CMOSS"],"w":"VPX"},{"t":"Operational availability","s":"Ao: the share of time a system is ready when needed","d":"Operational availability is the probability that a system is ready for use when called upon, accounting for all downtime including logistics delays. It is a key sustainment requirement in acquisition, together with reliability and maintainability measures. Requirements documents often set a threshold Ao value.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Ao"],"r":["FMC","Readiness"]},{"t":"Operational design","s":"The conceptual framework planners use to understand a complex problem","d":"Operational design is the use of elements such as end state, center of gravity, decisive points, lines of effort and operation, and culmination to frame a campaign. It is part of operational art, the cognitive approach commanders use to link tactics to strategy. It dominates the front end of the JPP.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Operational art","Elements of operational design"],"r":["Center of gravity","Line of effort","End state"]},{"t":"Operational ELINT","s":"Locating and tracking emitters to support operations and the EOB","d":"ELINT focused on detecting, identifying and locating emitters to maintain the electronic order of battle and support current operations, including tracking the movement of air defense units. It emphasizes timeliness and geolocation accuracy over detailed technical measurement.","c":"SIGINT","k":["OpELINT"],"r":["ELINT","Technical ELINT","Electronic order of battle"]},{"t":"Operational level","s":"The level of war linking tactics to strategy through campaigns and major operations","d":"The operational level is where campaigns and major operations are planned and conducted, typically by combatant commands, joint task forces and component commands. Operational art lives here. In everyday speech \"operational\" also simply means in real use, as opposed to testing.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Operational"],"w":"Operational level of war","r":["Tactical level","Strategic level","Operational design"]},{"t":"Operator","s":"Someone who runs a system; in SOF slang, a special operations team member","d":"Operator means the person who operates a system, such as a drone operator or radar operator. In special operations, it informally refers to members of elite assault units. Context usually makes the meaning clear.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["End user","SOF"]},{"t":"OPIR","x":"Overhead Persistent Infrared","s":"Spaceborne infrared sensing for missile warning, defense and battlespace awareness","d":"OPIR is the general term for continuous infrared observation from space, detecting the heat of missile plumes, explosions and fires. Its missions are missile warning, missile defense, battlespace awareness and technical intelligence. Programs include SBIRS, Next-Gen OPIR, the SDA Tracking Layer and MTC.","c":"Sensors","r":["SBIRS","Next-Gen OPIR","Tracking Layer"]},{"t":"OPLAN","x":"Operation Plan","s":"A complete, detailed joint plan for a contingency, ready to turn into an order","d":"An operation plan is the most detailed level of joint contingency plan, with full force lists and deployment data (the TPFDD). Combatant commands keep OPLANs for their most important scenarios and review them on a regular cycle. They are classified and rarely seen by vendors, but they drive which capabilities a command asks for.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["CONPLAN","OPORD","TPFDD","JPP"]},{"t":"OPORD","x":"Operation Order","s":"A directive telling subordinates how to carry out a coordinated operation","d":"An operation order is the formal order a commander issues to execute an operation, normally in the five-paragraph format (situation, mission, execution, sustainment, command and signal). It is issued at every echelon, from a squad leader's verbal order to a corps order with dozens of annexes. Mission planning and C2 software is often built around producing, sharing and tracking OPORDs and their changes.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["OPORDER","Operations order"],"r":["SMEAC","FRAGORD","WARNORD","Five-paragraph order"]},{"t":"OPSEC","x":"Operations Security","s":"Protecting unclassified indicators that reveal friendly intentions","d":"Operations Security: a process to identify critical information, analyze threats and vulnerabilities, assess risk and apply countermeasures so that adversaries cannot piece together friendly intentions from observable, often unclassified, indicators. The 2018 Strava heatmap revealing bases is a standard example. Products that collect location or usage data from service members raise OPSEC questions.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Operations Security","OPSEC plan"],"w":"Operational security","r":["DD254","CUI","EEFI","MILDEC"]},{"t":"Optics","s":"Weapon sights and observation devices, such as red dots, scopes and thermal sights","d":"\"Optics\" covers aiming and viewing devices including red dots, magnified scopes such as the ACOG, thermal weapon sights and binoculars. Fire control optics increasingly include electronics, rangefinders and data links. Weight, battery life and zero retention are key concerns.","c":"Ground","k":["Glass","ACOG","RCO","Thermal sight"],"r":["Red dot","LPVO"]},{"t":"Orbital elements","s":"The six parameters that define an orbit and the satellite's place on it","d":"The classical Keplerian elements are semi-major axis, eccentricity, inclination, RAAN, argument of perigee and true (or mean) anomaly at an epoch. The first two set size and shape, the next three orientation, and the last the satellite's position along the orbit. Real orbits drift because of perturbations, so elements are tied to an epoch and propagated with a model such as SGP4 or numerical integration.","c":"Space","k":["Keplerian elements"],"w":"Orbital elements","r":["TLE","Ephemeris","RAAN","Inclination","SGP4"]},{"t":"Orbital plane","s":"Flat plane containing a satellite's orbit, set by inclination and RAAN","d":"An orbital plane is the geometric plane in which an orbit lies, defined by inclination and RAAN. Constellations are organized as satellites phased within several planes; moving a satellite between planes is costly, so launches are typically planned to deliver a batch into one plane. SDA tranches, for example, are built up plane by plane.","c":"Space","r":["Walker constellation","RAAN","Inclination"]},{"t":"ORCON","x":"Originator Controlled","s":"Dissemination control requiring originator approval before further release","d":"ORCON restricts dissemination of classified intelligence beyond the original recipients without the originator's permission. It is used for sensitive intelligence reporting and tightly limits sharing, even within the US government.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Originator Controlled","ORCON-USGOV"],"r":["NOFORN","REL TO"]},{"t":"Oreshnik","s":"Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile first used against Dnipro in 2024","d":"A Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile, believed to be derived from the RS-26 Rubezh, first used on November 21, 2024 against an industrial facility in Dnipro, Ukraine, with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles carrying inert or conventional payloads. Russia has announced plans to deploy it in Belarus. Its use signaled Russia's willingness to employ nuclear-capable intermediate-range systems after the end of the INF Treaty.","c":"Weapons","w":"Oreshnik (missile)","r":["SS-26 Stone","MIRV"]},{"t":"ORP","x":"Objective Rally Point","s":"Objective rally point: where a patrol makes final preparations short of the objective","d":"The ORP is out of sight and sound of the objective, used to finalize plans, conduct reconnaissance and stage before actions on the objective. Patrols return to it afterward. It is a standard part of patrol planning.","c":"Ground","r":["Patrol base","Checkpoint"]},{"t":"Orthorectification","s":"Removing terrain and sensor distortion so imagery is map-accurate","d":"The process of correcting an image for sensor geometry, platform attitude and terrain relief, using a sensor model and a DEM, so that every pixel is in its correct map position at uniform scale. Without it, tall terrain and off-nadir collection displace features by many meters. Ortho products are the base for change detection and for overlaying vector data.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["ortho","orthoimage"],"w":"Orthophoto","r":["DEM","GSD","RPC"]},{"t":"O&S","x":"Operations and Support","s":"Life-cycle phase covering sustainment of fielded systems, usually the most expensive phase","d":"The phase in which systems are operated, maintained, upgraded and eventually disposed of. O&S typically accounts for the majority of a system's total life-cycle cost, often around 70 percent for weapon systems. Spares, depot repair, software sustainment and modernization contracts all live here.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Operations and Support","sustainment phase"],"r":["Sustainment","Life-cycle cost","PBL","O&M"]},{"t":"OSC","x":"Office of Strategic Capital","s":"DoD office lending to companies in critical technology supply chains","d":"Established in December 2022 and given lending authority by the FY2024 NDAA, OSC makes loans and loan guarantees to attract private capital into critical technologies and components important to national security. It works alongside private investors rather than providing grants. It published its first notices of funds availability in 2024.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Office of Strategic Capital"],"r":["DPA Title III","Industrial base","DIU"]},{"t":"Oscar Mike","s":"On the move","d":"Oscar Mike, from the phonetic letters O and M, means on the move. It is used to report movement or to say \"let's go.\" It is informal.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["OM","On the move"],"r":["Charlie Mike"]},{"t":"OSD","x":"Office of the Secretary of Defense","s":"The Secretary of Defense's principal staff, including the under secretaries","d":"The Office of the Secretary of Defense includes the under secretaries for acquisition and sustainment, research and engineering, policy, comptroller, personnel and readiness, and intelligence and security, plus offices such as the CDAO and DOT&E. OSD sets policy and oversees programs that the services execute. Many innovation and prototyping funds flow through OSD offices.","c":"Organizations","w":"Office of the Secretary of Defense","r":["USD(A&S)","USD(R&E)","CDAO"]},{"t":"OSINT","x":"Open-Source Intelligence","s":"Intelligence produced from publicly available information","d":"Intelligence produced from publicly available information that is collected, exploited and disseminated in a timely way to answer a specific requirement. Sources include media, social media, commercial imagery, shipping and flight tracking, academic papers and commercial data. The IC's OSINT Strategy 2024-2026 named the CIA's Open Source Enterprise as functional manager, and OSINT has grown sharply in importance since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Vendors selling OSINT tools must address data provenance, terms of service and US person privacy rules.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Open-source intelligence","r":["PAI","CAI","All-source intelligence"]},{"t":"OSNMA","x":"Open Service Navigation Message Authentication","s":"Galileo feature that lets civil receivers verify navigation data is genuine","d":"OSNMA adds digital signatures to Galileo's open navigation message so receivers can verify the data came from Galileo, defeating simple spoofers that forge navigation data. It was declared operational in 2025. It does not protect against meaconing (rebroadcast) or signal-level attacks, so it complements other anti-spoofing measures.","c":"PNT","r":["Galileo","GNSS spoofing"]},{"t":"OTA","x":"Other Transaction Authority","s":"Authority to make agreements outside the FAR, used widely for prototypes","d":"Other Transactions are legally binding agreements that are not procurement contracts, so most FAR and DFARS rules do not apply. Under 10 USC 4022 DoD may use prototype OTs if a nontraditional contractor participates significantly, small businesses or nontraditionals are involved, or cost sharing applies. A successful prototype OT can lead to a follow-on production award without further competition.","c":"Acquisition","k":["OT","Other Transaction","OTA agreement","prototype OT","10 USC 2371b"],"r":["10 USC 4022","Production follow-on","Consortium","Nontraditional defense contractor"]},{"t":"OTAR","x":"Over-the-Air Rekeying","s":"Distributing new cryptographic keys through the radio link itself","d":"Over-the-air rekeying sends new traffic encryption keys to radios over the communications link, encrypted under key encryption keys, so devices do not need physical refill. Related techniques include over-the-air distribution and over-the-air transfer. OTAR is standard in modern military radios and public safety systems such as P25.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["OTAD","OTAT"],"w":"Over-the-air rekeying","r":["Key fill","KEK"]},{"t":"OT&E","x":"Operational Test and Evaluation","s":"Testing by independent testers with real users to judge effectiveness and suitability","d":"OT&E evaluates whether a system is operationally effective, suitable and survivable when used by typical operators in realistic conditions. Each service has an independent operational test agency: ATEC for the Army, OPTEVFOR for the Navy, AFOTEC for the Air Force and MCOTEA for the Marine Corps. An operational assessment can occur earlier in development.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Operational Test and Evaluation","OT","ATEC","OPTEVFOR","AFOTEC","MCOTEA","OA"],"r":["IOT&E","DOT&E","MOE","MOS"]},{"t":"OTH-B","x":"Over-the-Horizon Backscatter","s":"Skywave OTH radar using ionospheric backscatter; also the retired US AN/FPS-118","d":"OTH backscatter radars transmit via the ionosphere and receive the energy scattered back from targets and the surface along the same path. The US Air Force AN/FPS-118 OTH-B system was built in Maine and Oregon/California for continental air defense and shut down after the Cold War. The concept lives on in JORN, ROTHR and new US programs for homeland air surveillance.","c":"Radar","k":["AN/FPS-118","backscatter radar"],"r":["OTH radar","Ionospheric propagation"]},{"t":"OTH-Gold","x":"Over-the-Horizon Gold","s":"Legacy Navy formatted text message standard for track reporting","d":"OTH-Gold is a long-standing Navy formatted message specification for exchanging track and contact information between C2 systems, especially for over-the-horizon targeting. It is still used by GCCS-M and many maritime systems. New maritime products often need an OTH-Gold parser or generator to interoperate.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["OTG"],"r":["GCCS-M","CTP"]},{"t":"OTH radar","x":"Over-the-Horizon radar","s":"HF radar that detects targets beyond line of sight via the ionosphere or surface wave","d":"Over-the-horizon radars operate in the HF band (roughly 3 to 30 MHz) and see beyond the horizon either by refracting signals off the ionosphere (skywave) or by surface waves along the sea. Skywave systems cover ranges of roughly 1,000 to 3,000 km with very large antenna arrays, but resolution is coarse and performance depends on ionospheric conditions. Examples include Australia's JORN, the US Navy's ROTHR, and the planned US Air Force OTHR.","c":"Radar","k":["OTHR","over-the-horizon radar","skywave radar"],"w":"Over-the-horizon radar","r":["OTH-B","HFSWR","JORN"]},{"t":"Out","s":"Radio proword: end of my transmission, no response is required","d":"OUT ends an exchange. Only one station needs to say it. \"Wait out\" means a pause longer than a few seconds, after which the station will call back.","c":"Comms","k":["Wait out"],"r":["Over"]},{"t":"Outside the wire","s":"Beyond the protection of a base perimeter","d":"Going outside the wire means leaving a secured base, on patrol or convoy. Inside the wire is the protected area. Equipment for use outside the wire must work without base power and networks.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Inside the wire"],"r":["FOB","Downrange"]},{"t":"Over","s":"Radio proword: end of my transmission, a response is expected","d":"OVER tells the other station it is their turn to talk. OUT means the conversation is finished and no answer is expected, so \"over and out\" is a contradiction outside the movies. Brevity on the net matters because only one station can talk at a time.","c":"Comms","r":["Out","Roger"]},{"t":"Overmatch","s":"Having capabilities that clearly outclass the opponent's","d":"Overmatch means a decisive advantage in range, lethality, protection or information. Programs often state an overmatch goal against a pacing threat. The Navy's Project Overmatch is its effort for networks under JADC2.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Pacing threat","JADC2"]},{"t":"OWA drone","x":"One-Way Attack drone","s":"Expendable drone that flies to a target and detonates; a cheap cruise missile","d":"One-way attack UAS are built to fly a preplanned or guided route and crash into a target with an explosive payload. The Shahed-136 is the defining example, used in large salvos against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. They are cheap relative to the interceptors used against them, which makes cost-exchange ratio the core problem in defending against them.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["one-way attack UAS","OWA UAS","kamikaze drone"],"r":["Shahed-136","Loitering munition","Cost-exchange ratio"]},{"t":"P1dB","s":"Power level where amplifier gain drops 1 dB due to compression","d":"The input or output power at which an amplifier's gain has fallen 1 dB below its small-signal value, marking the onset of compression. It is typically 10 to 15 dB below IP3 and sets the upper end of linear operation for receivers and the practical linear output of PAs.","c":"RF","k":["1 dB compression point","OP1dB","IP1dB"],"w":"Gain compression","r":["IP3","Power amplifier","Dynamic range"]},{"t":"P-8A Poseidon","s":"Boeing 737-based maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft","d":"The P-8A Poseidon is the Navy's maritime patrol aircraft, conducting anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and ISR with sonobuoys, radar, torpedoes and Harpoon missiles. It is also flown by Australia, the UK, India, Norway and others.","c":"Aviation","k":["P-8","Poseidon"],"w":"Boeing P-8 Poseidon","r":["ASW","MQ-4C Triton"]},{"t":"PAC-3 MSE","x":"Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement","s":"Lockheed Martin hit-to-kill interceptor for Patriot with a larger motor","d":"PAC-3 MSE is the current Patriot hit-to-kill interceptor, using a Ka-band active seeker and attitude control motors to strike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft directly. Lockheed Martin has been expanding production toward several hundred a year, with plans for more, because global demand outstrips supply.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["PAC-3","MSE"],"r":["Patriot","Hit-to-kill"]},{"t":"PACE plan","x":"Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency","s":"Ordered set of fallback communications methods","d":"A PACE plan lists the primary, alternate, contingency and emergency means of communication for a mission, with criteria for switching between them. For example, primary might be a MANET, alternate SATCOM, contingency HF and emergency a runner or flare. Products that provide automatic transport switching are often described as automating the PACE plan.","c":"Comms","r":["DDIL","MANET","HF","Net"]},{"t":"Pacing challenge","s":"US strategy term for China as the main benchmark for force planning","d":"The 2022 NDS term for the People's Republic of China, described as the only competitor with both the intent and growing capacity to reshape the international order, and therefore the benchmark against which US forces are sized and developed. Programs are often justified as pacing threat capabilities. Earlier documents used pacing threat informally.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["pacing threat"],"r":["Acute threat","NDS","Great power competition"]},{"t":"Pacing threat","s":"The adversary against which US forces measure their capability needs","d":"China has been named the pacing challenge or threat in recent US defense strategies, with Russia described as an acute threat. Requirements are often benchmarked against capabilities the pacing threat could field. In briefings \"the pacing threat\" almost always means China.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Pacing challenge","Acute threat"],"r":["NDS","Peer adversary"]},{"t":"PAE","x":"Portfolio Acquisition Executive","s":"Official given authority over a capability portfolio under the 2025 acquisition reforms","d":"The Portfolio Acquisition Executive role was announced in November 2025 as part of the shift to the Warfighting Acquisition System. PAEs are meant to manage groups of programs as portfolios aligned to mission areas, with more freedom to move funds and trade requirements among them than traditional PEOs had. Details were still being implemented by service through 2026.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Portfolio Acquisition Executive","portfolio acquisition"],"r":["PEO","Warfighting Acquisition System","CAE"]},{"t":"PAI","x":"Publicly Available Information","s":"Data any member of the public can lawfully see, buy or request","d":"Information that has been published or broadcast for public consumption, is available on request, or can be lawfully seen, heard or purchased by the public. PAI is raw material; it becomes OSINT once collected and analyzed against a requirement. DoD and IC policy treat PAI that is bought from data brokers (commercially available information, CAI) with added privacy safeguards, a live issue since a 2022 ODNI review of IC purchases.","c":"Intelligence","r":["OSINT","CAI"]},{"t":"PALS","x":"Pouch Attachment Ladder System","s":"Pouch Attachment Ladder System: the grid of webbing used to mount MOLLE pouches","d":"PALS is rows of 1-inch nylon webbing spaced 1 inch apart and stitched at 1.5-inch intervals, onto which pouches are woven with straps. Many modern carriers replace sewn webbing with laser-cut slots in the same pattern. Product mounts should match these dimensions.","c":"Ground","w":"Pouch Attachment Ladder System","r":["MOLLE"]},{"t":"Parabolic antenna","s":"Dish reflector that focuses energy for very high gain","d":"An antenna using a parabolic reflector to focus energy from a feed into a narrow, high gain beam. Dishes are used for satellite communications, tracking radars and long range ELINT collection.","c":"RF","k":["dish antenna","parabolic reflector"],"w":"Parabolic antenna","r":["Horn antenna","Antenna gain"]},{"t":"Parallel planning","s":"Planning at several echelons at the same time instead of in sequence","d":"Parallel planning means subordinate units start their own planning while the higher headquarters is still planning, using warning orders and shared information. It saves time, which doctrine often expresses as the one-third, two-thirds rule (keep a third of available time for yourself and give two thirds to subordinates). Collaborative planning tools are designed to enable it.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["One-third two-thirds rule"],"r":["WARNORD","TLP"]},{"t":"Parametric data","s":"Measured characteristics of emitters used to build threat libraries","d":"The measured technical characteristics of an emitter, such as RF range, PRI, pulse width, scan type and period, MOP and power, gathered by ELINT and compiled into databases. Parametric data populates threat libraries and mission data files, and the US DoD's principal repository is the EWIR database.","c":"SIGINT","k":["emitter parametrics","ELINT parameters"],"r":["EWIR database","Threat library","ELNOT"]},{"t":"Particle filter","s":"Monte Carlo state estimator representing target uncertainty with weighted samples","d":"Particle filters represent the state distribution with many weighted samples, handling nonlinear motion and non-Gaussian noise that Kalman filters approximate poorly. They are used for track-before-detect, bearings-only tracking and terrain-constrained ground target tracking. Cost scales with the number of particles.","c":"Sensors","k":["sequential Monte Carlo","SMC"],"w":"Particle filter","r":["Kalman filter","Track before detect"]},{"t":"Passive radar","s":"Receiver-only radar using broadcast, cellular or other non-cooperative signals","d":"Passive radar, also called passive coherent location (PCL), uses illuminators of opportunity such as FM radio, DVB-T, DAB, cellular or satellite signals, and compares direct and reflected paths to detect and track targets. It emits nothing, is hard to locate and can use low frequencies that are less affected by stealth shaping. Performance depends on the local broadcast environment and processing power, and commercial systems exist from several European and other vendors.","c":"Radar","k":["PCL","passive coherent location","passive bistatic radar","PBR"],"w":"Passive radar","r":["Bistatic radar","Counter-stealth"]},{"t":"Passive sonar","s":"Sonar that listens for sounds radiated by ships and submarines","d":"Passive sonar detects machinery, propeller and flow noise from targets, identifying them by spectral lines and estimating bearing and, with motion analysis, range. It does not reveal the listener, which makes it the primary submarine sensor. Quieter modern submarines push designs toward larger arrays and lower frequencies.","c":"Sensors","k":["passive acoustic"],"r":["Active sonar","Towed array","Bearings-only tracking"]},{"t":"Past performance","s":"Evaluation factor rating how well an offeror performed on recent, relevant contracts","d":"Past performance is evaluated for recency, relevancy and quality, using CPARS and references. New entrants with no record receive a neutral rating, though in practice competitors with strong relevant records have an edge. Subcontract and commercial work may count if the solicitation allows.","c":"Acquisition","k":["PP","relevancy"],"r":["CPARS","Source selection"]},{"t":"Patch antenna","s":"Flat printed antenna on a circuit board over a ground plane","d":"A flat antenna consisting of a metal patch printed on a dielectric substrate above a ground plane, low profile and cheap to manufacture. Patches are common in GNSS receivers, phased array elements and conformal antennas on vehicles and munitions.","c":"RF","k":["microstrip antenna"],"w":"Patch antenna","r":["Phased array","Conformal antenna"]},{"t":"Patriot","s":"Raytheon long-range air and missile defense system, MIM-104","d":"Patriot is the US Army's main medium-to-long range air and missile defense system, with a phased array radar, engagement control station and launchers firing PAC-2 GEM-T or PAC-3 interceptors. It has intercepted Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles in Ukraine and is operated by many countries. The radar is being replaced by LTAMDS and its C2 by IBCS.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["MIM-104","PAC-2","GEM-T"],"w":"MIM-104 Patriot","r":["PAC-3 MSE","LTAMDS","IBCS"]},{"t":"Patriot radar","s":"AN/MPQ-53/65 C-band phased array radar of the Patriot air defense system","d":"The Patriot system's AN/MPQ-53 and AN/MPQ-65 radars are C-band passive phased arrays performing search, track and missile guidance over a sector. They have engaged aircraft and ballistic missiles in multiple conflicts, including in Ukraine. LTAMDS is replacing them in the US Army.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["AN/MPQ-65","AN/MPQ-53","MPQ-65"],"w":"MIM-104 Patriot","r":["LTAMDS"]},{"t":"Patrol base","s":"A temporary position a patrol occupies to rest and plan, usually for under 24 hours","d":"A patrol base (PB) is a security perimeter set up when a unit halts for an extended period, with no permanent improvements. It is occupied briefly to avoid detection. Equipment used in patrol bases must be portable and quiet.","c":"Ground","k":["PB"],"r":["ORP","Combat outpost"]},{"t":"Pattern of life","s":"Normal routines of a person, place or network observed over time","d":"Analysis of the habitual behavior of a person, group, vehicle or site over time, establishing what is normal so that deviations stand out. Pattern of life analysis became central to drone surveillance in counterterrorism and is a prerequisite in many strike approvals for confirming identity and minimizing civilian harm. It is also applied to ships, aircraft and facilities using commercial data.","c":"Intelligence","k":["POL"],"r":["ABI","FMV","WAMI"]},{"t":"Payload","s":"The mission equipment a satellite carries, such as a sensor or transponder","d":"The payload is the part of a satellite that does the mission: a camera, radar, infrared sensor, communications transponder or navigation signal generator. In launch usage, payload instead means everything the rocket carries. Payload to bus interfaces (power, data, thermal, pointing) are a major integration and test item.","c":"Space","r":["Bus","Hosted payload"]},{"t":"PBL","x":"Performance Based Logistics","s":"Sustainment contracts that pay for outcomes like availability rather than parts and labor","d":"PBL arrangements pay a provider for results such as aircraft availability or parts fill rates, often over multiyear terms, aligning incentives to improve reliability. They are used widely in aviation components and have documented readiness gains. Product companies can propose PBL as part of a sustainment offer.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Performance Based Logistics","performance-based logistics","PBL contract","performance based life cycle product support"],"w":"Performance-based logistics","r":["PSM","Ao","Sustainment"]},{"t":"PCA","x":"Physical Configuration Audit","s":"Audit verifying the built item matches its technical documentation","d":"The PCA examines a production-representative item against drawings and the technical data package to confirm the as-built configuration matches the design, establishing the product baseline. Discrepancies must be resolved before full production.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Physical Configuration Audit"],"r":["FCA","Baseline","TDP"]},{"t":"PCL","x":"Personnel Security Clearance","s":"An individual's eligibility for access to classified information","d":"A PCL is a favorable eligibility determination based on a background investigation, with access granted when need-to-know exists. Contractor employees can only be processed when their employer has an FCL and a need. Clearances are tracked in DISS, moving to NBIS.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Personnel Clearance","security clearance","clearance","DISS","eligibility"],"w":"Security clearance","r":["Tier 3","Tier 5","SF-86","Continuous vetting"]},{"t":"PCO","x":"Procuring Contracting Officer","s":"Contracting officer who awards and manages the contract's terms","d":"The PCO handles the solicitation, award and major modifications of a contract. Post-award administration such as payments and property is often delegated to an ACO at DCMA.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Procuring Contracting Officer"],"r":["CO","ACO","DCMA"]},{"t":"PCPAD","x":"Planning and Direction, Collection, Processing and Exploitation, Analysis and Production, Dissemination","s":"Planning, Collection, Processing, Analysis, Dissemination","d":"The Air Force and joint ISR shorthand for the intelligence process: planning and direction, collection, processing and exploitation, analysis and production, and dissemination. It is used when describing where a capability or system sits in the chain, such as a sensor (collection) versus an exploitation tool (processing). It is a close cousin of TCPED.","c":"Intelligence","r":["TCPED","Intelligence cycle","PED"]},{"t":"PCS","x":"Permanent Change of Station","s":"Permanent change of station: a move to a new duty assignment","d":"A PCS is a long-term reassignment, usually every two to four years, with the family and household goods moved at government expense. Frequent PCS moves mean expertise on a system walks out the door regularly. \"PCS season\" peaks in summer.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["TDY","TAD"]},{"t":"P&D","x":"Production and Deployment","s":"MCA phase for low-rate and full-rate production and fielding","d":"The phase after Milestone C covering Low-Rate Initial Production, Initial Operational Test and Evaluation, the Full-Rate Production decision and fielding. Production contracts, often fixed price, are awarded here. For suppliers this is where volume and long-term revenue appear.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Production and Deployment"],"r":["Milestone C","LRIP","FRP","IOT&E"]},{"t":"PDR","x":"Preliminary Design Review","s":"Review confirming the preliminary design meets requirements; sets the allocated baseline","d":"At PDR the design is evaluated to show it can meet requirements within acceptable risk, establishing the allocated baseline. For major programs, statute and policy tie PDR to Milestone B. It is a common contract payment milestone.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Preliminary Design Review"],"r":["CDR","SFR","Baseline","Milestone B"]},{"t":"Peacekeeping","s":"Deploying forces with consent to monitor and support peace agreements","d":"Operations, usually under a UN or regional mandate and with the consent of the parties, to monitor ceasefires and help implement peace agreements. Peace enforcement, by contrast, can use force without full consent under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. UN peacekeeping missions number around a dozen with tens of thousands of personnel.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["peace enforcement","peace support operations"],"w":"Peacekeeping","r":["MOOTW"]},{"t":"Peak power","s":"Transmitter output power during the pulse","d":"Peak power is the instantaneous power while a pulse is on. Tube transmitters (magnetrons, klystrons, TWTs) can reach megawatts of peak power with short pulses, while solid-state arrays sum many lower-power modules. Detection depends on energy on target, so peak power is traded against pulse width via pulse compression.","c":"Radar","r":["Average power","Duty cycle"]},{"t":"PED","x":"Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination","s":"Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination of sensor data","d":"The part of the ISR process that turns raw sensor data into usable intelligence: processing it into a usable form, exploiting it (imagery analysts watching FMV, for example) and disseminating the result. Air Force DCGS and Army ground stations are PED nodes. PED capacity, the number of trained analysts, has long been the bottleneck as sensors multiplied, which is a main driver behind computer vision programs such as Maven.","c":"Intelligence","r":["DCGS","Maven","TCPED"]},{"t":"Peer adversary","s":"An adversary with military capability broadly comparable to one's own","d":"Peer and near-peer describe adversaries such as China and Russia that can contest US forces across domains, unlike the insurgent groups of the post-2001 wars. Large-scale combat operations against a peer adversary is now the planning priority. It implies contested electromagnetic spectrum, space and logistics.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Near-peer","Peer competitor"],"r":["LSCO","Pacing threat"]},{"t":"Penetration test","s":"Authorized simulated attack to find exploitable vulnerabilities","d":"A penetration test is an authorized, scoped attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in a system or network to show real risk. It is narrower and often less stealthy than a red team engagement. DoD acquisition test events and RMF assessments frequently require penetration testing.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["pen test","pentest"],"w":"Penetration test","r":["Red team","Vulnerability"]},{"t":"PEO","x":"Program Executive Officer","s":"Senior official who oversees a portfolio of related program offices","d":"A Program Executive Officer manages a group of related programs, such as all ground combat vehicles or all space sensors in a service, and reports to the service acquisition executive. PEOs are often the decision authority for ACAT II and III programs. Under the 2025 acquisition restructuring, PEOs are being converted into or replaced by Portfolio Acquisition Executives with broader authority.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Program Executive Office","Program Executive Officer"],"r":["PAE","PM","CAE","MDA"]},{"t":"PEO C3BM","x":"Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management","s":"Air Force program executive office for battle network and C2 acquisition","d":"PEO C3BM is the Department of the Air Force program executive office, stood up in 2023, that acquires and integrates C2, communications and battle management capabilities as the DAF Battle Network. It absorbed ABMS and related programs. Industry engages it for battle management software, data links and gateway work.","c":"Organizations","k":["DAF PEO C3BM"],"r":["DAF Battle Network","ABMS"]},{"t":"PEQ-15","x":"Advanced Target Pointer Illuminator Aiming Light","s":"AN/PEQ-15 ATPIAL: a weapon-mounted IR and visible laser aiming and illuminating device","d":"The AN/PEQ-15 Advanced Target Pointer Illuminator Aiming Light combines an infrared laser aimer, an infrared illuminator and a visible laser in one rail-mounted unit. It is a widely fielded laser aiming module, with later variants and successors. \"PEQ\" is often used generically for any such device.","c":"Ground","k":["AN/PEQ-15","ATPIAL","PEQ"],"r":["Laser aiming module","NVG"]},{"t":"Perigee","s":"Point in an Earth orbit closest to the Earth","d":"Perigee is the lowest point of an elliptical Earth orbit, where the satellite moves fastest; the general term is periapsis. Perigee altitude governs drag and therefore orbital lifetime, and a perigee lowered into the atmosphere is how controlled deorbits are done.","c":"Space","k":["periapsis"],"w":"Apsis","r":["Apogee","Deorbit","Atmospheric drag"]},{"t":"PESA","x":"Passive Electronically Scanned Array","s":"Phased array fed by a single central transmitter, with phase shifters at each element","d":"A PESA steers its beam with phase shifters at each element but uses one central transmitter and receiver, such as a TWT or crossed-field amplifier. It offers agile beam steering at lower cost than early AESAs, but feed losses raise noise figure and a transmitter failure takes down the whole radar. AN/SPY-1 and Russia's Zaslon are well-known PESAs.","c":"Radar","k":["passive phased array","passive ESA"],"w":"Passive electronically scanned array","r":["AESA","AN/SPY-1"]},{"t":"PESCO","x":"Permanent Structured Cooperation","s":"EU framework for permanent structured cooperation on defense projects","d":"Permanent Structured Cooperation: an EU Treaty framework activated in 2017 under which 26 member states make binding commitments on defense investment and run collaborative capability projects, numbering more than 60. Projects range from military mobility to training and cyber. Third states such as the US, Canada and Norway have joined specific projects.","c":"NATO & Allied","w":"Permanent Structured Cooperation","r":["European Defence Fund","EDA"]},{"t":"PGM","x":"Precision-Guided Munition","s":"Bomb, missile or shell guided to hit a specific point","d":"A PGM uses guidance such as GPS/INS, laser or imaging seekers to hit a target with small error, so fewer weapons are needed per target and collateral damage drops. Nearly all US air-delivered weapons are now precision guided. PGM stockpiles and production rates became a major concern after Ukraine and the Middle East conflicts drew them down.","c":"Weapons","k":["precision guided munition","smart bomb","precision munition"],"r":["JDAM","CEP","Seeker"]},{"t":"Phalanx CIWS","x":"Close-In Weapon System","s":"Raytheon radar-guided 20mm Gatling gun for last-ditch ship defense","d":"Phalanx is an autonomous 20mm Gatling gun with its own radar that engages incoming missiles, aircraft, small boats and drones at very short range. It is fitted to most US warships and has a land version for C-RAM. It has been used in combat in the Red Sea as a final layer.","c":"Naval","k":["CIWS","Phalanx","Mk 15"],"w":"Phalanx CIWS","r":["SeaRAM","C-RAM"]},{"t":"Phased array","s":"Antenna whose beam is steered by controlling the phase of many elements","d":"A phased array is a grid of radiating elements whose relative phases, or time delays, are set so their signals add in a chosen direction, steering the beam electronically in microseconds without moving parts. It enables agile multifunction operation, multiple simultaneous beams and adaptive nulling. Passive (PESA) arrays use a central transmitter, active (AESA) arrays put amplifiers at each element.","c":"Radar","k":["phased array antenna","ESA","electronically scanned array","phased-array antenna"],"w":"Phased array","r":["AESA","Beamforming","PESA","Beam steering"]},{"t":"Phased array user terminal","s":"Flat electronically steered antenna that tracks satellites with no moving parts","d":"Phased array user terminals use many antenna elements with controlled phase (electronically steered arrays, ESAs) to form and steer beams electronically, so they can track fast-moving LEO satellites, switch between satellites instantly and mount flat on vehicles. Starlink's terminal made them affordable at scale; military versions add multi-orbit operation and anti-jam features. Heat, power draw, scan loss at low elevation and cost are the main engineering constraints.","c":"Comms","k":["ESA","electronically steered antenna","flat panel antenna","FPA"],"w":"Phased array","r":["SOTM","Starlink","Multi-orbit","Beam hopping"]},{"t":"Phase line","s":"A named control line, usually along a terrain feature, used to coordinate movement","d":"A phase line (PL) is a line used for control and coordination, such as reporting progress or triggering the next action. Phase lines are named, often by theme (PL Ohio). They appear on operational graphics and maps.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["PL"],"r":["Boundary","LD","Checkpoint"]},{"t":"Phase noise","s":"Random short-term phase fluctuations of an oscillator, shown as sidebands","d":"Random fluctuations in the phase of an oscillator, appearing in the spectrum as noise sidebands around the carrier and specified in dBc/Hz at offsets from it. Phase noise limits radar Doppler detection of slow targets near clutter, causes reciprocal mixing in receivers and degrades high-order modulations. Low phase noise synthesizers are a key building block for radar and EW.","c":"RF","k":["oscillator phase noise","dBc/Hz"],"w":"Phase noise","r":["Local oscillator","Jitter","Synthesizer","Sub-clutter visibility","Coherent integration"]},{"t":"Phase shifter","s":"Component that sets the RF phase at an array element to steer the beam","d":"Phase shifters, usually digital with 5 or 6 bits, set each element's phase for beam steering and sidelobe control. Because phase is frequency dependent, phase-only steering causes beam squint over wide bandwidths. In digital arrays phase shifting moves into the digital domain.","c":"Radar","r":["Beam steering","True time delay","Beam squint"]},{"t":"Phasing","s":"Dividing a campaign into phases, classically Phase 0 (Shape) to Phase V","d":"Joint planning long used a six-phase model: Phase 0 Shape, I Deter, II Seize the Initiative, III Dominate, IV Stabilize, V Enable Civil Authority. Current joint doctrine treats this model as an example rather than a template and frames activity along the competition continuum instead. \"Phase 0\" is still widely used informally to mean peacetime shaping and competition.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Phase 0","Phase zero","Phases 0 to V"],"r":["Competition continuum","Campaigning","Branch","Sequel"]},{"t":"PHS&T","x":"Packaging, Handling, Storage and Transportation","s":"Product support element covering how items are packed, moved and stored","d":"PHS&T ensures that items survive transport and storage, including environmental protection, hazardous material handling, shelf life and transportability. It covers MIL-STD-2073 packaging and MIL-STD-129 marking requirements and transportability approvals for oversized items.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Packaging Handling Storage and Transportation","transportability","shelf life"],"r":["MIL-STD-2073","MIL-STD-129","IPS elements"]},{"t":"Picatinny rail","s":"MIL-STD-1913 accessory rail for mounting optics, lights and lasers","d":"The Picatinny rail is a standardized mounting rail defined in MIL-STD-1913, with a NATO equivalent in STANAG 4694. It is used on weapons, helmets and vehicles. M-LOK and KeyMod are slot-based alternatives for handguards.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["MIL-STD-1913","Pic rail","1913 rail","M-LOK","STANAG 4694"],"w":"Picatinny rail","r":["Laser aiming module","Optics"]},{"t":"Pickle","s":"Brevity: command or report of releasing air-to-surface ordnance","d":"PICKLE is used to command or report release of bombs or other air-to-surface weapons; the bomb-release button is called the pickle button. In buddy-lasing, one aircraft may call pickle for another. It also appears in slang meaning \"drop it.\"","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Pickle button"],"r":["Rifle","Cleared hot"]},{"t":"Picture","s":"Brevity: request for or report of the tactical air situation","d":"PICTURE asks for or provides a description of the tactical situation relevant to the mission, usually from an airborne or ground controller, such as group positions, altitudes and identities. Controllers build it from radar and data links. A \"clean\" picture means no contacts.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Clean"],"r":["Bullseye","Declare"]},{"t":"PID","x":"Positive Identification","s":"Positive identification: confirmation that a target is what it is believed to be","d":"PID is an identification derived from observation and analysis that is reliable enough to support an engagement decision under the ROE. Sensors and AI are often judged by how well they support PID. Lack of PID is a common reason fires are denied.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["ROE","Hostile"]},{"t":"PIEE","x":"Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment","s":"DoD's web portal for invoicing, receiving reports and other procurement applications","d":"PIEE is the single sign-on portal for DoD procurement applications, including Wide Area WorkFlow for invoices and receiving reports, the Electronic Document Access contract repository and the Solicitation Module. Vendors must register here to get paid on most DoD contracts.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment","EDA"],"r":["WAWF","DD250"]},{"t":"Pigeons","s":"Brevity: magnetic bearing and range to home base","d":"PIGEONS gives the magnetic bearing and range to a homeplate or recovery base. Controllers pass it to aircraft returning or low on fuel. It is a standard part of recovery calls.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Bingo"]},{"t":"PIR","x":"Priority Intelligence Requirement","s":"Priority intelligence requirement: what the commander most needs to know","d":"An intelligence requirement, stated as a priority, that the commander and staff need to understand the threat and other aspects of the operational environment. PIRs are tied to decisions and are usually phrased as questions, for example whether an enemy brigade will commit to a given axis. Each PIR is broken down into EEIs and then into specific collection tasks.","c":"Intelligence","r":["CCIR","EEI","Collection management","FFIR","JIPOE"]},{"t":"Pixel pitch","s":"Center-to-center spacing of detector pixels, typically in micrometers","d":"Pixel pitch determines the size of an array for a given format and, with optics, the instantaneous field of view. Shrinking pitch from 17 µm to 12 µm or smaller in uncooled LWIR allowed smaller lenses and lighter sights. Diffraction limits how small pitch can usefully go for a given aperture and wavelength.","c":"Sensors","r":["FPA","IFOV"]},{"t":"PKI","x":"Public Key Infrastructure","s":"System of certificate authorities that binds public keys to identities","d":"A public key infrastructure issues and manages digital certificates that bind public keys to identities, enabling authentication, signing and encryption. DoD operates its own PKI for NIPRNet and SIPRNet, and the External Certificate Authority program issues DoD-trusted certificates to industry partners. Applications must trust the DoD root certificates and check revocation.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["DoD PKI","ECA"],"w":"Public key infrastructure","r":["CAC","ICAM","ML-DSA"]},{"t":"PLA","x":"People's Liberation Army","s":"People's Liberation Army, China's armed forces under the Communist Party","d":"The People's Liberation Army: the armed forces of the People's Republic of China, commanded by the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, so it is formally the army of the party. Since April 2024 it comprises four services (Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force) and four arms (Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, Information Support Force and Joint Logistics Support Force). The DoD names China its pacing challenge, and the annual China Military Power Report is the standard unclassified US reference.","c":"Organizations","k":["PLA Army","PLAA"],"w":"People's Liberation Army","r":["PLAN","PLAAF","PLARF","Information Support Force","CMC"]},{"t":"PLA Aerospace Force","s":"Chinese military arm for space operations, formed in April 2024","d":"The PLA Aerospace Force was created in April 2024 when China dissolved the Strategic Support Force and split it into the Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force and Information Support Force. It is responsible for military space operations, launch, tracking and space domain awareness. Earlier sources referring to the SSF's space role describe its predecessor.","c":"Organizations","k":["ASF","PLAASF","Strategic Support Force","SSF"],"w":"People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force","r":["Yaogan","BeiDou","Shijian"]},{"t":"PLAAF","x":"People's Liberation Army Air Force","s":"PLA Air Force, operator of the J-20 and H-6","d":"The People's Liberation Army Air Force: China's air force, the largest in the Indo-Pacific, fielding J-20 stealth fighters, J-16 and J-10C multirole fighters, H-6 bombers, KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft and Y-20 transports. It operates alongside naval aviation and is pursuing a stealth bomber, the H-20.","c":"Aviation","w":"People's Liberation Army Air Force","r":["J-20","H-6","KJ-500","PLA"]},{"t":"PLAN","x":"People's Liberation Army Navy","s":"PLA Navy, the world's largest navy by number of ships","d":"The People's Liberation Army Navy: China's navy, the largest in the world by number of battle force ships, with more than 370 according to US estimates, including three aircraft carriers, Type 055 cruisers and growing amphibious and submarine forces. It also includes naval aviation and marines. China's shipbuilding capacity, many times that of the US, is a core concern in US naval planning.","c":"Naval","w":"People's Liberation Army Navy","r":["Type 055","Fujian","PLA"]},{"t":"PLANORD","x":"Planning Order","s":"A planning directive that starts detailed planning, often for a specific crisis","d":"A planning order tells a command to begin planning for a possible operation, often before a course of action has been approved for execution. It may convey a preferred course of action and planning assumptions. It does not authorize execution.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["EXORD","WARNORD"]},{"t":"PLARF","x":"People's Liberation Army Rocket Force","s":"PLA Rocket Force, China's land-based nuclear and conventional missile force","d":"The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force: the service controlling China's land-based nuclear and conventional ballistic and cruise missiles, renamed from the Second Artillery Corps at the end of 2015. It fields the DF-21D, DF-26, DF-17 and DF-41 among others and has built hundreds of new ICBM silos in western China. US estimates in 2024 put China's operational nuclear warheads above 600 and growing.","c":"Weapons","k":["Second Artillery Corps"],"w":"People's Liberation Army Rocket Force","r":["DF-21D","DF-26","DF-17","DF-41"]},{"t":"Plate carrier","s":"A vest that holds hard armor plates front and back, with attachment points","d":"A plate carrier holds front and back (and sometimes side) ballistic plates with minimal soft armor, trading coverage for lower weight and mobility. Most have PALS webbing or laser-cut panels for pouches. Anything worn on the chest, from radios to tablets, has to coexist with one.","c":"Ground","k":["PC","Armor carrier"],"r":["ESAPI","PALS","Body armor protection levels"]},{"t":"Platform One","s":"Air Force DevSecOps platform providing tools, hardened containers and hosting","d":"Platform One is an Air Force-led enterprise DevSecOps services team that provides Iron Bank hardened containers, Big Bang deployment baselines, a managed pipeline (Party Bus) and collaboration tools. It was among the first DoD organizations to achieve a continuous ATO. Many DoD software efforts use its components.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["P1","Party Bus"],"r":["Iron Bank","Big Bang","DevSecOps"]},{"t":"Platoon","s":"A unit of roughly 20 to 50 people, led by a lieutenant with a platoon sergeant","d":"A platoon is typically three or four squads or sections, led by a lieutenant (O-1 or O-2) with a sergeant first class or staff sergeant as platoon sergeant. It is the lowest level with an officer in charge. Many tactical products are fielded and evaluated at platoon level.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Platoon","r":["Squad","Company"]},{"t":"Playtime","s":"Brevity: how long an aircraft can remain on station","d":"PLAYTIME is the time an aircraft can remain on station or in a role, given in minutes. JTACs ask for playtime when planning CAS. Drones with long endurance have far more playtime than fighters.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Bingo","Joker"]},{"t":"pLEO","x":"proliferated Low Earth Orbit","s":"Shorthand for large LEO constellations, military or commercial","d":"pLEO refers to proliferated LEO constellations and the services they provide. In DoD usage it covers SDA's PWSA, NRO's proliferated architecture and commercial broadband bought as a service, such as the Space Force's PLEO SATCOM contract vehicle for Starlink, OneWeb and similar providers. Products built for pLEO must handle fast handovers, Doppler and many simultaneous links.","c":"Space","r":["Proliferated constellation","PWSA","PLEO SATCOM","LEO"]},{"t":"PLEO SATCOM","s":"Space Force contract vehicle for proliferated LEO commercial SATCOM services","d":"PLEO SATCOM is the Commercial Satellite Communications Office's IDIQ contract vehicle for buying proliferated LEO services such as Starlink, OneWeb and others, along with terminals and management. It was established in 2023 and its ceiling was raised substantially in 2025 as demand grew. It is the main route for DoD units to get LEO broadband quickly.","c":"Comms","k":["PLEO contract"],"r":["COMSATCOM","Starlink","OneWeb","pLEO"]},{"t":"PLL","x":"Phase-Locked Loop","s":"Feedback loop that locks an oscillator to a reference frequency","d":"A feedback control system that locks the phase of a voltage-controlled oscillator to a stable reference, used to synthesize precise, tunable frequencies. Loop bandwidth trades tuning speed against phase noise, an important choice in frequency hopping radios and agile EW systems.","c":"RF","k":["phase locked loop","fractional-N"],"w":"Phase-locked loop","r":["Synthesizer","Local oscillator","Phase noise"]},{"t":"Plot extractor","s":"Processor stage that turns raw detections into target reports (plots)","d":"A plot extractor groups adjacent threshold crossings in range, angle and Doppler into a single report with centroid position, amplitude and time. Plots feed the tracker and, on many systems, are what is passed to external C2 networks. Formats like ASTERIX in civil and NATO air surveillance define standard plot and track messages.","c":"Radar","k":["plot","radar plot","detection report"],"r":["TWS","ASTERIX","Track initiation"]},{"t":"PM","x":"Program Manager","s":"The government official accountable for a program's cost, schedule and performance","d":"The Program Manager leads a program office and is responsible for delivering the capability within its baseline. In DoD the PM is typically a military officer at O-5 or O-6 or a civilian of equivalent grade. For a vendor, the PM and the contracting officer are the two most important customer contacts, though only the contracting officer can bind the government.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Program Manager","PjM","PdM"],"r":["PMO","PEO","CO"]},{"t":"PMCS","x":"Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services","s":"Preventive maintenance checks and services: routine operator equipment checks","d":"PMCS is the scheduled checking and servicing of equipment by operators, done before, during and after use per the technical manual. It catches problems early and is a core Army discipline. Products that simplify or automate PMCS reduce operator burden.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","r":["FMC","Readiness"]},{"t":"PMESII","x":"Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, Infrastructure","s":"Operational variables: political, military, economic, social, information, infrastructure","d":"PMESII describes an operational environment through Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information and Infrastructure variables; the Army form PMESII-PT adds Physical environment and Time. It is used for broad analysis of a country or region rather than a single engagement. Analytic and data-fusion products are often organized by these categories.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["PMESII-PT"],"r":["ASCOPE","JIPOE","OE"]},{"t":"PMO","x":"Program Management Office","s":"The government office that runs a program day to day","d":"The PMO is the team of engineers, logisticians, financial managers, testers and contracting staff working for the Program Manager. It writes requirements into contracts, reviews CDRLs, holds design reviews and manages the program budget. In industry the acronym may also mean a company's internal program office.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Program Management Office","program office","SPO"],"r":["PM","PEO","CDRL"]},{"t":"PNT","x":"Positioning, Navigation and Timing","s":"The combined capability of knowing where you are, where you are going, and when","d":"PNT is the DoD umbrella term for position, navigation and precise time, provided chiefly by GPS but increasingly by a mix of sources. Nearly every weapon, network and sensor depends on it, and timing in particular underpins encryption, frequency hopping and network synchronization. Because GPS can be jammed and spoofed, programs now require assured PNT that blends GNSS with inertial, clocks and alternative sources.","c":"PNT","k":["position, navigation and timing"],"r":["GPS","A-PNT","Alt-PNT","PTTI","NAVWAR"]},{"t":"POA&M","x":"Plan of Action and Milestones","s":"Document tracking security weaknesses and the plan to fix them","d":"A plan of action and milestones lists security control weaknesses, planned remediation, resources and completion dates. It is required in RMF and in CMMC, where limited POA&Ms are allowed for conditional certification. Auditors track whether items are closed on schedule.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["RMF","CMMC 2.0","eMASS"]},{"t":"POC","x":"Point of Contact","s":"Point of contact: the person to reach about a topic","d":"A POC is the designated person for a topic, listed at the end of most memos and emails. Finding the right POC in a large organization is often the hardest part of a vendor engagement. In engineering it can also mean proof of concept, so context matters.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Tasker"]},{"t":"POG","x":"Person Other than Grunt","s":"Person other than grunt: anyone not in a combat arms job","d":"POG (pronounced \"pogue\") is slang for support personnel, used by infantry teasingly or dismissively. Support personnel are still essential and often the primary users of logistics and admin systems. It is informal.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Pogue"],"r":["Grunt","FOBbit"]},{"t":"POL","x":"Petroleum, Oils and Lubricants","s":"Fuels and lubricants, also called Class III supply","d":"POL covers fuel such as JP-8 and F-24 and lubricants. Most US ground and air systems use a single fuel concept based on kerosene-type jet fuel. New engines and generators are usually expected to run on it.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Petroleum Oils and Lubricants","JP-8","F-24"],"r":["Class III"]},{"t":"Polarization","s":"Orientation of the electric field of a radio wave","d":"The orientation of the electric field vector of an electromagnetic wave: linear (vertical, horizontal, slant) or circular and elliptical (right or left hand). Mismatched polarization between antennas causes loss, up to about 20 to 30 dB for crossed linear. Many EW receivers use circular or dual-polarized antennas so they see emitters of any polarization.","c":"RF","k":["linear polarization","circular polarization","RHCP","LHCP"],"w":"Polarization (waves)","r":["Axial ratio","Cross-polarization jamming"]},{"t":"Polar orbit","s":"Orbit inclined near 90 degrees that passes over both poles and sees the whole Earth","d":"A polar orbit has an inclination near 90 degrees, so as the Earth turns underneath it the satellite eventually passes over every point on the globe. Polar planes are needed for coverage of the Arctic and Antarctic, which equatorial or mid-inclination constellations miss. Weather, imaging and some SATCOM layers (such as Starlink and SDA polar planes) use polar or near-polar orbits.","c":"Space","w":"Polar orbit","r":["SSO","Inclination"]},{"t":"Polygraph","s":"Lie detector examination required for some intelligence and special access positions","d":"Security polygraphs come in two main types: counterintelligence scope, covering espionage, sabotage and unauthorized disclosure, and full scope or expanded scope, which adds lifestyle questions. Requirements are set by the agency or program. Jobs requiring a polygraph, such as at NSA, NRO or CIA, often advertise the exact type.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["CI poly","CI polygraph","full scope polygraph","FSP","lifestyle poly","poly"],"w":"Polygraph","r":["PCL","SCI","SAP"]},{"t":"Polyphase codes","s":"Phase-coded pulse compression using more than two phase states, e.g. Frank, P1-P4","d":"Polyphase codes divide a pulse into subpulses with phases drawn from many values, approximating a stepped or linear chirp. Frank, P1, P2, P3, P4 and Zadoff-Chu codes offer low sidelobes and better Doppler tolerance than binary codes, and are easy to generate digitally. They also appear in LPI radar waveforms and in MIMO radar where codes must be mutually orthogonal.","c":"Radar","k":["Frank code","P4 code","phase coding"],"r":["Barker code","Pulse compression","LPI radar"]},{"t":"Polyphase filter bank","s":"Efficient DSP structure for splitting a band into many channels","d":"A digital filtering structure that divides a wideband signal into many equally spaced channels efficiently by combining a polyphase decomposition of a prototype filter with an FFT. It is the standard way to build digital channelized receivers in FPGAs for EW and SIGINT.","c":"RF","k":["PFB","polyphase channelizer","WOLA"],"w":"Polyphase quadrature filter","r":["Channelized receiver","Digital receiver","FPGA"]},{"t":"POM","x":"Program Objective Memorandum","s":"Each component's five-year funding proposal, built during the programming phase","d":"The POM is the service or agency's proposed allocation of resources across the Future Years Defense Program. It is built about 18 to 24 months before the fiscal year it starts in. Getting a new effort into a POM is the standard route for a technology to become a funded line, which is why timing matters for transition.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Program Objective Memorandum","POM cycle"],"r":["PPBE","FYDP","Program element"]},{"t":"POR","x":"Program of Record","s":"A program with a validated requirement and dedicated funding lines in the FYDP","d":"A program of record has formal requirements, a budget line in the FYDP and an acquisition structure. Becoming part of one, or being chosen by one, is the usual goal for a technology company because it means recurring funding. The term is informal but universal.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Program of Record","program of record"],"r":["FYDP","Technology transition","Valley of death"]},{"t":"Porcupine strategy","s":"Making Taiwan too costly to invade with many small, survivable weapons","d":"A strategy for Taiwan, associated with former Chief of General Staff Admiral Lee Hsi-min and the Overall Defense Concept, emphasizing large numbers of small, mobile, survivable and cheap systems, such as anti-ship missiles, mines, drones and man-portable air defenses, to make invasion prohibitively costly. US officials have urged Taiwan to prioritize such asymmetric capabilities over expensive legacy platforms.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Overall Defense Concept","ODC","asymmetric defense"],"w":"Porcupine strategy","r":["Hellscape","Deterrence by denial","Taiwan contingency"]},{"t":"Power amplifier","x":"PA","s":"Amplifier that raises signal power for transmission","d":"The final amplifier in a transmitter chain that delivers power to the antenna. PA efficiency, linearity and thermal design dominate the size, weight and power of jammers and radars. Solid-state GaN PAs have largely replaced tubes except at the highest power levels and frequencies.","c":"RF","k":["PA","HPA","high power amplifier","SSPA"],"w":"Power amplifier classes","r":["GaN","Traveling-wave tube","P1dB"]},{"t":"Power-aperture product","s":"Average power times antenna area; the figure of merit for search radar capability","d":"For a radar searching a volume in a fixed frame time, detection range depends on average transmit power multiplied by effective aperture area, largely independent of frequency. It is the standard way to compare surveillance radars and to size arrays for missile defense. Fire control and tracking performance is better captured by the power-aperture-gain product, which favors larger, higher-gain apertures.","c":"Radar","k":["PA product","power aperture"],"r":["Radar equation","AESA"]},{"t":"Power projection","s":"The ability to deploy and sustain forces far from home","d":"The ability of a nation to apply elements of national power by rapidly deploying and sustaining forces at a distance from home territory. Carriers, amphibious groups, strategic airlift and tankers are classic power projection assets. A2/AD capabilities are designed to defeat it.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Power projection","r":["A2/AD","Force posture","Sea control"]},{"t":"PPBE","x":"Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution","s":"DoD's annual resource allocation process that turns strategy into budgets","d":"PPBE is the cycle by which DoD plans priorities, programs resources across a five-year plan, builds the annual budget request and executes appropriated funds. A program typically needs to be in the budget two years before money arrives. The 2024 PPBE Reform Commission recommended major changes, some of which DoD began implementing, and the 2025 reforms push toward more flexible portfolio-level funding.","c":"Acquisition","k":["PPBS","Planning Programming Budgeting and Execution"],"r":["POM","FYDP","Colors of money","Program element"]},{"t":"PPI","x":"Plan Position Indicator","s":"Radar display showing targets in range and azimuth around the radar, map-like","d":"The PPI shows radar returns as a polar map centered on the radar, with azimuth as angle and range as distance from the center. It remains the familiar operator display for search and navigation radars, now drawn digitally with track symbology over maps. Related displays include the A-scope (amplitude versus range) and B-scope (range versus azimuth, rectangular).","c":"Radar","k":["A-scope","B-scope","radar scope"],"w":"Plan position indicator","r":["Plot extractor"]},{"t":"PPLI","x":"Precise Participant Location and Identification","s":"Link 16 messages broadcasting each participant's own position and status","d":"PPLI messages, such as J2.2 for air units, are periodically transmitted by each Link 16 participant to report its own position, identity and status. They provide blue force awareness and are used for network relative navigation. Adding PPLI from a new platform is usually the first step in getting it onto the picture.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["J-series messages","Link 16","Blue Force Tracking"]},{"t":"PQC","x":"Post-Quantum Cryptography","s":"Cryptography designed to resist attack by quantum computers","d":"Post-quantum cryptography uses algorithms believed secure against both classical and quantum computers, replacing RSA and elliptic curve methods that a large quantum computer could break. NIST published the first standards in August 2024: FIPS 203 (ML-KEM), FIPS 204 (ML-DSA) and FIPS 205 (SLH-DSA), and selected HQC as an additional KEM in 2025. US federal policy, including NSM-10 and CNSA 2.0, directs migration, and harvest-now-decrypt-later risk makes it urgent for long-lived secrets.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["post-quantum","quantum-resistant cryptography"],"w":"Post-quantum cryptography","r":["CNSA 2.0","ML-KEM","ML-DSA"]},{"t":"Precipitation static","x":"P-static","s":"Charge buildup on airframes that causes RF noise and interference","d":"Electrostatic charge that builds on an aircraft flying through rain, snow, ice or dust and discharges through corona and arcing, producing broadband radio noise. Static wicks and bonding mitigate it, and MIL-STD-464 includes p-static requirements.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["P-static"],"r":["E3","MIL-STD-464"]},{"t":"Precise mass","s":"Large numbers of cheap but accurate munitions and drones","d":"A term, popularized by analyst T.X. Hammes and others, for the combination of low cost and high accuracy that commercial technology now allows in drones and munitions, letting even modest forces deliver large numbers of precise strikes. Ukrainian long-range drone campaigns against Russian refineries are commonly cited examples.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Affordable mass","Mass"]},{"t":"Pre-decisional","s":"Not yet approved; under deliberation and not for release","d":"Pre-decisional marks documents under deliberation, which are often withheld from release. Briefs and budgets are often marked \"pre-decisional, for official use only\" or CUI. Vendors should not share such documents beyond intended readers.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Read-ahead"]},{"t":"Preselector","s":"Tunable filter in front of a receiver that rejects strong out-of-band signals","d":"A tunable or switched band-pass filter ahead of a receiver's first active stage that passes only the band of interest, protecting against overload, intermodulation and image responses. Wideband EW receivers on crowded platforms rely on fast-tuning preselectors, such as YIG or switched filter banks.","c":"RF","k":["tracking filter","switched filter bank"],"r":["Filter","Blocking","Image frequency"]},{"t":"PRF","x":"Pulse Repetition Frequency","s":"Number of radar pulses transmitted per second; sets range and Doppler ambiguity","d":"PRF is the rate at which a pulsed radar transmits, the inverse of the pulse repetition interval. Low PRF gives unambiguous range but ambiguous Doppler, high PRF gives unambiguous Doppler but ambiguous range, and medium PRF is ambiguous in both and resolved with multiple PRFs. Airborne fire control radars interleave PRF modes to balance look-down performance, closing-speed detection and range measurement.","c":"Radar","k":["pulse repetition frequency","pulse repetition rate","PRR"],"w":"Pulse-repetition frequency","r":["PRI","PRF agility","Pulse-Doppler radar","Unambiguous range","Blind speed"]},{"t":"PRF agility","s":"Rapid switching of a radar's PRF to resolve ambiguities or defeat jammers","d":"The ability of a radar to change PRF rapidly, by stagger, jitter, dwell-and-switch or burst-to-burst selection, to resolve range and Doppler ambiguities and complicate jamming and identification. Agility forces ES receivers to rely on more parameters than PRF alone.","c":"Radar","k":["PRF agile","PRI agility","dwell and switch"],"r":["PRF","PRI stagger","Frequency agility"]},{"t":"PRI","x":"Pulse Repetition Interval","s":"Time between the start of one radar pulse and the next","d":"The time between successive pulses of a pulsed radar, the reciprocal of pulse repetition frequency. PRI determines the radar's unambiguous range and Doppler and is one of the most useful parameters for identifying an emitter. Radars vary PRI through stagger, jitter, dwell-and-switch and other patterns.","c":"EW","k":["pulse repetition interval","PRT","pulse repetition time"],"r":["PRF","PRI stagger","PRI jitter","Deinterleaving"]},{"t":"PRI jitter","s":"Random variation of PRI from pulse to pulse","d":"Deliberate random variation of the interval between pulses around a mean value. Jitter frustrates deception jammers that rely on predicting the next pulse, such as range gate pull-in, and spreads PRI histograms during deinterleaving. It is an EP feature.","c":"Radar","k":["PRF jitter","jittered PRI"],"r":["PRI stagger","Range gate pull-in","PRF agility"]},{"t":"Prime","s":"The contractor holding the contract directly with the government","d":"The prime contractor is legally responsible for all performance, including its subcontractors, and flows required clauses down to them. Many product companies start as subcontractors to primes before priming directly.","c":"Acquisition","k":["prime contractor"],"r":["Subcontractor","Flowdown","Teaming agreement"]},{"t":"Principles of war","s":"The nine classic principles: objective, offensive, mass, maneuver, and so on","d":"The US principles of war are objective, offensive, mass, maneuver, economy of force, unity of command, security, surprise and simplicity, remembered as MOOSEMUSS. Joint doctrine adds restraint, perseverance and legitimacy to make twelve principles of joint operations. They are taught at every level of military education.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["MOOSEMUSS","Principles of joint operations"],"r":["Economy of force","Mass"]},{"t":"PRI stagger","s":"Varying the interval between pulses to resolve ambiguities and raise blind speeds","d":"Staggered PRI uses a repeating set of different intervals so blind speeds of individual PRIs do not coincide, pushing the effective first blind speed much higher. Stagger and jitter also defeat second-time-around echoes and some deception jamming. ESM systems classify radars partly by their stagger patterns.","c":"Radar","k":["PRF stagger","staggered PRI","staggered PRF","PRF jitter"],"r":["PRI","PRI jitter","PRF agility","Blind speed"]},{"t":"Probability of collision","s":"Estimated chance two objects collide at a conjunction, often written Pc","d":"Pc is computed from the two objects' predicted positions and their uncertainty covariances at closest approach. Many operators use a threshold around 1 in 10,000 to trigger maneuver planning. The number is only as good as the covariance; poorly tracked debris can yield misleadingly low values.","c":"Space","k":["Pc"],"r":["Conjunction","CDM","Collision avoidance"]},{"t":"Probability of detection","s":"Likelihood a radar declares a target present when it is there (Pd)","d":"Pd depends on SNR, threshold, target fluctuation and integration. Radar range claims are meaningful only with Pd, Pfa, target RCS and Swerling case stated, for example Pd 0.9 against 1 m² at a given Pfa. Cumulative Pd over several scans is often specified for search radars.","c":"Radar","k":["Pd","Pdet"],"r":["Probability of false alarm","SNR","ROC curve"]},{"t":"Probability of false alarm","s":"Likelihood noise or clutter crosses the threshold in a cell with no target (Pfa)","d":"Pfa is set by the detection threshold relative to noise, and with millions of resolution cells per second even 1e-6 produces frequent false alarms. False alarm rate and false track rate drive operator workload and downstream data link loading. CFAR processing holds Pfa constant as background levels change.","c":"Radar","k":["Pfa","false alarm probability"],"r":["Probability of detection","CFAR","False alarm rate"]},{"t":"Probability of intercept","x":"POI","s":"Likelihood a receiver detects a signal within a given time","d":"The probability that a receiver will detect a given emitter within a specified time, which depends on how the receiver's frequency coverage, look direction and dwell overlap with the emitter's transmissions and scan. Wideband instantaneous coverage raises POI. LPI radars and burst communications are designed to lower it.","c":"EW","k":["POI"],"r":["ESM receiver","Instantaneous bandwidth","LPI"]},{"t":"Processed payload","s":"Satellite payload that demodulates, routes and remodulates traffic on board","d":"A processed (regenerative) payload demodulates and decodes uplinks on the satellite, then routes and retransmits the data, which removes uplink noise, enables onboard switching and crosslinks, and lets anti-jam techniques such as dehopping operate in space. AEHF and Milstar use processed payloads, as do Iridium and Starlink. They are less flexible because the waveform is fixed in the satellite unless it is software-defined.","c":"Comms","k":["regenerative payload","onboard processing"],"r":["Transponded payload","AEHF","Protected SATCOM"]},{"t":"Processing gain","s":"SNR improvement a receiver gains by despreading or integrating a signal","d":"The improvement in signal-to-noise ratio a receiver gets by correlating or integrating a known signal, typically equal to the ratio of spread bandwidth to data bandwidth for spread spectrum. Processing gain is what lets GPS work below the noise floor and is a direct measure of anti-jam margin. In radar it comes from pulse compression and coherent integration.","c":"RF","k":["spreading gain"],"w":"Process gain","r":["DSSS","Pulse compression","Jamming-to-signal ratio"]},{"t":"Procurement appropriation","s":"Appropriation for buying end items and production, usually available for three years","d":"Procurement funds production of weapons, vehicles, ammunition and other investment items, and is generally available for obligation for three years, five for Navy shipbuilding. It is divided by service into lines such as Aircraft Procurement and Other Procurement. Moving a product from prototype to production usually means moving from RDT&E to procurement funding.","c":"Acquisition","k":["procurement","PROC","3010","3080","OPA","APN"],"r":["RDT&E","Colors of money","LRIP"]},{"t":"Production follow-on","s":"Noncompetitive production award after a successful competitive prototype OT","d":"Under 10 USC 4022(f), a production contract or OT may be awarded without further competition if the prototype project was competitively awarded and completed successfully, and if the original solicitation provided for follow-on. It is a powerful route from prototype to production, so solicitations and agreements should state follow-on potential clearly.","c":"Acquisition","k":["follow-on production","P-OT","production OT"],"r":["OTA","10 USC 4022","SBIR Phase III"]},{"t":"PROFORMA","s":"SIGINT on machine-to-machine data signals, such as weapon system links","d":"Communications and data associated with the operation of weapon systems and other automated equipment, such as air defense data links and radar netting, exchanged machine to machine rather than between people. PROFORMA analysis sits between ELINT and COMINT and is important for understanding integrated air defense systems.","c":"SIGINT","k":["proforma signals"],"r":["ELINT","COMINT","FISINT"]},{"t":"Prognostics","s":"Predicting remaining useful life of components from sensor and usage data","d":"Prognostics and health management uses sensors, models and data analytics to forecast failures before they occur, enabling maintenance just in time. It is a core enabler of CBM+. Programs such as F-35 and Army aviation have invested heavily in it with mixed results.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["PHM","prognostics and health management","RUL","health monitoring","HUMS"],"w":"Prognostics","r":["CBM+","BIT","Digital twin"]},{"t":"Program element","s":"The basic budget line in DoD's FYDP, identified by a PE number","d":"A program element is the building block of the FYDP, a funding line for a set of related activities, coded with a PE number whose digits indicate budget activity and component. RDT&E budget justification books list efforts by PE. Searching PE numbers is a reliable way to track where money for a technology area sits.","c":"Acquisition","k":["PE","PE number"],"r":["FYDP","J-book","Budget activities"]},{"t":"Project Convergence","s":"Army-led campaign of learning and joint experiments for JADC2","d":"Project Convergence is the Army's annual campaign of experimentation, started in 2020, that tests how sensors, shooters, networks and AI can shorten kill chains across services and with allies. Later iterations became joint and multinational, with the Capstone 5 event held in early 2025. It is a common venue for vendors to demonstrate C2 software, datalinks and autonomy.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["PC"],"r":["JADC2","NGC2","Kill web"]},{"t":"Project Maven","s":"DoD program applying computer vision and AI to intelligence and targeting","d":"Project Maven, formally the Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team, was started in 2017 to apply machine learning to full-motion video and other intelligence data. In 2023 its GEOINT-related AI work moved to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the program now underpins Maven Smart System. It is the best known example of operational AI in DoD targeting workflows.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team","AWCFT"],"w":"Project Maven","r":["Maven Smart System","NGA","CDAO"]},{"t":"Project Overmatch","s":"Navy effort to network the fleet for distributed maritime operations","d":"Project Overmatch is the Navy's classified-priority effort to build the Naval Operational Architecture: networks, infrastructure, data architecture and tools that connect manned and unmanned platforms for distributed maritime operations. It is the Navy's contribution to JADC2 and has been fielded to carrier strike groups. Details are largely closely held, and public descriptions emphasize software factories, transport diversity and data.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["JADC2","Naval Operational Architecture"]},{"t":"Proliferated constellation","s":"Large numbers of cheaper satellites in place of a few exquisite ones","d":"A proliferated constellation spreads a mission across dozens to thousands of smaller, cheaper satellites, usually in LEO. Losing a few satellites degrades the system gracefully, raising the cost to an attacker and improving resilience, and refreshing the fleet every few years lets technology keep up. The model came from commercial broadband (Starlink, OneWeb) and underpins SDA's PWSA and the NRO's proliferated architecture.","c":"Space","k":["megaconstellation","proliferation"],"r":["pLEO","PWSA","Resilience","Starshield"]},{"t":"Proportionality","s":"LOAC rule: expected civilian harm must not be excessive for the military gain","d":"The LOAC principle that prohibits attacks expected to cause incidental civilian loss of life, injury or damage that would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. It is a judgment made by commanders before an attack, supported by collateral damage estimation. It is distinct from the everyday sense of a proportionate response.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["principle of proportionality"],"w":"Proportionality (law)","r":["CDE","Distinction","LOAC"]},{"t":"Protected SATCOM","s":"SATCOM designed to resist jamming, interception and nuclear effects","d":"Protected SATCOM provides anti-jam, low probability of intercept, survivable and secure communications, traditionally through EHF frequency-hopping waveforms with onboard processing (Milstar, AEHF) and in future through ESS, PTS and PTW. Throughput is lower than wideband systems, so it is reserved for critical traffic such as NC3 and command links. It contrasts with wideband (WGS) and commercial services.","c":"Comms","k":["protected communications"],"r":["AEHF","ESS","PTS","PTW","Anti-jam"]},{"t":"Protocol manipulation","s":"Spoofing or injecting messages in a drone's own control protocol","d":"Protocol manipulation is the technique behind cyber-takeover C-UAS: forging messages a drone will accept, such as land, return home or disconnect. Commercial protocols and unsigned MAVLink are the usual targets. For anyone building drones, it is a reminder to authenticate and encrypt the C2 link.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["RF cyber takeover","MAVLink"]},{"t":"Prototype","s":"An early working model used to evaluate technology or concepts before production","d":"In acquisition law, a prototype project can be a physical or virtual model, a proof of concept, or a pilot, and the broad definition in 10 USC 4022 is what enables wide use of prototype OTs. Prototyping is also encouraged by statute before Milestone B on major programs.","c":"Acquisition","k":["prototyping","competitive prototyping"],"r":["OTA","Rapid Prototyping","TMRR"]},{"t":"Provisioning","s":"Determining and buying the initial spares and support items for a new system","d":"Provisioning identifies the parts and support equipment needed for initial sustainment, assigns source maintenance and recoverability codes, gets items cataloged with NSNs and buys initial spares. Contractors deliver provisioning technical documentation, often under GEIA-STD-0007.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["provisioning conference","PTD","SMR code","GEIA-STD-0007"],"r":["Spares","NSN","Cataloging"]},{"t":"Proword","x":"Procedure Word","s":"A procedure word with a fixed meaning on the radio, such as ROGER or OVER","d":"Procedure words are standardized words or phrases (defined in ACP 125 and service manuals) that convey common meanings briefly over voice radio. Using them wrong marks an outsider instantly. Voice-control and speech-to-text tools for military users need to recognize them.","c":"Comms","k":["Prowords"],"w":"Procedure word","r":["Roger","Wilco","Over","Out"]},{"t":"Proximity fuze","s":"Fuze that detonates when near a target, using radar or laser sensing","d":"A proximity fuze senses a target's nearness and detonates at the best distance, so a missile or shell need not hit directly. Radio proximity fuzes in WWII greatly improved anti-aircraft fire. Modern versions use RF or laser sensors in missiles, artillery airburst and counter-drone rounds.","c":"Weapons","k":["VT fuze","influence fuze","airburst"],"w":"Proximity fuze","r":["Fuze","Blast fragmentation"]},{"t":"PRR","x":"Production Readiness Review","s":"Review confirming the design and manufacturing processes are ready for production","d":"The PRR assesses whether the design is stable and producible and whether facilities, tooling, suppliers and processes are in place. It supports Milestone C and the LRIP decision.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Production Readiness Review"],"r":["MRL","Milestone C","LRIP"]},{"t":"PrSM","x":"Precision Strike Missile","s":"Lockheed Martin ATACMS successor, two per pod, 500 km plus","d":"PrSM is the Army's new ballistic missile for HIMARS and M270, with two per pod and a range beyond 500 km in Increment 1, which was first used in combat in 2024. Later increments add a multimode seeker for moving targets at sea and on land and longer range. It is central to Army long-range fires in the Pacific.","c":"Weapons","k":["Precision Strike Missile","PrSM Inc 1"],"w":"Precision Strike Missile","r":["ATACMS","HIMARS"]},{"t":"Pseudorange","s":"Measured range to a GNSS satellite, including the receiver clock error","d":"A pseudorange is the distance to a satellite computed from the signal's travel time, called pseudo because it includes the unknown receiver clock offset. Solving for three position coordinates plus clock bias is why a receiver needs four satellites. Carrier-phase measurements are more precise but ambiguous by whole wavelengths.","c":"PNT","w":"Pseudorange","r":["GNSS","Carrier phase","DOP"]},{"t":"PSM","x":"Product Support Manager","s":"Government official responsible for a program's sustainment strategy","d":"Required by statute for major weapon systems, the PSM develops and implements the product support strategy, working for the program manager. PSMs decide between organic and contractor support and structure performance-based arrangements.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Product Support Manager","PSI","product support integrator","PSP"],"r":["IPS elements","LCSP","PBL"]},{"t":"PT","x":"Physical Training","s":"Physical training, usually done early each morning","d":"PT is daily physical fitness training, typically the first event of the day, so units are rarely available for meetings before mid-morning. Each service has a fitness test, such as the Army Fitness Test. \"PTs\" can also mean the physical training uniform.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["PTs"],"r":["Battle rhythm"]},{"t":"PTS","x":"Protected Tactical SATCOM","s":"Space Force family of anti-jam SATCOM programs for tactical users","d":"Protected Tactical SATCOM delivers jam-resistant communications to tactical forces using the Protected Tactical Waveform. It includes PTS-P (prototype payloads), PTS-G (global, smaller GEO satellites from multiple vendors), PTS-R (resilient payloads hosted on other satellites) and the ground-based Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES). It is meant to give tactical users protection at a lower cost than AEHF.","c":"Comms","k":["PTS-P","PTS-R","PTES","Protected Tactical Enterprise Service"],"r":["PTS-G","PTW","AEHF","Protected SATCOM"]},{"t":"PTS-G","x":"Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global","s":"Small GEO satellites providing PTW anti-jam service worldwide","d":"PTS-G is the global segment of Protected Tactical SATCOM: smaller GEO satellites carrying PTW-capable payloads to provide anti-jam tactical communications. Initial contracts were awarded in 2024 to several companies, with a downselect to follow, and launches are planned later in the decade.","c":"Comms","r":["PTS","PTW"]},{"t":"PTTI","x":"Precise Time and Time Interval","s":"DoD term for precise time and frequency, managed by the US Naval Observatory","d":"PTTI covers precise time (date and time of day) and time interval (frequency and duration) for systems such as networks, crypto, radar and EW. The US Naval Observatory is the DoD's time reference and maintains UTC(USNO), to which GPS time is steered. Programs specify timing accuracy and holdover requirements under PTTI policy.","c":"PNT","k":["USNO","UTC(USNO)"],"r":["Time transfer","GPS time","Holdover","Atomic clock"]},{"t":"PTW","x":"Protected Tactical Waveform","s":"Anti-jam SATCOM waveform usable over WGS, commercial and PTS satellites","d":"The Protected Tactical Waveform is a government-owned frequency-hopping waveform designed to give tactical users jam resistance and low probability of detection over transponded satellites, including WGS and commercial satellites, using ground-based processing (PTES) as well as PTS payloads. Modems and terminals from multiple vendors are being certified to it. It extends protection beyond EHF without new satellites.","c":"Comms","r":["PTS","Anti-jam","WGS","Transponded payload"]},{"t":"Pulse compression","s":"Coding a long pulse so it can be compressed on receive into a short, high-resolution pulse","d":"Pulse compression modulates a long pulse in frequency or phase so a matched filter collapses it into a narrow peak with resolution set by bandwidth. The compression ratio is the time-bandwidth product. It lets solid-state radars with low peak power achieve both long range and fine range resolution, at the cost of range sidelobes that need weighting or mismatched filters to control.","c":"Radar","k":["matched filtering","PC"],"w":"Pulse compression","r":["Chirp","Barker code","MOP","Processing gain","LFM","Matched filter","Range sidelobes"]},{"t":"Pulse descriptor word","x":"PDW","s":"Digital record of one intercepted pulse: time, frequency, width, amplitude, angle","d":"A digital record that an ES receiver produces for each intercepted pulse, typically containing time of arrival, frequency, pulse width, amplitude, angle of arrival and sometimes intrapulse modulation flags. PDW streams feed deinterleaving and emitter identification. Their format and rates are central integration details for anyone building EW processing.","c":"EW","k":["PDW"],"r":["Deinterleaving","Time of arrival","Emitter identification"]},{"t":"Pulse-Doppler radar","s":"Coherent pulse radar that measures velocity and filters clutter by Doppler","d":"Pulse-Doppler radars transmit coherent pulse trains and resolve targets in both range and Doppler, which allows look-down detection of aircraft against ground clutter. Nearly all modern fighter, AEW and air defense radars are pulse-Doppler. Their PRF choice determines which ambiguities they must resolve.","c":"Radar","k":["PD radar"],"w":"Pulse-Doppler radar","r":["PRF","MPRF","Look-down/shoot-down"]},{"t":"Pulse width","x":"PW","s":"Duration of a single radar pulse","d":"The duration of a transmitted pulse, usually measured at the half power points. Pulse width sets the energy per pulse and, without pulse compression, the range resolution. It is a standard PDW field and helps distinguish emitters, although pulse compression radars use long pulses with high resolution.","c":"Radar","k":["PW","pulse duration","pulse length","tau"],"w":"Pulse width","r":["Pulse compression","Pulse descriptor word","PRI","Range resolution","Blind range"]},{"t":"Purple team","s":"Collaborative exercise where red and blue teams work together","d":"Purple teaming brings red and blue teams together so that attack techniques are executed and detections are tuned in real time. It focuses on improving defenses rather than scoring a win. Many organizations structure it around ATT&CK techniques.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["Red team","Blue team","MITRE ATT&CK"]},{"t":"Push-to-talk","s":"Half-duplex voice operation where a button keys the transmitter","d":"Push-to-talk is half-duplex voice operation in which a user presses a button to transmit and releases it to listen. It is standard on tactical radios and is emulated by apps and LTE systems (PoC, push-to-talk over cellular). Products that bridge radio and IP voice must handle PTT signaling and floor control.","c":"Comms","k":["PTT"],"w":"Push-to-talk","r":["Radio over IP"]},{"t":"PWS","x":"Performance Work Statement","s":"Work description stated as measurable outcomes rather than methods","d":"A PWS describes required results and performance standards, usually paired with a quality assurance surveillance plan, and is the preferred format for services under performance-based acquisition. It gives the contractor latitude in how to achieve the results.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Performance Work Statement","QASP"],"r":["SOW","SOO","Acquisition of Services"]},{"t":"PWSA","x":"Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture","s":"SDA's layered LEO constellation for tracking and data transport","d":"PWSA is the Space Development Agency's architecture of hundreds of satellites in LEO, refreshed in tranches about every two years. Its core is the Transport Layer, a meshed data network with optical crosslinks and Link 16 and Ka-band links to the ground, and the Tracking Layer, infrared satellites for missile warning and tracking. It was originally called the National Defense Space Architecture with seven layers; the name changed in 2023 and the layers were consolidated.","c":"Space","k":["National Defense Space Architecture","NDSA"],"r":["SDA","Transport Layer","Tracking Layer","Tranche 1","Tranche 2"]},{"t":"P(Y) code","s":"Encrypted precision GPS code on L1 and L2 used by legacy military receivers","d":"P code is the precise GPS ranging code on L1 and L2; encrypted with the W code it becomes Y code, written P(Y), which only authorized receivers can use. It provides anti-spoofing and better precision than C/A code. Many military receivers still rely on it via SAASM, and M-code is its successor.","c":"PNT","k":["P code","Y code","precise code"],"r":["C/A code","M-code","SAASM"]},{"t":"PZ","x":"Pickup Zone","s":"Pickup zone: where troops and equipment board aircraft","d":"A pickup zone is the area where personnel and equipment are loaded onto helicopters at the start of an air assault or extraction. PZ operations are tightly timed. LZ is the destination.","c":"Aviation","r":["LZ"]},{"t":"Quad","s":"Quadrilateral Security Dialogue of the US, Japan, India and Australia","d":"The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue: a diplomatic partnership of Australia, India, Japan and the US focused on a free and open Indo-Pacific, covering maritime domain awareness, health, technology and infrastructure, with no mutual defense commitment. Leaders' summits began in 2021, and the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, using commercial satellite data, is one of its practical initiatives.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["QSD"],"w":"Quadrilateral Security Dialogue","r":["AUKUS","Five Eyes"]},{"t":"Quad chart","s":"A single slide split into four boxes summarizing a project or proposal","d":"A quad chart summarizes a program or proposal on one slide, typically with an image, objectives, approach and schedule or cost. Many solicitations, including SBIR and some commercial solutions openings, require one. It is often the first thing a reviewer reads.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Death by PowerPoint","Stoplight chart"]},{"t":"Qualification test","s":"Testing that proves a design meets its requirements, usually with margin","d":"Qualification testing is performed on representative units, often beyond operational levels, to demonstrate that the design meets environmental, EMI and performance requirements. Qual units are usually not delivered for use because the testing consumes life. Requalification may be needed after significant design or supplier changes.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["qualification","qual test","QT","qualification by similarity"],"r":["Acceptance test","First article test","MIL-STD-810"]},{"t":"Quantum navigation","s":"Navigation using quantum sensors such as cold-atom interferometers","d":"Quantum navigation uses sensors that exploit quantum effects, mainly cold-atom interferometer accelerometers and gyroscopes, quantum magnetometers and optical atomic clocks, promising far lower drift than classical inertial sensors. DARPA, the UK and others have funded demonstrations, including flight and ship trials. Size, weight, power and handling of dynamics remain the main hurdles.","c":"PNT","k":["quantum inertial sensor","atom interferometry"],"r":["Cold atom","Magnetic anomaly navigation","INS"]},{"t":"QZSS","x":"Quasi-Zenith Satellite System","s":"Japan's regional satellite navigation system augmenting GPS","d":"QZSS (Michibiki) is Japan's regional system using satellites in inclined geosynchronous (quasi-zenith) and GEO orbits so one is always nearly overhead in Japan, improving availability in urban canyons. It broadcasts GPS-compatible signals and augmentation services, and some satellites have carried US hosted payloads for space domain awareness.","c":"PNT","w":"Quasi-Zenith Satellite System","r":["GNSS","GPS"]},{"t":"RAAN","x":"Right Ascension of the Ascending Node","s":"Orbital element giving where an orbit crosses the equator going north","d":"RAAN is the angle, measured eastward in the inertial frame from the vernal equinox, to the point where the satellite crosses the equator heading north. Together with inclination it fixes the orientation of the orbital plane. Constellations are laid out in planes separated in RAAN, and Earth's oblateness slowly drifts RAAN, which designers either exploit (sun-synchronous orbits) or must correct.","c":"Space","k":["longitude of the ascending node"],"w":"Longitude of the ascending node","r":["Orbital elements","Inclination","SSO"]},{"t":"Radar","x":"Radio Detection and Ranging","s":"Sensor that transmits RF energy and measures echoes to find range, angle and speed","d":"A radar transmits radio-frequency energy, receives the portion reflected by objects, and infers range from round-trip delay, angle from antenna pointing or phase comparison, and radial velocity from Doppler shift. Military radars span HF over-the-horizon systems to W-band seekers and serve search, tracking, fire control, imaging and weather. For product teams the key trade spaces are frequency band, aperture size, power, waveform and signal processing, all bounded by size, weight, power and cooling (SWaP-C).","c":"Radar","k":["radio detection and ranging"],"w":"Radar","r":["Radar equation","RCS","AESA"]},{"t":"Radar altimeter","s":"Downward radar measuring height above ground, mostly in the 4.2 to 4.4 GHz band","d":"Radar altimeters measure height above terrain for landing, terrain following and weapon fuzing, typically with FMCW signals in 4.2 to 4.4 GHz. The 2022 rollout of nearby C-band 5G in the US raised interference concerns, leading to FAA filter and replacement mandates. They are also used on UAS and in proximity fuzes.","c":"Radar","k":["radio altimeter","RADALT"],"w":"Radar altimeter","r":["FMCW radar","Spectrum sharing","Terrain-following radar"]},{"t":"Radar equation","s":"Relates received echo power to transmit power, gain, wavelength, RCS and range","d":"The monostatic radar range equation gives received power as Pt·G²·λ²·σ / ((4π)³·R⁴·L), so detection range scales with the fourth root of power-aperture and target RCS. It is the starting point for every radar sizing exercise: doubling range needs sixteen times the power-aperture product or integration gain. Variants include the search form (power-aperture product, independent of wavelength) and the bistatic form with separate transmit and receive ranges.","c":"Radar","k":["radar range equation"],"w":"Radar","r":["RCS","SNR","Power-aperture product"]},{"t":"Radar horizon","s":"Maximum line-of-sight range set by Earth curvature and antenna and target heights","d":"With standard atmospheric refraction modeled by a 4/3 Earth radius, the radar horizon in kilometers is about 4.12·(√h_radar + √h_target) with heights in meters. A mast radar at 25 m sees a sea-skimmer at 5 m only about 30 km out, which is why airborne early warning and elevated sensors matter. OTH radars use the ionosphere or surface waves to see past it.","c":"Radar","k":["4/3 Earth model","radio horizon","line of sight"],"w":"Radar horizon","r":["AEW&C","OTH radar","Ducting"]},{"t":"Radar range equation","s":"Relates radar detection range to power, gain, RCS, wavelength and noise","d":"The equation relating received echo power to transmit power, antenna gain, wavelength, target radar cross section and range to the fourth power, used with receiver noise and required SNR to predict detection range. The fourth power dependence, compared with the square law for one-way jamming, is central to EW calculations.","c":"Radar","k":["radar equation"],"r":["Jamming-to-signal ratio","Friis transmission equation","Burn-through range"]},{"t":"Radar resource management","s":"Scheduling a multifunction radar's time and energy among search, track and other tasks","d":"Electronically scanned radars must divide their timeline among volume search, cued search, track updates, missile uplinks, discrimination and other tasks. Resource managers assign priorities, revisit rates and dwells and degrade gracefully under overload. It is a major software element of systems like Aegis SPY-6 and fighter AESAs.","c":"Radar","k":["RRM","radar scheduling","beam scheduling"],"r":["Multifunction radar","Sensor management","Cognitive radar"]},{"t":"Radar warning receiver","x":"RWR","s":"Onboard receiver that detects and identifies threat radars and alerts the crew","d":"A passive receiver on an aircraft, vehicle or ship that detects radar emissions, matches them against a threat library and tells the crew which threats are present, their bearing and their mode (search, track or launch). RWRs are reprogrammed with mission data files and cue countermeasures. Examples include the AN/ALR-56M, AN/ALR-69A and AN/APR-39.","c":"EW","k":["RWR","radar warning system"],"w":"Radar warning receiver","r":["Mission data file","Threat library","AN/ALR-56M","AN/ALR-69A"]},{"t":"Rad-hard","x":"Radiation-hardened","s":"Electronics designed and tested to survive the space radiation environment","d":"Radiation-hardened parts are designed, processed and qualified to tolerate high total dose and to be immune or resistant to single event latchup and upsets, typically under MIL-PRF-38535 QML Class V and similar standards. They are expensive and a few generations behind commercial chips. Proliferated LEO programs often use radiation-tolerant or screened commercial parts plus system-level mitigation, accepting more risk for lower cost and higher performance.","c":"Space","k":["rad-tolerant","radiation hardening","RHBD","radiation hardened","TID","SEE"],"w":"Radiation hardening","r":["TID","SEU","SEL","COTS in space","Dosimetry","EMP"]},{"t":"RADINT","x":"Radar Intelligence","s":"MASINT derived from radar returns and measurements","d":"Radar intelligence: intelligence gathered by using radar to measure targets, such as radar cross section, trajectory, rotation and micro-Doppler signatures. Ballistic missile tests are a classic RADINT target, measured by radars such as Cobra Dane on Shemya Island in Alaska. It is distinct from ELINT, which exploits the adversary's own radar emissions.","c":"Intelligence","r":["MASINT","ELINT"]},{"t":"Radio frequency","x":"RF","s":"Electromagnetic frequencies used for radio, roughly 3 kHz to 300 GHz","d":"The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum used for radio communication, radar and related systems, conventionally about 3 kHz to 300 GHz under the ITU band scheme. Above 300 GHz lies the terahertz region and then infrared. RF is also used loosely to mean any radio signal or the hardware that handles it.","c":"RF","k":["RF","radio spectrum"],"w":"Radio frequency","r":["Electromagnetic spectrum","Microwave","ITU"]},{"t":"Radiological weapon","s":"Weapon spreading radioactive material without a nuclear explosion","d":"A radiological weapon disperses radioactive material to contaminate an area and cause fear and disruption. Its casualties come mostly from the conventional explosion, while the contamination causes economic and psychological effects. Detection, dosimetry and decon are the defenses.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["RDD","radiological dispersal device"],"w":"Radiological warfare","r":["Dirty bomb","Dosimetry"]},{"t":"Radio over IP","s":"Carrying radio voice and PTT signaling across IP networks","d":"Radio over IP (RoIP) bridges radio nets to IP networks so that voice and push-to-talk can be relayed between radios, consoles and phones. It is used for cross-banding and command post voice integration. Interoperability between vendors often depends on standards such as EIA/TIA ISSI or vendor gateways.","c":"Comms","k":["RoIP"],"r":["Push-to-talk","Cross-banding"]},{"t":"Radome","s":"Protective cover over a radar antenna that is transparent to RF","d":"Radomes shield antennas from weather, airflow and debris while ideally passing RF with minimal loss and distortion. Their materials, thickness and shape affect boresight error, sidelobes and RCS, and on stealth aircraft they may use frequency-selective surfaces to pass only the radar band. Rain erosion and lightning protection drive airborne radome design.","c":"Radar","w":"Radome","r":["Frequency-selective surface","AESA"]},{"t":"RAIM","x":"Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring","s":"Receiver check that detects and excludes faulty GNSS satellites","d":"RAIM uses redundant satellite measurements to detect inconsistent ranges and, with enough satellites, exclude the faulty one, giving integrity assurance without external aid. Advanced RAIM (ARAIM) extends this to multi-constellation, dual-frequency aviation use. Similar consistency checks help detect some spoofing.","c":"PNT","k":["ARAIM","FDE"],"w":"Receiver autonomous integrity monitoring","r":["SBAS","GNSS spoofing"]},{"t":"Rain fade","s":"Signal loss from rain, severe at Ku, Ka and higher bands","d":"Rain fade is attenuation and depolarization of radio signals by rain, increasing steeply with frequency, so it is minor at L and X band but can exceed 10 dB at Ka-band in heavy rain. Designers use ITU-R P.618 models to set availability margins and use adaptive coding, uplink power control and site diversity to mitigate it.","c":"RF","w":"Rain fade","r":["Ka-band","Link margin"]},{"t":"RAM","x":"Reliability, Availability and Maintainability","s":"The trio of suitability attributes that drive readiness and sustainment cost","d":"RAM requirements, guided by the DoD RAM-C rationale report manual, set how often a system fails, how quickly it can be restored and what fraction of time it is ready. They underpin the sustainment KPP. Optimistic reliability predictions are a common cause of operational test failures.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Reliability Availability Maintainability","RAM-C"],"r":["MTBF","MTTR","Ao","Ai"],"h":"RAM – Reliability, Availability and Maintainability"},{"t":"RAM","x":"Radar-Absorbent Material","s":"Coatings and structures that absorb radar energy to reduce reflections","d":"Radar-absorbent materials convert incident RF into heat using magnetic (ferrite), dielectric or resistive layers, with performance tied to thickness and frequency. Structural RAS (radar-absorbent structure) builds absorption into load-bearing parts. They add weight and maintenance burden and are less effective at low frequencies where required thickness grows.","c":"Radar","k":["radar absorbing material","RAS","radar-absorbent structure"],"w":"Radiation-absorbent material","r":["Low observable","RCS reduction"],"h":"RAM – Radar-Absorbent Material"},{"t":"Ramjet","s":"Air-breathing engine with no moving parts, efficient from about Mach 2 to 5","d":"A ramjet slows incoming air to subsonic speed for combustion using inlet shape alone. It powers long-range missiles such as the MBDA Meteor air-to-air missile and many anti-ship missiles. Like scramjets, it needs a booster to reach operating speed.","c":"Weapons","k":["ducted rocket"],"w":"Ramjet","r":["Scramjet"]},{"t":"Random finite sets","s":"Tracking framework modeling targets and measurements as sets, e.g. PHD filters","d":"Random finite set methods, introduced largely by Ronald Mahler, treat the multi-target state as a set with unknown cardinality, avoiding explicit association. The PHD, CPHD and labeled multi-Bernoulli filters are the main implementations. They are increasingly used for swarms and dense scenes where classical association scales poorly.","c":"Sensors","k":["RFS","PHD filter","LMB filter"],"r":["MHT","Data association"]},{"t":"Range ambiguity","s":"Uncertainty about which transmitted pulse an echo belongs to","d":"When targets lie beyond the unambiguous range, their echoes fold into the current range window and appear closer than they are. High and medium PRF radars live with range ambiguity and resolve it using several PRFs and the Chinese remainder theorem or coincidence logic. Unresolved ambiguity also folds distant clutter onto near targets.","c":"Radar","k":["range folding"],"r":["Unambiguous range","Doppler ambiguity","MPRF"]},{"t":"Range-Doppler map","s":"2D grid of echo power by range and radial velocity for one dwell","d":"A range-Doppler map is the output of pulse compression and Doppler processing for one CPI, with clutter concentrated near zero Doppler and targets appearing as peaks elsewhere. Detection, CFAR and many ML classifiers operate on this representation. It is also a common data product exchanged in radar test and development.","c":"Radar","k":["RD map","range-Doppler matrix"],"r":["Doppler filter bank","CFAR"]},{"t":"Range gate","s":"Time window in the receiver corresponding to a range interval","d":"A range gate selects returns from a specific range cell for processing or tracking. Tracking radars use split early and late gates to follow a target in range, which range gate pull-off jamming tries to exploit. In digital radars, range gates are simply samples after pulse compression.","c":"Radar","k":["range bin","range cell"],"r":["Range resolution","Range-Doppler map"]},{"t":"Range gate pull-in","x":"RGPI","s":"RGPO variant that walks the false return ahead of the true target","d":"A variant of range gate pull-off that requires predicting the radar's pulse timing so false returns can be placed before the true echo, drawing the range gate inward. It defeats leading-edge tracking, which ignores later returns, and needs a stable pulse repetition interval or a DRFM that can predict it.","c":"EW","k":["RGPI"],"r":["Range gate pull-off","Leading-edge tracking"]},{"t":"Range gate pull-off","x":"RGPO","s":"Deception that walks a radar's range gate away from the true target","d":"A deception technique in which the jammer first repeats the radar's pulses with no delay to capture the range tracking gate, then progressively delays them so the gate is dragged off the true target. When the jammer stops, the radar has lost track and must reacquire. Leading-edge tracking and other ECCM features counter it.","c":"EW","k":["RGPO","range gate stealing","range gate walk-off"],"r":["Velocity gate pull-off","Range gate pull-in","DRFM","Leading-edge tracking"]},{"t":"Range resolution","s":"Minimum separation at which two targets in range appear distinct: about c/(2B)","d":"Range resolution depends on waveform bandwidth B, roughly c/(2B), so 1 MHz gives about 150 m and 1 GHz about 15 cm. Fine resolution is needed for SAR, ISAR, target classification and ballistic missile discrimination, while coarse resolution keeps search processing light. Amplitude weighting widens the resolution cell slightly.","c":"Radar","r":["Pulse compression","Stretch processing","Doppler resolution"]},{"t":"Range sidelobes","s":"Spurious responses either side of the compressed pulse peak","d":"Pulse compression leaves sidelobes in range that can mask small targets near large ones or near strong clutter. They are controlled with amplitude weighting (Taylor, Hamming), NLFM, mismatched filters or adaptive pulse compression. Specs usually quote peak and integrated sidelobe levels in dB.","c":"Radar","k":["time sidelobes","PSLR"],"r":["Pulse compression","NLFM","Matched filter"]},{"t":"RAP","x":"Recognized Air Picture","s":"Air situation picture with tracks identified and correlated","d":"The recognized air picture is the electronic display of air activity in an area in which tracks have been correlated and identified. It is built from radars, IFF and datalinks, and is the basis for air defense and airspace control. NATO uses the term heavily, and producing a RAP across nations is a key Link 16 and ACCS function.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["RMP","COP","Link 16"]},{"t":"Rapid Fielding","s":"MTA path to start production within six months and finish fielding within five years","d":"The second Middle Tier of Acquisition path, for proven technologies needing minimal development. Production is expected to begin within six months of program start and complete fielding within five years. Products that already exist commercially or emerged from a successful prototype are the usual candidates.","c":"Acquisition","k":["MTA rapid fielding","MTA-RF"],"r":["MTA","Rapid Prototyping"]},{"t":"Rapid Prototyping","s":"MTA path to field a prototype with residual operational capability within five years","d":"One of the two Middle Tier of Acquisition paths. Its goal is to demonstrate a new capability in an operational environment and leave residual operational capability within five years of the program's start. Rapid prototyping efforts often run on Other Transaction agreements and can transition to a rapid fielding effort, a Major Capability Acquisition program, or follow-on production.","c":"Acquisition","k":["MTA rapid prototyping","MTA-RP"],"r":["MTA","Rapid Fielding","OTA","Production follow-on"]},{"t":"Rating","s":"A Navy enlisted occupation, such as Information Systems Technician","d":"In the Navy, a rating is an enlisted job field, such as IT (information systems technician) or FC (fire controlman), and sailors are often called by rating and grade (\"IT2\"). Officers have designators instead. NECs add sub-specialties.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Rate"],"r":["NEC","MOS"]},{"t":"RC-135S Cobra Ball","s":"US Air Force aircraft that tracks ballistic missile tests","d":"The RC-135S Cobra Ball collects optical and electronic data on ballistic missile flights, supporting arms control verification and missile intelligence, including FISINT on telemetry and MASINT on the missile itself.","c":"Intelligence","k":["Cobra Ball","RC-135S"],"r":["FISINT","MASINT","RC-135V/W Rivet Joint"]},{"t":"RC-135U Combat Sent","s":"US Air Force technical ELINT aircraft","d":"The RC-135U Combat Sent is a small fleet of US Air Force aircraft dedicated to technical ELINT, collecting detailed radar emitter characteristics used to develop countermeasures, threat simulators and reprogramming data.","c":"SIGINT","k":["Combat Sent","RC-135U"],"r":["Technical ELINT","RC-135V/W Rivet Joint"]},{"t":"RC-135V/W Rivet Joint","s":"US Air Force and RAF airborne SIGINT aircraft","d":"The Boeing RC-135V/W Rivet Joint is a reconnaissance aircraft carrying extensive SIGINT receivers and operators that detect, identify and geolocate signals and pass near real-time information to commanders. US aircraft are flown by the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, and the UK Royal Air Force flies three RC-135W as Airseeker.","c":"SIGINT","k":["Rivet Joint","RC-135W","RC-135V","Airseeker"],"w":"Boeing RC-135","r":["RC-135U Combat Sent","RC-135S Cobra Ball","SIGINT"]},{"t":"RCM","x":"Reliability-Centered Maintenance","s":"Method for deciding maintenance tasks based on failure modes and consequences","d":"RCM analyzes each failure mode's consequences to select the most effective maintenance, such as condition monitoring, scheduled replacement or run to failure. It originated in commercial aviation and is standard in DoD maintenance planning, building on FMECA results.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Reliability Centered Maintenance","SAE JA1011"],"w":"Reliability-centered maintenance","r":["FMECA","CBM+"]},{"t":"RCS","x":"Radar Cross Section","s":"Effective reflective area of a target as seen by a radar, usually in square meters or dBsm","d":"Radar cross section is the area of an ideal isotropic reflector that would return the same echo power as the target. It depends strongly on aspect angle, frequency and polarization, and can vary by tens of dB over a few degrees of rotation. Typical open-source figures run from roughly 10 to 100 m² for large aircraft down to small fractions of a square meter for small drones and low observable platforms. RCS drives detection range only as its fourth root, so a 10 dB reduction cuts detection range by about 44 percent.","c":"Radar","k":["radar cross-section","sigma"],"w":"Radar cross section","r":["dBsm","Swerling models","Low observable"]},{"t":"RCS reduction","s":"Design techniques that lower a platform's radar cross section","d":"Shaping redirects reflections away from threat radars, edge alignment concentrates residual spikes into a few directions, RAM absorbs energy, and treatments for cavities, inlets and antennas limit strong scatterers. Shaping is most effective at higher frequencies, while absorbers and size dominate at lower ones. RCS is measured on ranges and verified with computational electromagnetics.","c":"Radar","k":["shaping","edge alignment","planform alignment"],"r":["Low observable","RAM","Specular reflection"]},{"t":"RCV","x":"Robotic Combat Vehicle","s":"Army program for armed unmanned ground vehicles teamed with crewed vehicles","d":"RCV aimed to field remotely operated or semi-autonomous combat vehicles operating ahead of crewed formations. The Army pursued a light variant through a prototype competition, and the program's scope has changed with budget priorities. Autonomy, teleoperation latency and robust datalinks are its main technical challenges.","c":"Ground","k":["RCV-L","robotic combat vehicle"],"r":["UGV","MUM-T"]},{"t":"RDT&E","x":"Research, Development, Test and Evaluation","s":"Appropriation for research, prototyping and testing, available for two years","d":"RDT&E funds science and technology, prototyping, development and testing, divided into budget activities 6.1 through 6.8. It is available for obligation for two fiscal years. Most SBIR, prototype OT and development contracts are funded with RDT&E.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Research Development Test and Evaluation","3600 money"],"r":["Budget activities","Colors of money","Procurement appropriation"]},{"t":"Reactive armor","s":"Explosive tiles that disrupt incoming shaped charges","d":"Explosive reactive armor (ERA) bricks detonate outward when hit, disrupting shaped charge jets and long-rod penetrators. Tandem warheads are designed to defeat it. It is widely used on Russian and Ukrainian tanks.","c":"Ground","k":["ERA","explosive reactive armor"],"r":["HEAT","APS"]},{"t":"Reactive jamming","s":"Jamming triggered only when a target signal is detected","d":"Jamming that transmits only after the jammer detects activity on the targeted channel, rather than radiating continuously. It conserves power, lowers the jammer's own detectability and limits fratricide, and it is widely used in counter-IED and counter-UAS systems. Usage overlaps with responsive jamming; some sources reserve reactive for look-through systems that trigger on detection.","c":"EW","k":["look-through jamming"],"r":["Responsive jamming","Active jamming","CREW"]},{"t":"Read-ahead","s":"Material sent to a senior leader before a meeting","d":"A read-ahead is a short document or slide deck sent in advance, usually with a BLUF. Senior leaders often decide based on it before the meeting begins. Keep it concise.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["BLUF","Murder board"]},{"t":"Readiness","s":"The ability of units and equipment to perform their missions when needed","d":"Equipment readiness is measured by mission capable rates: fully mission capable (FMC), partially mission capable (PMC) and not mission capable for maintenance (NMCM) or supply (NMCS). Readiness rates are closely watched by Congress, and products that improve them have a strong argument.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["mission capable rate","MC rate","FMC","PMC","NMC","NMCS","NMCM"],"r":["Ao","Sustainment","Spares","C-rating","DRRS","FMC"]},{"t":"ReArm Europe","s":"EU 2025 plan to mobilize up to 800 billion euros for defense by 2030","d":"The European Commission's plan, presented in March 2025 and also titled Readiness 2030, to mobilize up to about 800 billion euros for European defense. It combines activating the national escape clause of EU fiscal rules for defense spending, 150 billion euros of SAFE loans and other measures. A White Paper on European Defence Readiness 2030 set priority capability areas such as air and missile defense, artillery, drones and enablers.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["ReArm Europe Plan","Readiness 2030"],"r":["SAFE","EDIP","Defence Investment Pledge"]},{"t":"Reconnaissance","s":"A mission to obtain specific information about an enemy or an area","d":"A mission undertaken to obtain, by visual observation or other detection methods, information about the activities and resources of an enemy or the characteristics of a particular area. Recon is episodic and tasked, such as a route reconnaissance or a photo pass over an airfield. Ground units distinguish zone, area and route reconnaissance, plus reconnaissance in force.","c":"Intelligence","k":["recon","recce"],"w":"Reconnaissance","r":["Surveillance","ISR"]},{"t":"Red/black separation","s":"Physical and electrical separation of classified plaintext from encrypted signals","d":"Red/black separation is the design principle that keeps red (unencrypted classified) signals and equipment separated from black (encrypted or unclassified) signals and equipment, with the cryptographic device as the only bridge. It covers cabling, power, grounding and distances. It is fundamental to radio, HAIPE and secure system design and to TEMPEST compliance.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["red/black","red-black"],"w":"Red/black concept","r":["TEMPEST","Black core","HAIPE"]},{"t":"Red dot","s":"A non-magnifying reflex sight projecting an aiming dot","d":"Red dot sights let shooters aim quickly with both eyes open; the Army's M68 Close Combat Optic is a long-serving example. Many have NVG-compatible brightness settings. They are often paired with a flip-to-side magnifier.","c":"Ground","k":["Red dot sight","M68 CCO","Reflex sight"],"w":"Red dot sight","r":["LPVO","Optics"]},{"t":"Red line","s":"A publicly or privately stated threshold that would trigger a response","d":"A threshold, stated or implied, that if crossed is supposed to trigger a significant response. Credibility suffers when red lines are crossed without consequence, a frequently cited example being the 2013 Syria chemical weapons episode. Russia's repeated warnings over Western arms to Ukraine have tested how literally such lines should be taken.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Escalation","Deterrence"]},{"t":"Red team","s":"Group that emulates adversaries to test defenses","d":"A red team emulates a realistic adversary to test an organization's defenses, people and processes, usually with broad scope and stealth. DoD has accredited red teams, such as the NSA Red Team and service red teams, that assess systems and exercises. Red team findings frequently feed ATO and operational test reports.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["red teaming","Red teaming","Red cell"],"w":"Red team","r":["Blue team","Purple team","Penetration test","Wargaming","Blue force"]},{"t":"Reference oscillator","s":"Stable clock source, such as an OCXO or TCXO, for an RF system","d":"The stable frequency source from which a system's LOs and sample clocks derive, commonly a temperature-compensated (TCXO) or oven-controlled (OCXO) crystal oscillator, or a rubidium standard, often disciplined to GPS. Its stability governs TDOA/FDOA accuracy and coherent processing, and holdover performance matters when GPS is jammed.","c":"RF","k":["OCXO","TCXO","GPSDO","rubidium oscillator"],"w":"Crystal oscillator","r":["Synthesizer","TDOA","Phase noise"]},{"t":"Reflexive control","s":"Russian concept of feeding an adversary inputs that lead it to a chosen decision","d":"A Soviet and Russian concept of conveying specially prepared information to an opponent so that it voluntarily makes the decision the initiator wants. It underpins much Russian thinking on deception and information confrontation. Western analysts cite it when explaining Russian messaging around nuclear threats and red lines.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Reflexive control","r":["Denial and deception","Information warfare"]},{"t":"Rehearsal","s":"Practicing an operation before execution, from walk-throughs to full dress","d":"Rehearsals let leaders and units practice key actions and check understanding before an operation. A combined arms rehearsal often uses a terrain model or a large ground map called a ROC drill (rehearsal of concept). Digital terrain and visualization tools are sometimes used to support or replace physical ROC drills.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["ROC drill","Rock drill","Rehearsal of concept"],"r":["Backbrief","OPORD"]},{"t":"Reliability growth","s":"Planned improvement of reliability through test, analyze and fix cycles","d":"Reliability growth programs test systems, identify failure modes, implement corrective actions and track progress against a planned growth curve, using models such as Crow-AMSAA. DoD expects a reliability growth curve in program planning documents.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["TAAF","test analyze and fix","Crow-AMSAA","Duane"],"r":["MTBF","FRACAS","HALT"]},{"t":"REL TO","x":"Authorized for Release To","s":"Dissemination marking listing the countries that may receive the information","d":"REL TO lists the specific foreign countries or organizations authorized to receive classified information, using three-letter country codes, for example REL TO USA, FVEY. Writing for release from the outset eases coalition work.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Releasable To","REL","FVEY","REL TO USA"],"r":["NOFORN","Foreign disclosure"]},{"t":"Remote ID","s":"FAA rule requiring drones to broadcast their identity and location","d":"Remote ID, required by the FAA since 2024 for most drones, broadcasts an identifier, position, altitude and controller location over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. C-UAS systems can read it to separate compliant drones from suspicious ones. Hostile drones will not broadcast it, so its value lies in identifying cooperative drones.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["RID"],"r":["RF detection","DTID"]},{"t":"Remote Modular Terminal","s":"Small, remotely operated Space Force satellite jammer","d":"The Remote Modular Terminal is a Space Force jammer developed through the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, designed to be small, cheap and remotely operated so many can be deployed. It provides reversible electronic attack against satellite communications.","c":"EW","k":["RMT"],"r":["Counter Communications System","Space RCO","Counterspace"]},{"t":"Repeater jamming","s":"Receives, modifies and retransmits the victim's own signal","d":"Jamming that receives the victim radar's signal, modifies it and retransmits it, so the jamming matches the radar's frequency and modulation and gains the benefit of its processing. Simple analog repeaters amplify and modulate in real time; DRFM based repeaters can store and delay signals for range deception. Transponder jammers are a related type that send a stored response when triggered.","c":"EW","k":["repeater jammer","transponder jamming"],"r":["DRFM","Deception jamming"]},{"t":"Replicator","s":"DoD initiative (2023) to field thousands of attritable autonomous systems quickly","d":"Replicator was announced by the Deputy Secretary of Defense in August 2023 with a goal of fielding thousands of all-domain attritable autonomous systems within 18 to 24 months, run through the Defense Innovation Unit. A second tranche targeted counter-UAS. Its legacy for vendors is a demand signal for cheap, mass-producible drones and the software to control many of them.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Replicator initiative","Replicator 2"],"r":["DIU","Blue UAS","Hellscape","Attritable","Affordable mass","Swarm"],"w":"Replicator (United States military)"},{"t":"Reprogramming","s":"Updating EW and sensor software and mission data to match the current threat","d":"The deliberate alteration of EW and target sensing systems, including mission data, software and occasionally hardware, in response to validated changes in threat or friendly systems. Reprogramming speed is a central metric for modern EW, because threat systems now change by software. Each service runs reprogramming centers, and the US Air Force's reprogramming message process has long been known as PACER WARE.","c":"EW","k":["omnibus reprogramming","DD 1414","DD 1415","BTR","EW reprogramming","PACER WARE","EWR"],"r":["Colors of money","UCA","New start","Mission data file","Threat library","350th Spectrum Warfare Wing"]},{"t":"Requirement","s":"A validated statement of what capability the military needs, in acquisition terms","d":"In defense acquisition, a requirement is a documented and validated capability need, normally approved through a formal requirements process. Program offices cannot easily spend money on things without a validated requirement behind them. Product teams also use the word for derived system requirements, so distinguish operational requirements from specification requirements.","c":"Acquisition","k":["requirements","validated requirement"],"r":["JCIDS","ICD","CDD","KPP"]},{"t":"Reserve component","s":"Part-time forces: the reserves of each service plus the National Guard","d":"The reserve components are the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Space Force reserve elements, Coast Guard Reserve, Army National Guard and Air National Guard. Reservists typically drill one weekend a month and two weeks a year, and can be mobilized. Many reservists bring civilian technical expertise.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Reservist","Reserves","RC","Drilling reservist","Drill weekend","Battle assembly"],"r":["National Guard","Active duty","IRR"]},{"t":"Resilience","s":"A space architecture's ability to keep working when attacked or degraded","d":"In space acquisition, resilience is the ability of an architecture to keep providing a mission despite hostile action or failures. DoD describes it through disaggregation, distribution, diversification, proliferation, protection and deception. It is the main rationale for moving from a few large satellites to proliferated LEO, multi-orbit and commercial-augmented designs.","c":"Space","k":["mission assurance","disaggregation"],"r":["Proliferated constellation","pLEO"]},{"t":"Resilient GPS","s":"Space Force effort for small GPS augmentation satellites","d":"Resilient GPS (R-GPS) is a Space Force program to field smaller, cheaper satellites that broadcast GPS-compatible signals to make the system harder to defeat. Initial design contracts went to several companies in 2024. Congress has questioned its funding and requirements, so its future is uncertain.","c":"PNT","k":["R-GPS"],"r":["GPS","GPS IIIF","A-PNT"]},{"t":"Resonance region","s":"Scattering regime where target size is comparable to the radar wavelength","d":"Radar scattering falls into the Rayleigh region (target much smaller than wavelength, RCS proportional to f⁴), the resonance or Mie region (size comparable to wavelength, RCS oscillates), and the optical region (target much larger than wavelength). Low-band radars put fighter-sized features in the resonance region, reducing the effectiveness of shaping. Small drones at X-band sit near the resonance and Rayleigh regions.","c":"Radar","k":["Mie region","Rayleigh region","optical region"],"r":["Low-band radar","RCS"]},{"t":"Responsible AI","s":"DoD's principles and processes for ethical development and use of AI","d":"The framework guiding DoD's development and use of artificial intelligence, built on five ethical principles adopted in 2020: responsible, equitable, traceable, reliable and governable. A 2022 Responsible AI Strategy and Implementation Pathway and the RAI toolkit, managed by the Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO), turn these into practice. The US also leads the Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of AI and Autonomy, endorsed by dozens of states since 2023.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["RAI","DoD AI ethical principles","Political Declaration"],"r":["DoDD 3000.09","CDAO","Human in the loop"]},{"t":"Responsive jamming","s":"Jamming tailored in real time to the threat signals actually detected","d":"Jamming that senses the environment and selects frequencies and techniques in response to the signals detected, as opposed to preset (active or proactive) jamming that radiates a fixed plan. Counter-RCIED systems use both modes: active jamming for continuous protection of known bands and responsive jamming for signals detected in the moment. The terms reactive and responsive are often used interchangeably.","c":"EW","k":["adaptive jamming"],"r":["Reactive jamming","Active jamming","CREW","Cognitive EW"]},{"t":"Restricted rights","s":"The software counterpart to limited rights, for privately developed software","d":"Under DFARS 252.227-7014, restricted rights let the government run the software on one computer at a time, make backup copies and modify it, with tight limits on disclosure. Commercial software is normally licensed under the vendor's commercial license instead.","c":"Acquisition","k":["RR"],"r":["Limited rights","Data rights","Commercial software license"]},{"t":"Retransmission","s":"Relaying radio signals to extend range","d":"Retransmission, often called retrans, is relaying a radio net through an intermediate station to extend range beyond line of sight, typically with two radios on a hilltop or vehicle. MANETs automate this through multihop routing. Retrans sites are logistically demanding and vulnerable, which drives interest in airborne and satellite relays.","c":"Comms","k":["retrans"],"r":["Cross-banding","MANET"]},{"t":"Return loss","s":"How much power is reflected from a mismatch, in dB","d":"The ratio, in dB, of incident power to reflected power at a port; higher is better, with 10 dB return loss equal to about 1.9:1 VSWR and 20 dB to about 1.22:1. It is the magnitude of S11 expressed as a positive number.","c":"RF","k":["RL","S11"],"w":"Return loss","r":["VSWR","S-parameters"]},{"t":"Return to home","s":"Automatic UAS behaviour that flies back to launch point on lost link or low battery","d":"Return to home (RTH) is the common small drone fallback that flies the aircraft back to its takeoff point when the link drops, battery is low or the operator commands it. C-UAS jammers often rely on it to push drones away, and adversaries may disable it. Military drones usually offer configurable alternatives to avoid revealing the operator's location.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["RTH","RTL","return to launch"],"r":["Lost link","RF jamming"]},{"t":"RFA","x":"Restrictive Fire Area","s":"Restrictive fire area: an area with specific restrictions on fires","d":"An RFA limits fires in an area to those meeting conditions such as approved munitions or required coordination. A restrictive fire line (RFL) prevents fires across a line between converging forces. Both protect friendly forces.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["RFL","Restrictive fire line"],"r":["NFA","FSCM"]},{"t":"RF cyber takeover","s":"Exploiting a drone's radio protocol to seize control and land it safely","d":"RF cyber or protocol-based C-UAS decodes a drone's control protocol and injects commands to disconnect the operator and fly or land the drone in a chosen spot. It causes less collateral interference than jamming and preserves the drone for forensics. It only works against protocols in the system's library, so it needs constant updates as drones change.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["cyber takeover","RF takeover","protocol takeover"],"r":["Protocol manipulation","Non-kinetic defeat"]},{"t":"RF detection","s":"Finding drones by listening for their control and video radio signals","d":"RF detection systems passively listen for drone control, telemetry and video signals, often identifying the model and sometimes locating the operator. They are cheap and do not emit, but they miss drones that fly autonomously or use fiber-optic links. Most C-UAS sensor suites pair RF detection with radar and EO/IR.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["RF sensing","passive RF detection"],"r":["DTID","Fiber-optic drone","Remote ID"]},{"t":"RF fingerprinting","s":"Identifying devices from tiny hardware-induced signal imperfections","d":"The identification of individual radio devices from subtle imperfections in their transmissions, such as oscillator offsets, IQ imbalance, power amplifier nonlinearity and turn-on transients. It is the commercial and research counterpart of SEI and is used for device authentication, counter-UAS detection and spectrum enforcement. Deep learning on raw IQ samples is the dominant current approach.","c":"SIGINT","k":["radio fingerprinting","physical layer fingerprinting"],"r":["Specific emitter identification","IQ data","AI/ML EW"]},{"t":"RFI","x":"Request for Information","s":"Government market research request; responses are not offers","d":"An RFI collects information about industry capabilities, pricing and approaches to shape a requirement or acquisition strategy. Responses are not binding and no contract follows directly. Answering RFIs is a low-cost way to influence how a future solicitation is written.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Request for Information","market research"],"r":["Sources sought","RFP","ROM"]},{"t":"RF jamming","s":"Overpowering a drone's control, video or GNSS signals with noise","d":"RF jamming in C-UAS transmits noise on the frequencies a drone uses for control, video or satellite navigation. The drone typically hovers, lands or returns home. It is cheap and effective against commercial drones but can disrupt friendly systems, requires spectrum approval, and fails against fiber-optic or fully autonomous drones.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["drone jammer","jamming"],"r":["Non-kinetic defeat","Return to home","Fiber-optic drone"]},{"t":"RFP","x":"Request for Proposal","s":"Formal solicitation for negotiated contracts, with instructions and evaluation criteria","d":"An RFP, used under FAR Part 15, contains the draft contract, SOW, instructions to offerors (Section L) and evaluation criteria (Section M). Proposals that ignore Section L and M are routinely marked down. Draft RFPs are often released first for industry comment.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Request for Proposal","Section L","Section M","solicitation","DRFP"],"w":"Request for proposal","r":["RFI","RFQ","Source selection","Uniform Contract Format"]},{"t":"RFQ","x":"Request for Quotation","s":"Solicitation for price quotes, typical of simplified and commercial buys","d":"An RFQ asks for quotes rather than formal proposals, usually for simplified acquisitions or orders under existing vehicles. A quote is not an offer, so the government's order is the offer that the vendor then accepts.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Request for Quotation","Request for Quote"],"r":["RFP","Simplified acquisition"]},{"t":"RFSoC","x":"Radio Frequency System on Chip","s":"Chip combining multi-GHz ADCs, DACs, FPGA fabric and processors","d":"A device that integrates high-speed RF data converters with FPGA logic and processor cores on one chip, best known as AMD's Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC family. RFSoCs enable compact direct-sampling receivers, jammers and phased array back ends and appear in many current EW and radar products. Comparable integrated converter devices include Analog Devices' MxFE parts.","c":"RF","k":["Zynq RFSoC","RF system on chip","MxFE"],"r":["FPGA","Direct RF sampling","ADC","DAC"]},{"t":"Rideshare","s":"Launching several payloads together to share the cost of one rocket","d":"Rideshare missions carry many smaller satellites on one launch, either as secondaries alongside a primary or on dedicated rideshare flights such as SpaceX Transporter and Bandwagon. They are cheap per kilogram but fix the orbit and date to the launch provider's schedule. DoD smallsats often fly this way or through the Space Test Program.","c":"Space","r":["ESPA","Smallsat","Cubesat","STP"]},{"t":"Rifle","s":"Brevity: launch of a friendly air-to-surface missile","d":"RIFLE announces the launch of an air-to-surface missile, such as the AGM-65 Maverick. Different calls distinguish missile types so everyone knows what is in the air. It is heard often in CAS and strike missions.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Magnum","Pickle"]},{"t":"RLG","x":"Ring Laser Gyroscope","s":"Gyro that measures rotation from laser beams in a closed optical cavity","d":"A ring laser gyroscope circulates two laser beams in opposite directions around a closed cavity and measures the beat frequency rotation creates (Sagnac effect). RLGs are the long-standing navigation-grade gyro in military and commercial aircraft INS. Mechanical dithering is used to overcome lock-in at low rotation rates.","c":"PNT","w":"Ring laser gyroscope","r":["FOG","INS","IMU"]},{"t":"RMA","x":"Revolution in Military Affairs","s":"A major change in warfare driven by technology, doctrine and organization","d":"Revolution in Military Affairs: a hypothesis, prominent in the 1990s after the Gulf War and linked to Andrew Marshall's Office of Net Assessment, that new technologies combined with changes in doctrine and organization can fundamentally change the character of warfare. Precision strike and networked sensing were its examples. Drones and AI are discussed in similar terms today.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Revolution in military affairs","r":["Offset strategy","Third offset"]},{"t":"RMF","x":"Risk Management Framework","s":"NIST/DoD process for categorizing, securing and authorizing information systems","d":"The Risk Management Framework, defined in NIST SP 800-37 and implemented for DoD by DoDI 8510.01, is the seven-step process (prepare, categorize, select, implement, assess, authorize, monitor) for managing security risk in information systems. It drives control selection from NIST SP 800-53 and ends in an authorization decision. Any software or hardware system that DoD operates goes through RMF, so its timeline often dominates product delivery.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DoDI 8510.01","DoD RMF"],"r":["ATO","NIST SP 800-37","NIST SP 800-53","eMASS"]},{"t":"RMP","x":"Recognized Maritime Picture","s":"Maritime situation picture of identified surface and subsurface contacts","d":"The recognized maritime picture is the compiled and identified picture of maritime activity in an area, combining naval sensors, AIS, patrol aircraft and intelligence. It is the maritime counterpart to the RAP. Products that fuse AIS and radar into a single maritime picture are often sold as RMP tools.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["RAP","CTP","COP"]},{"t":"Roadrunner","s":"Anduril reusable jet-powered vertical-launch interceptor drone","d":"Roadrunner is Anduril's twin-jet, vertically launched autonomous air vehicle. The Roadrunner-M version is a high-explosive interceptor for drones and other aerial threats that can return and land if it is not used. It was bought by US Special Operations Command and other customers.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Roadrunner-M"],"r":["Interceptor drone","Coyote"]},{"t":"ROB","x":"Radar Order of Battle","s":"Order of battle of an adversary's surface-to-air and other radars or reserves","d":"Usage varies: in some US and allied documents ROB refers to radar order of battle, the subset of the electronic order of battle covering radars, and in others to the order of battle of reserve forces. Clarify the expansion when the term appears in a requirement document. Either way it is a component of overall OB analysis.","c":"Intelligence","r":["OB","EOB"]},{"t":"ROC curve","x":"Receiver Operating Characteristic","s":"Plot of detection probability versus false alarm probability for a detector","d":"A ROC curve shows how Pd trades against Pfa as the detection threshold varies, at a given SNR. Radar engineers use ROC families to set thresholds, and the same tool is now standard for evaluating ATR and machine learning classifiers.","c":"Radar","k":["ROC","receiver operating characteristic"],"w":"Receiver operating characteristic","r":["Probability of detection","Probability of false alarm","ATR"]},{"t":"ROE","x":"Rules of Engagement","s":"Directives defining when, where, how and against whom force may be used","d":"Rules of engagement are directives that set the circumstances and limits under which forces may start or continue combat. Standing ROE are set nationally and supplemented by mission-specific ROE. Weapons, targeting and autonomy features must let operators comply with ROE, for example by requiring positive identification or human approval before engagement.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Rules of engagement","r":["PID","SPINS","Hostile"]},{"t":"Roger","s":"Radio proword: I have received your last transmission satisfactorily","d":"ROGER means only that the message was received, not that the sender agrees or will comply. In everyday speech \"roger that\" means understood or OK. It comes from the old phonetic word for R, meaning received.","c":"Comms","r":["Wilco","Roger that","Copy"]},{"t":"Roger that","s":"Informal acknowledgment meaning understood or will do","d":"Roger that is the everyday version of the radio proword ROGER. In speech it implies understanding and often agreement. It is used constantly in military and defense workplaces.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Rog"],"r":["Roger","Copy"]},{"t":"ROM","x":"Rough Order of Magnitude","s":"An early, nonbinding cost or schedule estimate","d":"A ROM is a ballpark estimate, often requested by the government in an RFI or early engagement, to support budgeting and market research. It does not commit either party, but it can anchor the program's budget request, so overly optimistic ROMs can create problems later.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Rough Order of Magnitude","ROM estimate"],"r":["RFI","ICE","POM"]},{"t":"Rotating AESA","s":"Electronically scanned array mounted on a rotating pedestal for 360 degree coverage","d":"A rotating AESA combines mechanical rotation for azimuth coverage with electronic steering in elevation and some azimuth, letting it dwell longer or revisit targets within a rotation. It uses one face instead of three or four, lowering cost. Examples include SPY-6(V)2, SMART-L, Giraffe 4A and the E-2D's AN/APY-9.","c":"Radar","k":["rotating ESA"],"r":["Mechanically scanned array","AESA"]},{"t":"Rotation","s":"A scheduled cycle of units replacing each other in a location or mission","d":"Rotational forces deploy for set periods and are replaced by other units, as with armored brigades rotating through Europe. Rotations cause equipment and knowledge handoffs; a product's training needs to survive the relief in place and transfer of authority (RIP/TOA).","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["RIP/TOA","Relief in place"],"r":["Deployment"]},{"t":"ROTHR","x":"Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar","s":"US Navy AN/TPS-71 HF skywave radar, used for counter-drug surveillance","d":"ROTHR (AN/TPS-71) is a US Navy skywave OTH radar with sites in Virginia, Texas and Puerto Rico, used largely to detect aircraft and vessels in the Caribbean and Central and South America for counter-narcotics missions. Its separate transmit and receive sites make it a bistatic installation.","c":"Radar","k":["AN/TPS-71"],"w":"Over-the-horizon radar","r":["OTH radar"]},{"t":"Route clearance","s":"Finding and removing mines and IEDs along roads to keep them open","d":"Route clearance units use specialised vehicles such as Husky with ground-penetrating radar, Buffalo with an interrogation arm, and rollers to detect and clear explosive hazards. It became a core mission in Iraq and Afghanistan.","c":"Ground","k":["Husky","Buffalo"],"r":["IED","EOD","MRAP"]},{"t":"ROVER","x":"Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver","s":"Portable receiver for viewing aircraft sensor video on the ground","d":"ROVER is a family of portable receivers, built by L3Harris, that let ground forces such as JTACs view full-motion video and sensor data downlinked from aircraft and drones. Later versions became bidirectional and added encryption. Its successor terminals and the broader concept are commonly called ROVER even when a different product is used.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["VORTEX","Full-motion video"]},{"t":"ROZ","x":"Restricted Operations Zone","s":"Airspace reserved for a specific activity, such as UAS or artillery, for a set time","d":"A restricted operations zone is airspace of defined dimensions reserved for a particular operation or activity, such as unmanned aircraft operations, artillery fires or a drop zone, for a set period. Entry by other aircraft is restricted while it is active. ROZs are published in the airspace control order and are a basic coordination measure any UAS or C-UAS operator has to work within.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["restricted operations area","ROA"],"r":["ACO","ACM","FSCL"]},{"t":"RPA","x":"Remotely Piloted Aircraft","s":"US Air Force and ICAO term for a crewed-from-the-ground aircraft such as the MQ-9","d":"RPA is the term the US Air Force and ICAO use for larger unmanned aircraft flown by a rated pilot from a ground station, emphasising that a human is in control. The system is an RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft system). It matters for airspace integration and crew qualification rules, which follow manned aviation more closely than small drone rules do.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["RPAS"],"r":["UAS","MQ-9 Reaper","GCS"]},{"t":"RPC","x":"Rational Polynomial Coefficients","s":"Rational polynomial coefficients: compact sensor model shipped with satellite images","d":"Rational Polynomial Coefficients: a generic mathematical sensor model, delivered as metadata with most commercial satellite imagery, that maps ground coordinates to image pixels. Software uses RPCs with a DEM to orthorectify and geolocate imagery without the vendor's rigorous model. NITF carries them in the RPC00B tagged record extension.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["RPC00B","RFM"],"r":["Orthorectification","NITF"]},{"t":"RPO","x":"Rendezvous and Proximity Operations","s":"Maneuvering one spacecraft close to another to inspect, service or interfere","d":"RPO is the set of techniques for bringing one spacecraft near another and holding relative position, whether to dock, inspect, service, refuel or, in a military context, potentially interfere. It needs precise relative navigation (cameras, lidar, RF ranging) and careful safety planning. Russia, China and the US all operate satellites that perform RPO near others, which makes it central to space domain awareness and to debates over norms.","c":"Space","k":["proximity operations","prox ops"],"r":["GSSAP","Co-orbital ASAT","On-orbit servicing","Victus Haze"]},{"t":"RQ-11 Raven","s":"AeroVironment hand-launched Group 1 reconnaissance UAS","d":"The RQ-11 Raven is a small hand-launched fixed-wing UAS that gave US units their first widely fielded organic drone in the 2000s. It carries an EO/IR camera and lands by deep stall. It has largely been succeeded by newer quadcopters and the Puma in US service but is still widely used abroad.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Raven"],"w":"AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven","r":["Group 1 UAS","RQ-20 Puma"]},{"t":"RQ-20 Puma","s":"AeroVironment hand-launched Group 1/2 fixed-wing UAS, waterproof","d":"Puma is a larger AeroVironment hand-launched UAS with a gimballed EO/IR sensor and a few hours of endurance, able to land in water. It is used by the Army, Marines, SOCOM and many allies, including Ukraine. The Puma LE is a longer endurance version.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Puma","Puma 3 AE","Puma LE"],"w":"AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma","r":["RQ-11 Raven","Group 1 UAS"]},{"t":"RQ-4 Global Hawk","s":"Northrop Grumman high-altitude long-endurance surveillance UAS","d":"The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a HALE jet UAS carrying radar, EO/IR and SIGINT payloads at about 60,000 ft for more than 30 hours. The Air Force has been retiring older blocks, while NATO operates its own AGS variant. Its maritime derivative is the Navy's MQ-4C Triton.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Global Hawk","RQ-4"],"w":"Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk","r":["MQ-4C Triton","MALE"]},{"t":"RQ-7 Shadow","s":"Army catapult-launched Group 3 tactical UAS, now retired","d":"The RQ-7 Shadow was the Army's brigade-level tactical UAS for nearly two decades, launched from a trailer-mounted catapult. The Army retired it starting in 2024 in favour of lighter systems that do not need a runway or large ground footprint. It remains a common reference for Group 3 systems.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Shadow"],"w":"AAI RQ-7 Shadow","r":["Group 3 UAS"]},{"t":"RTK","x":"Real-Time Kinematic","s":"Carrier-phase GNSS technique giving centimeter-level positions using a base station","d":"RTK positioning uses carrier-phase measurements and corrections from a nearby base station (or network) to resolve integer ambiguities and reach centimeter accuracy in real time. It is used in surveying, autonomy and precision targeting work, but it depends on a correction link and is as vulnerable to jamming as any GNSS. PPP (precise point positioning) is the related technique using global corrections.","c":"PNT","k":["PPP","precise point positioning"],"w":"Real-time kinematic positioning","r":["GNSS","Carrier phase"]},{"t":"Ruck","s":"A rucksack, or to carry one on a march","d":"A ruck is a military backpack; rucking is marching with a loaded pack. Combat loads often exceed 30 kg, so every gram added by electronics or batteries matters. Ruck marches are a standard training and fitness event.","c":"Ground","k":["Rucksack","Rucking","Ruck march"],"r":["Soldier load"]},{"t":"Running estimate","s":"A staff section's continuous assessment of the situation in its area","d":"Each staff section keeps a running estimate of current conditions, how they affect the mission and what it recommends. It is updated throughout planning and execution. It is the doctrinal home of much of the data that staff tools collect.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Mission analysis","Battle rhythm"]},{"t":"Russian Space Forces","s":"Branch of Russia's Aerospace Forces responsible for military space","d":"The Russian Space Forces are a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), formed in their current shape in 2015 when the Air Force and Aerospace Defense Forces merged. They operate military satellites, the Plesetsk launch site, missile warning and space surveillance systems. Russia also fields counterspace systems including the Nudol DA-ASAT and ground-based jammers and lasers.","c":"Organizations","k":["VKS","Aerospace Forces"],"w":"Russian Space Forces","r":["Kosmos","Nudol","Counterspace"]},{"t":"S&A","x":"Safe and Arm device","s":"Mechanism that keeps a fuze safe until launch conditions are met, then arms it","d":"The safe and arm device blocks the explosive train until it sees independent environmental signals proving the munition has been launched, such as setback acceleration, spin or rocket motor pressure, and then arms. Requiring two independent environments is a core rule of fuze safety. Electronic versions are called ESADs.","c":"Weapons","k":["SAD","safe-arm device","safe and arm"],"r":["ESAD","Fuze","MIL-STD-1316"]},{"t":"SA-10 Grumble","s":"NATO designation for the original S-300P long-range SAM","d":"The NATO designation for the early S-300P versions (S-300PT and S-300PS), Soviet long-range surface-to-air missile systems from the late 1970s and 1980s. Ukraine inherited many and has used them as a mainstay of its air defense, while Russia has also fired S-300 missiles at ground targets in Ukraine.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["S-300P","S-300PS"],"w":"S-300 missile system","r":["SA-20 Gargoyle","SA-21 Growler"]},{"t":"SA-11 Gadfly","s":"NATO designation for the original Buk medium-range SAM","d":"The NATO designation for the 9K37 Buk, a Soviet tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system introduced around 1980 with the 9M38 missile. A Russian Buk shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, according to the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Buk","9K37"],"w":"Buk missile system","r":["SA-17 Grizzly"]},{"t":"SA-15 Gauntlet","s":"NATO designation for the Tor short-range SAM","d":"The NATO designation for the 9K330 Tor family of tracked short-range surface-to-air missile systems, with vertically launched missiles and integrated radars, built to defeat aircraft, helicopters and precision munitions. Versions include the Tor-M1, Tor-M2 and the arctic Tor-M2DT.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Tor","Tor-M2"],"w":"Tor missile system","r":["SA-22 Greyhound"]},{"t":"SA-17 Grizzly","s":"NATO designation for the Buk-M1-2 and Buk-M2 medium-range SAM","d":"The NATO designation for the Buk-M1-2 and Buk-M2 medium-range surface-to-air missile systems, upgrades of the Buk family using the 9M317 missile. The later Buk-M3 is designated SA-27 Gollum.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Buk-M2","Buk-M1-2"],"w":"Buk missile system","r":["SA-11 Gadfly"]},{"t":"SA-20 Gargoyle","s":"NATO designation for the S-300PMU-1 and PMU-2 SAM","d":"The NATO designation for the later S-300P family variants, the S-300PMU-1 (SA-20A) and S-300PMU-2 Favorit (SA-20B), long-range surface-to-air missile systems widely exported, including to China and Iran. The earlier S-300P versions are the SA-10 Grumble.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["S-300PMU-1","S-300PMU-2"],"w":"S-300 missile system","r":["SA-10 Grumble","SA-21 Growler"]},{"t":"SA-21 Growler","s":"NATO designation for the S-400 Triumf long-range SAM","d":"The NATO designation for the Russian S-400 Triumf long-range surface-to-air missile system, which entered service in 2007 and uses several missiles, including the 48N6 and the very long range 40N6, with ranges claimed up to about 400 km. It has been exported to China, India and Turkey, the last leading to Turkey's removal from the F-35 program and CAATSA sanctions. It is a central element of Russian A2/AD.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["S-400","Triumf"],"w":"S-400 missile system","r":["SA-20 Gargoyle","A2/AD"]},{"t":"SA-22 Greyhound","s":"NATO designation for the Pantsir-S1 gun and missile short-range air defense","d":"The NATO designation for the Russian Pantsir-S1, a truck- or tracked-mounted short-range air defense system combining 30 mm cannons and missiles, used to protect S-400 sites and other high-value assets and widely exported. It has been deployed against drones in Ukraine and Syria with mixed results.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Pantsir","Pantsir-S1"],"w":"Pantsir missile system","r":["SA-21 Growler","SA-15 Gauntlet"]},{"t":"SA-23 Gladiator/Giant","s":"NATO designation for the S-300VM and S-300V4 army SAM systems","d":"The NATO designation for the S-300VM (Antey-2500) and related S-300V4 army air defense systems, tracked systems designed to engage ballistic missiles as well as aircraft. Each uses two missiles, the lighter Gladiator and the larger, longer-range Giant. The original S-300V was designated SA-12 Gladiator/Giant. It is a separate design from the S-300P family despite the shared name.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["SA-12","S-300V","S-300V4","Antey-2500"],"w":"S-300 missile system","r":["SA-21 Growler"]},{"t":"SAASM","x":"Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module","s":"Legacy security module that lets military receivers use encrypted P(Y) code","d":"SAASM is the security architecture used in most fielded US military GPS receivers to decrypt P(Y) code, authenticate against spoofing and handle over-the-air rekeying. Receivers such as the DAGR use it. New development of SAASM equipment has been barred in favor of M-code for years, but SAASM devices remain widespread in the force.","c":"PNT","r":["P(Y) code","M-code","DAGR","MGUE"]},{"t":"SACEUR","x":"Supreme Allied Commander Europe","s":"Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO's top operational commander","d":"Supreme Allied Commander Europe: the commander of Allied Command Operations, by tradition a US four-star officer who is also commander of US European Command. US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich took the post in July 2025. SACEUR's regional plans, approved in 2023, define the forces and capabilities NATO needs for collective defense.","c":"NATO & Allied","w":"Supreme Allied Commander Europe","r":["SHAPE","ACO","SACT"]},{"t":"SADL","x":"Situation Awareness Data Link","s":"Datalink derived from Army EPLRS, used on A-10 and other CAS aircraft","d":"SADL is a datalink based on the Army's EPLRS radio, used mainly on the A-10 and some F-16s and Air National Guard aircraft to share positions and targeting with ground forces. It can be bridged into Link 16 through gateways. It is a legacy system being superseded on many aircraft.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["EPLRS","Link 16","BACN"]},{"t":"SAFE","x":"Security Action for Europe","s":"Security Action for Europe: 150 billion euros of EU loans for defense buying","d":"Security Action for Europe: an EU instrument adopted in May 2025 offering member states up to 150 billion euros in long-term loans for defense procurement, with a preference for common procurement and for products with mostly European content. Non-EU partners such as Ukraine can take part, and third countries can join under agreements. Allocations to member states were set later in 2025, with Poland the largest borrower.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["SAFE loans"],"r":["ReArm Europe","EDIP"]},{"t":"Saildrone","s":"Wind and solar-powered uncrewed surface vessels for long-endurance ocean sensing","d":"Saildrone builds wind-propelled, solar-powered USVs that can stay at sea for months collecting ocean, weather and maritime awareness data. The Navy's Fifth Fleet used them in its Task Force 59 unmanned experimentation. They show how persistent, low-cost surface sensors can extend maritime domain awareness.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","w":"Unmanned surface vehicle","r":["USV"]},{"t":"Salami slicing","s":"Gaining ground through small steps, none of which justifies a forceful response","d":"A strategy of incremental actions, each too small to trigger a decisive response, that cumulatively change the status quo. China's island-building and coast guard pressure in the South China Sea are the most cited example. It is closely related to gray zone tactics and the fait accompli.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["salami tactics","creeping expansion"],"w":"Salami slicing tactics","r":["Gray zone","Fait accompli"]},{"t":"Salt Typhoon","s":"PRC state-sponsored group that compromised US telecom carriers","d":"Salt Typhoon is a People's Republic of China state-sponsored group that compromised multiple US and foreign telecommunications providers, disclosed in 2024, accessing call records and lawful intercept systems. Its campaign continued to be reported into 2025 across many countries. It reinforced guidance that sensitive communications should be end-to-end encrypted rather than rely on carrier networks.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","w":"Salt Typhoon","r":["APT","Volt Typhoon"]},{"t":"SALUTE","x":"Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, Equipment","s":"Report format for enemy activity: size, activity, location, unit, time, equipment","d":"SALUTE structures observations of the enemy: Size, Activity, Location, Unit or uniform, Time, Equipment. It is taught in basic training. Spot reporting apps often use these fields.","c":"Comms","k":["SALUTE report"],"r":["SPOTREP"]},{"t":"SAM","x":"Surface-to-Air Missile","s":"Missile launched from ground or ship against aircraft or missiles","d":"SAMs range from MANPADS to long-range systems like Patriot, S-400 and HQ-9. Their engagement zones shape how air forces plan routes and stand off. Western SAM production rates have been a bottleneck since 2022.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["surface-to-air missile","S-400"],"w":"Surface-to-air missile","r":["MANPADS","IADS","MEZ"]},{"t":"SAM.gov","x":"System for Award Management","s":"Official site for registering to do business with the government and finding opportunities","d":"SAM.gov holds entity registrations, representations and certifications, exclusions and contract opportunities that replaced FedBizOpps. Registration, renewed annually, is required to receive most federal awards and generates your UEI. Contract opportunity notices including RFIs, sources sought and solicitations are posted here.","c":"Acquisition","k":["System for Award Management","beta.SAM.gov","FedBizOpps","FBO"],"w":"System for Award Management","r":["UEI","CAGE code","NAICS code"]},{"t":"SAP","x":"Special Access Program","s":"A program with security controls beyond normal classified access requirements","d":"SAPs, established under Executive Order 13526 and DoDD 5205.07, add need-to-know and access controls beyond collateral classification for exceptionally sensitive efforts. They may be acknowledged or unacknowledged, and work is done in SAPFs. Contractors read into SAPs must follow the Joint SAP Implementation Guide or equivalent.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Special Access Program","acknowledged SAP","JSIG","read-on","read in"],"w":"Special access program","r":["USAP","Waived SAP","SAPF","Special Access Required"]},{"t":"SAPF","x":"Special Access Program Facility","s":"Accredited secure facility for handling SAP information","d":"A SAPF is accredited for SAP work, generally to the same ICD 705 construction standards as a SCIF, with program-specific requirements. A facility may be co-accredited as a SCIF and SAPF.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Special Access Program Facility"],"r":["SAP","SCIF","ICD 705"]},{"t":"SAR","x":"Selected Acquisition Report","s":"Annual report to Congress on cost, schedule and performance of each MDAP","d":"SARs summarize the status of major programs and provide the basis for Nunn-McCurdy breach determinations. Unclassified summaries are public and useful for market research. In security contexts SAR instead means Special Access Required.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Selected Acquisition Report"],"r":["MDAP","Nunn-McCurdy","Special Access Required"],"h":"SAR – Selected Acquisition Report"},{"t":"SAR","x":"Synthetic Aperture Radar","s":"Imaging radar that uses platform motion to synthesize a long antenna for fine resolution","d":"SAR coherently combines echoes collected along a flight path to emulate an antenna far longer than the physical one, giving cross-range resolution independent of range. Combined with wide bandwidth for range resolution, it produces photo-like images day or night through cloud and smoke, at resolutions from meters down to around 10 cm or finer. It is carried by ISR aircraft, UAS (Lynx, ZPY-series), fighters and a growing fleet of commercial SAR satellites such as Capella, ICEYE and Umbra whose imagery is widely bought by defense users.","c":"Radar","w":"Synthetic-aperture radar","r":["IMINT","Change detection","GMTI","ISAR","InSAR","CCD"],"k":["synthetic-aperture radar"],"h":"SAR – Synthetic Aperture Radar"},{"t":"SASE","x":"Secure Access Service Edge","s":"Cloud-delivered combination of network and security services","d":"Secure access service edge combines SD-WAN with cloud-delivered security services such as secure web gateway, firewall as a service and zero trust network access. DISA's Thunderdome uses a SASE model. It shifts inspection from central stacks to cloud points of presence near users.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["Thunderdome","Zero trust"]},{"t":"SATCOM","x":"Satellite Communications","s":"Communications relayed through satellites, beyond line of sight","d":"SATCOM relays voice, data and video through satellites to reach users beyond line of sight. DoD divides it into narrowband (UHF, e.g. MUOS), wideband (X and Ka, e.g. WGS), protected (EHF, e.g. AEHF) and commercial services, increasingly including proliferated LEO broadband. Product teams must account for terminal size, link budget, latency, anti-jam needs, crypto and how the service is provisioned.","c":"Comms","k":["BLOS"],"r":["MUOS","WGS","AEHF","COMSATCOM","PLEO SATCOM","Protected SATCOM"]},{"t":"Satellite catalog number","s":"Unique number assigned to each tracked space object by the US catalog","d":"The satellite catalog number (also called NORAD ID or SATCAT number) is the integer the US Space Force assigns to each tracked object. It is distinct from the international COSPAR designator, which encodes launch year and launch number (for example 1998-067A). The five-digit TLE field is near exhaustion, so systems should store catalog numbers as at least nine-digit integers.","c":"Space","k":["NORAD ID","SATCAT","COSPAR ID","International designator"],"r":["TLE","Space-Track.org"]},{"t":"SATURN","x":"Second-generation Anti-jam Tactical UHF Radio for NATO","s":"NATO successor to HAVE QUICK for UHF air radio anti-jam","d":"SATURN is the NATO standardized anti-jam UHF frequency-hopping waveform, defined in STANAG 4372, that succeeds HAVE QUICK with faster hopping and better jam resistance. It is fitted to many NATO aircraft radios and is required by NATO for air-ground-air communications. Most modern airborne radios support both.","c":"Comms","k":["STANAG 4372"],"r":["HAVE QUICK"]},{"t":"Say again","s":"Radio proword: repeat your last transmission or the portion indicated","d":"SAY AGAIN asks for repetition, as in \"say again all after grid.\" \"Repeat\" is avoided on the radio because in artillery procedure it means fire the same mission again. It is a good example of why voice interfaces need military vocabulary.","c":"Comms","r":["Proword"]},{"t":"S band","s":"2 to 4 GHz radar band used by naval air defense, AEW and weather radars","d":"S-band is the workhorse for shipboard multifunction radars (SPY-1, SPY-6, SPY-7), the E-3's APY-2, LRDR, air traffic control radars and NEXRAD weather radars. It offers a good mix of range, resolution and weather tolerance. Parts of the band face spectrum pressure from 5G.","c":"Radar","w":"S band","r":["IEEE radar bands","CBRS","Lower 3 GHz band","AN/SPY-6","Spectrum sharing","TT&C","SGLS","Space Fence"]},{"t":"SBAS","x":"Satellite-Based Augmentation System","s":"GEO satellites that broadcast GNSS corrections and integrity for aviation","d":"An SBAS uses ground reference stations to measure GNSS errors and broadcasts corrections and integrity alerts through GEO satellites on GPS L1 (and L5 for newer dual-frequency services). Examples are the US WAAS, Europe's EGNOS, Japan's MSAS and India's GAGAN. SBAS lets aircraft fly precision approaches using GPS.","c":"PNT","r":["WAAS","GNSS","RAIM"]},{"t":"SBCT","x":"Stryker Brigade Combat Team","s":"Army medium brigade mounted in eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles","d":"An SBCT is built around Stryker infantry carriers and variants, faster to deploy than an ABCT and better protected and more mobile than an IBCT. It contains about 4,500 soldiers.","c":"Ground","k":["Stryker brigade"],"r":["Stryker","ABCT","IBCT"]},{"t":"SBI","x":"Space-Based Interceptor","s":"Interceptor stationed in orbit to destroy missiles, a Golden Dome element","d":"A space-based interceptor is a weapon in orbit that can destroy an attacking missile, typically in boost or early midcourse phase. The idea dates to SDI's Brilliant Pebbles in the 1980s and returned with Golden Dome, under which the Space Force solicited SBI prototypes in 2025. Because each satellite is overhead only briefly, effective boost-phase coverage needs large constellations.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["Brilliant Pebbles","space-based interceptors"],"r":["Golden Dome","Proliferated constellation"]},{"t":"SBIR","x":"Small Business Innovation Research","s":"Federal R&D program reserving a share of agency research budgets for small businesses","d":"SBIR funds small businesses in phases: Phase I feasibility, Phase II prototype development and Phase III commercialization with non-SBIR money. DoD is the largest participating agency, with topics released several times a year through DSIP. Awardees receive SBIR data rights protection for their technical data. The program's statutory authorization required periodic congressional renewal.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Small Business Innovation Research","DSIP"],"w":"Small Business Innovation Research","r":["STTR","SBIR Phase I","SBIR Phase II","SBIR Phase III","SBIR data rights"]},{"t":"SBIR data rights","s":"Protection that limits government use of SBIR-developed data for 20 years","d":"Under the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive and DFARS 252.227-7018, technical data and software generated under SBIR are protected for 20 years from award, during which the government may use them internally but generally may not disclose them outside the government. Afterward the government gets a royalty-free license. Data must be properly marked to keep protection.","c":"Acquisition","k":["SBIR rights","252.227-7018"],"r":["SBIR","Data rights","Data rights markings"]},{"t":"SBIR Phase I","s":"Short feasibility study award under SBIR, typically six to twelve months","d":"Phase I awards establish the technical merit and feasibility of an idea. DoD Phase I awards are commonly in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some DoD components also run Direct to Phase II for firms that have already demonstrated feasibility.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Phase I","D2P2","Direct to Phase II"],"r":["SBIR","SBIR Phase II"]},{"t":"SBIR Phase II","s":"Larger SBIR award to develop and demonstrate a prototype","d":"Phase II continues R&D toward a prototype, often lasting about two years with awards around one to two million dollars, and larger in programs such as AFWERX STRATFI and TACFI that match outside funding. A Phase II is the main proof point programs look for before a Phase III.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Phase II","STRATFI","TACFI"],"r":["SBIR Phase I","SBIR Phase III","AFWERX"]},{"t":"SBIR Phase III","s":"Follow-on work using non-SBIR funds, awardable sole source","d":"Phase III is any work that derives from, extends or completes prior SBIR or STTR work, funded outside the SBIR budget. Agencies may award Phase III sole source without further competition or a justification and approval, and there is no dollar or time limit. It is one of the most useful tools for a small company to land production contracts.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Phase III","SBIR III"],"r":["SBIR Phase III sole source","SBIR data rights","Production follow-on"]},{"t":"SBIR Phase III sole source","s":"The authority to award SBIR-derived follow-on work without competition","d":"Because the competition for the original SBIR topic satisfies competition requirements, a Phase III award needs no J&A, and SBA policy directs agencies to give Phase III awards to the original firm to the greatest extent practicable. Program offices are sometimes unaware of this authority, so firms often bring the policy citations with them.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Phase III sole source"],"r":["SBIR Phase III","J&A"]},{"t":"SBIRS","x":"Space-Based Infrared System","s":"US missile warning satellites in GEO and HEO, completed in 2022","d":"SBIRS is the Space Force's current strategic missile warning constellation, with GEO satellites built by Lockheed Martin and payloads hosted on HEO satellites, replacing the Defense Support Program. Its final GEO satellite, GEO-6, launched in August 2022. It detects ballistic missile launches with scanning and staring infrared sensors and is being succeeded by Next-Gen OPIR.","c":"Space","k":["DSP","Defense Support Program"],"w":"Space-Based Infrared System","r":["Next-Gen OPIR","OPIR","HEO"]},{"t":"SBOM","x":"Software Bill of Materials","s":"Inventory of components and dependencies in a software product","d":"A software bill of materials is a machine-readable list of the components, libraries and versions in a piece of software, in formats such as SPDX or CycloneDX. Executive Order 14028 and DoD guidance increasingly require SBOMs from vendors to track vulnerabilities in the supply chain. Programs such as Software Fast Track use them as authorization inputs.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Software Bill of Materials","SPDX","CycloneDX"],"r":["DevSecOps","Supply chain","Software Fast Track","SCRM","CVE"],"w":"Software supply chain"},{"t":"SCA","x":"Software Communications Architecture","s":"Open framework for portable waveforms on software-defined radios","d":"The Software Communications Architecture is an open architecture framework, originated by JTRS and managed by the Joint Tactical Networking Center, that defines how waveform applications are deployed and controlled on software-defined radios so that they can be ported between radios. Version SCA 4.1 is the current major release. Radio vendors and waveform developers must comply for many DoD programs.","c":"Comms","k":["Software Communications Architecture"],"w":"Software Communications Architecture","r":["JTRS","Software-defined radio","JTNC"]},{"t":"Scan blindness","s":"Sharp gain dropout at certain scan angles due to mutual coupling between elements","d":"Scan blindness occurs when mutual coupling causes surface waves or other resonances that reflect power back to the elements at a particular scan angle, leaving a near-total null. Element design, spacing and the substrate must be chosen to keep blind angles outside the scan volume. It is found through full-wave simulation and waveguide simulator tests.","c":"Radar","k":["mutual coupling"],"r":["Scan loss","Grating lobes"]},{"t":"Scan loss","s":"Gain reduction when a fixed array steers away from broadside","d":"A planar array's projected aperture shrinks with scan angle, so gain falls roughly as cos(θ) and beamwidth widens, with additional element pattern losses. Arrays are usually limited to about 60 degrees off broadside, so 360 degree coverage takes three or four fixed faces or a rotating array. Tilting a fighter AESA back, as on some Eurofighter and Gripen radars with a repositioner, extends coverage.","c":"Radar","k":["scan-angle loss","cosine loss"],"r":["Grating lobes","Phased array"]},{"t":"ScanSAR","s":"Wide-swath SAR mode that cycles the beam across several sub-swaths","d":"ScanSAR trades resolution for coverage by switching the beam across sub-swaths in elevation, producing swaths of hundreds of kilometers. It is used for maritime domain awareness, ship detection and broad-area change monitoring from satellites such as Sentinel-1 and RADARSAT.","c":"Radar","k":["wide swath SAR"],"r":["SAR","Maritime surveillance radar"]},{"t":"Scan type","s":"How a radar moves its beam: circular, sector, conical, raster, electronic","d":"The pattern by which a radar moves its beam, such as circular, sector, helical, raster, conical or electronic scan. An ES receiver infers scan type and scan period from amplitude changes as the beam passes, which helps identify the radar and its mode, for example a shift from search to track before a launch.","c":"EW","k":["antenna scan","scan pattern","scan period"],"r":["Conical scan","Lobe on receive only","Parametric data"]},{"t":"SCAP","x":"Security Content Automation Protocol","s":"NIST standards for automated configuration and vulnerability checking","d":"SCAP is a suite of NIST specifications for expressing and automating security checks, configuration baselines and vulnerability data. DISA publishes STIG benchmarks in SCAP format, and the SCAP Compliance Checker scans systems against them. Providing SCAP content eases government acceptance of a product.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["SCC","SCAP Compliance Checker"],"r":["STIG","ACAS"]},{"t":"SCAR","x":"Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource","s":"Space Force phased-array ground antennas to expand satellite control capacity","d":"SCAR is a Space Force program to field electronically steered, multi-beam ground antennas, built by BlueHalo (now part of AV), that can contact multiple satellites simultaneously, greatly increasing AFSCN capacity versus single-dish antennas. Prototypes were tested in the mid-2020s.","c":"Space","r":["AFSCN","TT&C","Ground segment"]},{"t":"SCG","x":"Security Classification Guide","s":"Program document specifying which information is classified and at what level","d":"An SCG, issued by the OCA, lists elements of information about a program with their classification level, reasons, duration and dissemination controls. Contractors receive it through the DD Form 254. Engineers need to know it to avoid putting classified details in unclassified documents.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Security Classification Guide","classification guide"],"r":["DD254","OCA","Derivative classification"]},{"t":"Scheme of maneuver","s":"The description of how forces will move and fight to accomplish the mission","d":"The scheme of maneuver is the part of the execution paragraph that describes how arrayed forces will accomplish the mission, including the movement and actions of each subordinate unit. It is often paired with a scheme of fires. It is usually conveyed with an operations overlay or sketch.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Main effort","Five-paragraph order"]},{"t":"SCI","x":"Sensitive Compartmented Information","s":"Classified intelligence information controlled in formal compartments","d":"SCI is classified information derived from intelligence sources and methods, controlled through compartments under the Director of National Intelligence. Access requires a Top Secret clearance based on a Tier 5 investigation, specific indoctrination and work in a SCIF. People often write TS/SCI for the combination.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Sensitive Compartmented Information","TS/SCI","compartment"],"w":"Sensitive compartmented information","r":["SCIF","Classification levels","SAP","Tier 5"]},{"t":"SCIF","x":"Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility","s":"Accredited secure area for handling SCI","d":"A SCIF is built and accredited to ICD 705 standards, with physical, acoustic and technical protections, and access is controlled. Building one is expensive and slow, so contractors often use shared or government SCIFs early on. Personal electronics are generally prohibited inside.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility","skiff"],"w":"Sensitive compartmented information facility","r":["ICD 705","SCI","SAPF"]},{"t":"Scintillation","s":"Rapid fading and phase jitter of radio signals passing through the ionosphere","d":"Ionospheric scintillation is rapid fluctuation in a radio signal's amplitude and phase caused by small-scale irregularities in ionospheric electron density. It is strongest near the geomagnetic equator after sunset and at high latitudes, and worst at L-band and lower, so it can make GNSS receivers lose lock and disrupt UHF SATCOM. Higher frequencies such as Ka-band are less affected.","c":"Space","r":["Glint","Swerling models","TEC","Space weather","GNSS","UHF SATCOM"],"k":["ionospheric scintillation","plasma bubbles"]},{"t":"Scramjet","x":"Supersonic Combustion Ramjet","s":"Air-breathing engine burning fuel in supersonic airflow, for hypersonic flight","d":"A scramjet compresses incoming air through its shape alone and keeps the airflow supersonic through combustion, which allows efficient flight above about Mach 5. It cannot start from rest and needs a booster. Fuel injection, ignition and heat control in milliseconds of residence time are the hard problems.","c":"Weapons","k":["scramjet engine"],"w":"Scramjet","r":["Ramjet","HCM","HACM"]},{"t":"SCRM","x":"Supply Chain Risk Management","s":"Identifying and mitigating risks from suppliers and components","d":"Supply chain risk management addresses risks such as counterfeit parts, malicious code and foreign ownership in hardware and software supply chains. DoD and NIST (SP 800-161) guidance require SCRM in acquisition and RMF. Laws such as Section 889, which bans certain Chinese telecom equipment, are SCRM measures that affect product design and sourcing.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["C-SCRM","NIST SP 800-161","Section 889"],"r":["SBOM","DIB"]},{"t":"SDA","x":"Space Development Agency","s":"Space Force agency fielding the PWSA LEO constellation in two-year tranches","d":"The Space Development Agency was created in 2019 to field space capabilities faster than traditional programs, and became part of the US Space Force in October 2022. It buys the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture in tranches launched about every two years, using fixed-price contracts, multiple vendors per layer and published interface standards. Watch for the collision with SDA meaning space domain awareness.","c":"Organizations","w":"Space Development Agency","r":["PWSA","Transport Layer","Tracking Layer","Tranche 1","SDA OCT standard"],"h":"SDA – Space Development Agency"},{"t":"SDA","x":"Space Domain Awareness","s":"Military SSA plus characterization of threats, intent and capability in space","d":"Space domain awareness is the US Space Force term, adopted in 2019, for identifying, characterizing and understanding anything in the space domain that could affect operations, including adversary satellites' behavior and capabilities. It draws on radars, optical telescopes, RF sensing, space-based sensors and intelligence. Watch for the acronym collision: SDA also means the Space Development Agency.","c":"Space","r":["SSA","Space Surveillance Network","GSSAP","SILENTBARKER","Space Fence"],"h":"SDA – Space Domain Awareness"},{"t":"SDA OCT standard","x":"Optical Communications Terminal standard","s":"SDA's published spec for interoperable laser crosslink terminals","d":"The SDA Optical Communications Terminal standard defines the wavelengths, modulation, framing and acquisition protocols laser terminals must use so that terminals from different makers can link across the PWSA and to commercial and allied systems. It has gone through several versions and is publicly available to industry. Building to it is how terminal vendors and commercial operators get into SDA and similar architectures.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["OCT standard","SDA Optical Standard"],"r":["OISL","SDA","Transport Layer"]},{"t":"SDB","x":"Small Diameter Bomb","s":"250 lb class glide bombs: GBU-39 (GPS) and GBU-53/B StormBreaker (tri-mode)","d":"The GBU-39 SDB is a 250 lb GPS-guided glide bomb with pop-out wings and a range of about 60 nm, letting aircraft carry many more weapons per sortie. The GBU-53/B StormBreaker (SDB II) adds a tri-mode seeker (millimetre-wave radar, imaging infrared and semi-active laser) and a datalink to hit moving targets in bad weather. A ground-launched version, GLSDB, was supplied to Ukraine.","c":"Weapons","k":["GBU-39","GBU-53","StormBreaker","SDB II","GLSDB"],"w":"GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb","r":["PGM","Multimode seeker"]},{"t":"SDR 2025","x":"Strategic Defence Review 2025","s":"UK Strategic Defence Review published June 2025","d":"The UK Strategic Defence Review, led by Lord Robertson and published in June 2025, which called for the UK to become warfighting ready, move toward a 20-40-40 mix of crewed platforms, attritable systems and consumable assets, buy up to 12 SSN-AUKUS submarines, build munitions factories and create a Digital Targeting Web. It also set up UK Defence Innovation and a Cyber and Electromagnetic Command. It frames UK procurement priorities for the rest of the decade.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["Strategic Defence Review"],"w":"Strategic Defence Review (2025)","r":["MOD","DE&S","AUKUS"]},{"t":"SDVOSB","x":"Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business","s":"Small business at least 51 percent owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans","d":"SDVOSBs qualify for set-asides and sole-source awards under SBA rules. Since 2023 certification is through SBA's VetCert program rather than self-certification. The government-wide goal is 5 percent of prime contract dollars.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business","VOSB","VetCert"],"r":["Small business set-aside","8(a)"]},{"t":"SE","x":"Systems Engineering","s":"Discipline that turns needs into a balanced, verified system across its life cycle","d":"Systems engineering covers requirements analysis, architecture, design trades, integration, verification and validation, and technical management. DoD policy is DoDI 5000.88 and the Systems Engineering Guidebook, and programs document their approach in a Systems Engineering Plan. Defense customers expect formal technical reviews and traceability that many commercial teams do not practice.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Systems Engineering","SEP","Systems Engineering Plan","DoDI 5000.88"],"w":"Systems engineering","r":["V-model","SRR","PDR","CDR","MBSE"]},{"t":"Sea clutter","s":"Radar echoes from the ocean surface, spiky and dependent on sea state and wind","d":"Sea clutter varies with sea state, wind direction, grazing angle, polarization and frequency, and at low grazing angles it becomes spiky with sea spikes that mimic small targets. It is modeled with K-distribution or similar heavy-tailed statistics. Detecting periscopes, small boats and sea-skimming missiles in sea clutter is a core maritime radar challenge.","c":"Radar","k":["sea return"],"r":["Clutter","Maritime surveillance radar","CFAR"]},{"t":"Sea control","s":"Using the sea for one's own purposes while denying it to the enemy","d":"The condition in which one has freedom of action to use the sea for one's own purposes in specified areas and for specified periods, and where necessary deny or limit its use to the enemy. In practice it is usually local and temporary. Navies compare it with sea denial, the more modest goal of preventing the adversary's use.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Command of the sea","r":["Sea denial","Power projection"]},{"t":"SEAD","x":"Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses","s":"Neutralizing, degrading or destroying surface air defenses, often temporarily","d":"Activity that neutralizes, destroys or temporarily degrades surface-based enemy air defenses by destructive or disruptive means, including jamming, decoys and anti-radiation missiles. SEAD opens windows for other aircraft to operate. The experience of Ukraine, where neither side achieved lasting suppression, renewed investment in SEAD weapons and stand-in effects.","c":"EW","k":["Wild Weasel","DEAD"],"w":"Suppression of enemy air defenses","r":["DEAD","AGM-88 HARM","MALD","EA-18G Growler","HARM","IADS","Anti-radiation missile"]},{"t":"Sea denial","s":"Preventing an adversary from using the sea without controlling it yourself","d":"Denying an adversary the use of the sea for a period without necessarily being able to use it oneself, through submarines, mines, anti-ship missiles and drones. Ukraine's campaign with naval drones and missiles, which pushed the Russian Black Sea Fleet away from western waters, is the leading recent example. Taiwan's porcupine strategy also relies on it.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Sea denial","r":["Sea control","Porcupine strategy","A2/AD"]},{"t":"SeaRAM","s":"Phalanx mount carrying an 11-round RAM missile launcher instead of a gun","d":"SeaRAM replaces the Phalanx gun with an 11-cell Rolling Airframe Missile launcher while keeping its radar and EO sensors, giving longer range self-defense. It equips LCS and some destroyers based in Spain.","c":"Naval","k":["RAM","Rolling Airframe Missile","RIM-116"],"w":"SeaRAM weapon system","r":["Phalanx CIWS","ESSM"]},{"t":"Search radar","s":"Radar optimized to scan a volume and detect targets over wide areas","d":"Search, or surveillance, radars prioritize coverage and detection over precision, often at L- or S-band with high power-aperture. They cue fire control radars or feed C2 air pictures. Long-range early warning radars are a specialized search category.","c":"Radar","k":["surveillance radar","acquisition radar","early warning radar","EWR"],"r":["Fire control radar","3D radar","Power-aperture product"]},{"t":"SecDef","x":"Secretary of Defense","s":"The Secretary of Defense, the civilian head of DoD","d":"The Secretary of Defense is the principal defense adviser to the President and, with the President, forms the chain of command to combatant commanders. The Deputy Secretary (DepSecDef) typically runs much of the department's internal management, including budget and acquisition priorities. Since 2025 the Secretary may also be styled Secretary of War.","c":"Organizations","k":["DepSecDef"],"r":["OSD","Department of War"]},{"t":"Second island chain","s":"Island arc from Japan through Guam and the Marianas to New Guinea","d":"The chain running from Japan's Bonin and Volcano Islands through the Marianas, including Guam, to western New Guinea, roughly 3,000 km from China. It hosts major US bases on Guam and is within range of China's DF-26 missiles. US investment in Guam missile defense and dispersed airfields in the Pacific reflects its importance.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["SIC"],"w":"Island chain strategy","r":["First island chain","DF-26"]},{"t":"Second-strike capability","s":"The ability to retaliate with nuclear weapons after absorbing a first strike","d":"A state's assured ability to respond to a nuclear attack with a devastating nuclear retaliation, which underpins stable deterrence because no first strike can disarm it. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles, mobile ICBMs and dispersed bombers provide survivability. China's growing silo fields and ballistic missile submarines are aimed at securing it.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["second strike","assured retaliation"],"w":"Second strike","r":["MAD","Counterforce","Nuclear triad"]},{"t":"Second-time-around echo","s":"Echo from a target beyond the unambiguous range, appearing at a false short range","d":"A second-time-around echo returns after the next pulse is sent and is displayed at its true range minus the unambiguous range. Ducting can bring in strong second-trip returns from distant terrain or ships. PRF jitter or stagger smears these echoes so they fail to integrate and can be rejected.","c":"Radar","k":["multiple-time-around echo","second trip echo"],"r":["Unambiguous range","PRI stagger"]},{"t":"Section","s":"A unit between a squad and a platoon, or a small specialized group","d":"A section is usually two or more squads or crews, such as a mortar section or a section of two aircraft. Its exact size varies by service and branch. A staff section is a functional office within a headquarters.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Section (military unit)","r":["Squad","Platoon"]},{"t":"Section 804","s":"FY2016 NDAA section that created the Middle Tier of Acquisition","d":"Section 804 of the FY2016 NDAA authorized rapid prototyping and rapid fielding outside the traditional acquisition system, now codified at 10 USC 3602 and known as the Middle Tier of Acquisition. People still call MTA programs 804 programs. Other NDAAs also have a Section 804, so check the year.","c":"Acquisition","k":["804"],"r":["MTA","NDAA"]},{"t":"Section 806","s":"FY2011 NDAA authority to exclude suppliers over supply chain risk","d":"Section 806 of the FY2011 NDAA, now 10 USC 3252 and implemented in DFARS subpart 239.73, lets DoD exclude a source or withhold consent to subcontract to reduce supply chain risk in national security systems, with limited disclosure of the reasons. Because section numbers repeat each year, confirm which NDAA a reference means.","c":"Acquisition","k":["806","10 USC 3252","SCRM"],"r":["Supply chain","Section 889"]},{"t":"Section 848","s":"FY2020 NDAA ban on DoD buying drones and components from China","d":"Section 848 of the FY2020 NDAA, together with later provisions such as Section 817 of the FY2023 NDAA and the American Security Drone Act of 2023, restricts DoD procurement and operation of unmanned aircraft systems and critical components made in China and other covered countries. These rules drive the demand for compliant domestic drone supply chains, often called Blue UAS.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["848","NDAA-compliant drone","American Security Drone Act"],"r":["Blue UAS","Section 889"]},{"t":"Section 889","s":"Ban on federal use of Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera telecom and video equipment","d":"Section 889 of the FY2019 NDAA prohibits agencies from buying covered telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from those companies and from contracting with entities that use it, implemented in FAR 52.204-24 to 26. Offerors must represent compliance. Similar later restrictions target Chinese drones and certain semiconductors.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["889","52.204-25","covered telecommunications"],"r":["Supply chain","Section 848"]},{"t":"Security cooperation","s":"DoD activities with foreign partners to build relationships and capacity","d":"Security cooperation includes training, exercises, equipment transfers and exchanges with partner nations, such as foreign military sales and building partner capacity. Security assistance is the subset governed by foreign assistance laws. It often determines whether a product can be offered to allies.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Security assistance","BPC"],"r":["FID","Coalition"]},{"t":"Seeker","s":"The sensor in a missile's nose that finds and tracks the target","d":"A seeker detects the target and feeds guidance for the terminal phase. Types include radar (active, semi-active), infrared and imaging infrared, semi-active laser, passive RF, millimeter wave and electro-optical. Seeker hardware and processing, including target recognition and counter-countermeasures, are often the most expensive part of a missile.","c":"Weapons","k":["homing head"],"r":["Semi-active laser","IIR","Millimeter-wave seeker","Multimode seeker"]},{"t":"Seismic sensor","s":"Geophone that detects footsteps and vehicles through ground vibration","d":"Seismic sensors detect ground vibrations from footsteps, vehicles, digging or tunneling, often classifying sources by frequency signature. They are a core UGS modality because they work regardless of light and line of sight. Range depends heavily on soil type and background noise.","c":"Sensors","k":["geophone","seismic UGS"],"r":["UGS","Acoustic sensor"]},{"t":"SEL","x":"Single Event Latchup","s":"Particle-triggered short circuit in a chip that can destroy it unless power is cut","d":"Single event latchup occurs when a particle strike turns on a parasitic thyristor structure in a CMOS device, creating a high-current path between supply and ground. Unless power is removed quickly, the device can be permanently damaged. Space designs use latchup-immune processes or current-limiting circuits that detect the surge and cycle power. Related destructive effects include single event burnout and gate rupture in power devices.","c":"Space","k":["latchup","SEB","SEGR"],"r":["SEU","Rad-hard","TID"]},{"t":"Selective Availability","s":"Intentional GPS civil accuracy degradation, turned off in 2000","d":"Selective Availability was the deliberate degradation of civil GPS accuracy (to about 100 m) by dithering satellite clocks. The US turned it off in May 2000 and the GPS III satellites lack the capability. The SA in SAASM refers to it.","c":"PNT","k":["SA"],"r":["GPS","SAASM"]},{"t":"Self-protection jamming","x":"SPJ","s":"Jamming carried by a platform to protect itself","d":"Jamming carried by the platform being protected, typically an internal suite or pod that deceives tracking and fire control radars. Modern fighters carry integrated self-protection suites such as EPAWSS on the F-15, IDECM on the F/A-18 and the ASQ-239 on the F-35. Self-protection jammers usually use deception because the platform is in the radar's main beam.","c":"EW","k":["SPJ","self-screening jamming","DECM"],"r":["EPAWSS","AN/ALQ-214","Deception jamming"]},{"t":"Semi-active laser","s":"Guidance homing on laser energy reflected from a target designated by someone else","d":"Semi-active laser (SAL) seekers home on the spot of a coded laser designator aimed at the target by an aircraft, drone or ground team. It is accurate and cheap but needs a designator to keep the spot on target until impact. Used by Hellfire, Paveway, APKWS and laser JDAM.","c":"Weapons","k":["SAL","laser guidance","Paveway","APKWS"],"r":["Hellfire","Seeker"]},{"t":"Semi-active radar homing","s":"Missile guidance that homes on radar energy reflected from a target lit by another radar","d":"A SARH missile carries only a receiver and homes on energy reflected from a target illuminated by the launch platform or another radar. It is simpler and cheaper than active homing but ties the illuminator to the engagement. AIM-7 Sparrow and older SM-2 variants are well-known examples.","c":"Weapons","k":["SARH"],"w":"Semi-active radar homing","r":["Illuminator","Active radar homing"]},{"t":"Senior enlisted leader","s":"The top enlisted adviser at any command level, by whatever service title","d":"Senior enlisted leader (SEL) or senior enlisted adviser (SEA) is the generic term for the CSM, sergeant major, command master chief or command chief master sergeant paired with a commander. Combatant commands and the Chairman each have one. They focus on people, training and standards.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["SEL","SEA"],"r":["CSM","SgtMaj"]},{"t":"Sensitivity","s":"Weakest signal a receiver can detect or demodulate to a stated quality","d":"The minimum input signal level at which a receiver achieves a specified output quality, such as a given SNR, bit error rate or probability of detection. Sensitivity depends on noise figure, bandwidth and the required SNR. EW receivers trade sensitivity against bandwidth and probability of intercept.","c":"RF","k":["receiver sensitivity","MDS","minimum detectable signal","tangential sensitivity"],"w":"Sensitivity (electronics)","r":["Noise figure","kTB","Dynamic range"]},{"t":"Sensor fusion","s":"Combining data from multiple sensors into one more accurate, complete picture","d":"Sensor fusion merges detections, tracks or features from radar, EO/IR, ESM, acoustic and other sources to improve accuracy, continuity and identification beyond what any single sensor offers. It can happen at measurement level, track level or decision level, and across platforms as in the Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability. The F-35's fused cockpit picture made the idea mainstream, and fusion engines are core to most C2 and counter-UAS products.","c":"Sensors","k":["data fusion","multi-sensor fusion","MSDF"],"w":"Sensor fusion","r":["Track correlation","JDL model","Track fusion"]},{"t":"Sensor management","s":"Deciding which sensors look where and when to best meet information needs","d":"Sensor management allocates sensor modes, pointing and time across tasks to maximize information gain or mission value, from a single multifunction radar scheduler to networked tasking across many platforms. It is JDL level 4 fusion and an active area for AI and autonomy. Good sensor management also controls emissions to limit detection by the enemy.","c":"Sensors","k":["sensor tasking","sensor resource management"],"r":["Radar resource management","JDL model"]},{"t":"Sensor registration","s":"Estimating and removing bias errors between sensors before fusing their data","d":"Registration corrects systematic errors in sensor position, alignment, range and time so measurements of one target from different sensors line up. Without it, fusion creates dual tracks and correlation fails. Methods use common targets of opportunity, GPS-equipped platforms, or known reference points.","c":"Sensors","k":["gridlock","bias estimation","sensor alignment"],"r":["Track correlation","Sensor fusion"]},{"t":"Sensor-to-shooter","s":"Direct flow of targeting data from a sensor to a weapon system","d":"Sensor-to-shooter describes passing targeting information from a sensor to a weapon platform with minimal manual steps, and is measured in timeline (seconds or minutes). It is a core metric for JADC2 experiments and for programs such as IBCS. Products are judged on latency, track quality and whether the data is fire-control quality.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["S2S"],"r":["Kill chain","Kill web","Fire control quality"]},{"t":"Sentinel","s":"LGM-35A, Northrop Grumman ICBM replacing Minuteman III","d":"Sentinel is the new US ICBM, with new missiles, launch facilities and C2. In 2024 it had a critical Nunn-McCurdy cost breach, roughly 80 percent over earlier estimates, and DoD restructured it, including building new silos instead of reusing old ones. It remains the Air Force's top nuclear modernisation priority, with first fielding pushed into the 2030s.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["LGM-35A","GBSD","Ground Based Strategic Deterrent"],"w":"LGM-35 Sentinel","r":["Minuteman III","ICBM","Triad"]},{"t":"Sentinel A4","s":"Lockheed Martin GaN AESA short-range air defense radar replacing AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel","d":"Sentinel A4 is the US Army's next-generation 360 degree air and missile defense sensor for short-range threats, cruise missiles and UAS, selected in 2019 to replace the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel. It is built by Lockheed Martin with GaN technology and integrates with IBCS and SHORAD systems.","c":"Radar","k":["AN/MPQ-64A4","Sentinel"],"r":["LTAMDS","GaN","Counter-UAS radar"]},{"t":"Sequel","s":"A follow-on operation planned for after the current one ends","d":"A sequel is the next major operation or phase, based on possible outcomes of the current one, such as victory, stalemate or defeat. Branches deal with change during an operation and sequels deal with what comes after. Both are part of normal plan development.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Branch","Phasing"]},{"t":"Service component","s":"A service's command assigned to a combatant command, such as US Army Pacific","d":"Each combatant command has service component commands, for example US Army Pacific (USARPAC), US Pacific Fleet, Pacific Air Forces and Marine Forces Pacific under INDOPACOM. The generic labels are ARFOR (Army forces), NAVFOR, AFFOR, MARFOR and SPACEFOR. Components handle service-specific matters and often requirements and experimentation in their region.","c":"Organizations","k":["ARFOR","MARFOR","AFFOR","NAVFOR","SPACEFOR","ASCC"],"r":["CCMD","ADCON"]},{"t":"SES","x":"Senior Executive Service","s":"Senior Executive Service: senior federal civilian executives above GS-15","d":"Members of the Senior Executive Service hold executive positions and are treated roughly as general or flag officer equivalents for protocol. Senior Level (SL) and Scientific or Professional (ST) positions are non-executive equivalents for experts. Program executive officers are often SES.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["SL","ST"],"r":["GS grade","General officer"]},{"t":"SETA","x":"Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance","s":"Systems engineering and technical assistance contractors who support program offices","d":"SETA contractors provide engineering, analysis and program support to government offices, often sitting alongside government staff. They cannot perform inherently governmental functions, and organizational conflict of interest rules usually bar their firms from competing for related work. Vendors often brief SETAs as part of the program team.","c":"Acquisition","k":["A&AS"],"r":["FFRDC","CTR"]},{"t":"SEU","x":"Single Event Upset","s":"Bit flip in electronics caused by a single energetic particle strike","d":"A single event upset is a soft error where an ionizing particle (a heavy ion or proton) deposits enough charge to flip a memory cell or latch. It does no permanent damage, but it can corrupt data or crash software. Designers counter it with error-correcting memory, triple modular redundancy, memory scrubbing and watchdogs, and must budget upset rates for the intended orbit.","c":"Space","k":["SEE","single event effect","bit flip"],"w":"Single-event upset","r":["SEL","Rad-hard","TID","South Atlantic Anomaly"]},{"t":"SEWIP","x":"Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program","s":"US Navy block upgrades to the SLQ-32 shipboard EW system","d":"The US Navy program upgrading the AN/SLQ-32 in blocks: Block 1 and 2 improved the receivers and processing (Block 2 by Lockheed Martin), and Block 3, by Northrop Grumman, adds high-power electronic attack with GaN-based arrays. Block 3E (Lite) provides the ES portion for more ships. It is the main path for fleet surface EW modernization.","c":"EW","k":["SLQ-32(V)7","SEWIP Block 3"],"r":["AN/SLQ-32","GaN"]},{"t":"SEWOC","x":"SIGINT and EW Operations Centre","s":"NATO and UK cell that controls SIGINT and EW assets for a formation","d":"A NATO and UK term for the operations center that tasks, coordinates and fuses tactical SIGINT and EW assets for a formation, linking collection to targeting and to EW effects. It is the allied counterpart to US CEMA and EW coordination cells.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["SIGINT/EW Operations Centre"],"r":["CEMA","SIGINT"]},{"t":"SF 1449","s":"Standard form used for commercial product and service solicitations and awards","d":"SF 1449 is the cover form for FAR Part 12 commercial acquisitions, used in place of the Uniform Contract Format. Seeing it on a solicitation signals a commercial buy with lighter clause requirements.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Standard Form 1449"],"r":["FAR Part 12","Uniform Contract Format"]},{"t":"SF-86","x":"Standard Form 86, Questionnaire for National Security Positions","s":"The detailed questionnaire submitted for a security clearance investigation","d":"The SF-86 collects personal history including residences, employment, foreign contacts and travel, finances, drug use and criminal history. It is submitted electronically through eApp. Omissions are treated more harshly than disclosed issues.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Questionnaire for National Security Positions","e-QIP"],"w":"Standard Form 86","r":["PCL","DCSA","eApp"]},{"t":"SFAF","x":"Standard Frequency Action Format","s":"Standard record format for US military frequency assignment requests","d":"The standardized data format, defined by the MCEB, used by US military spectrum managers to request, modify and record frequency assignments. SFAF records feed the Government Master File and spectrum management tools such as SPECTRUM XXI.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["SFAF record"],"r":["Frequency assignment","GMF","SPECTRUM XXI"]},{"t":"SFDR","x":"Spurious-Free Dynamic Range","s":"Range between noise floor and the level where spurs appear","d":"The ratio between the strongest input signal and the largest spurious response or intermodulation product, or the range of input levels over which no spur exceeds the noise floor. It is a headline spec for ADCs and wideband receivers because spurs create false signals that EW processing may report as emitters.","c":"RF","k":["spurious free dynamic range"],"w":"Spurious-free dynamic range","r":["Dynamic range","IP3","Spurious emissions"]},{"t":"SFR","x":"System Functional Review","s":"Review establishing the functional baseline and allocation of functions","d":"The SFR confirms the system's functional architecture and that requirements are allocated to functions, establishing the functional baseline. It precedes the PDR.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["System Functional Review"],"r":["SRR","PDR","Baseline"]},{"t":"SGLS","x":"Space-Ground Link Subsystem","s":"US military S-band standard for satellite telemetry, tracking and command","d":"SGLS is the S-band TT&C format used by US military satellites with the AFSCN, carrying commands, telemetry and ranging tones. Satellites must be compatible with it to use the network. It is being supplemented by unified S-band and other modern formats as the network modernizes.","c":"Space","k":["space-ground link"],"r":["AFSCN","TT&C"]},{"t":"SGP4","x":"Simplified General Perturbations 4","s":"Analytic orbit propagator designed to be used with TLE data","d":"SGP4 is the analytic propagation model that, with its deep-space extension SDP4, turns TLE mean elements into position and velocity at a chosen time. It models Earth's oblateness, drag and lunar and solar effects in simplified form, so it is fast but only moderately accurate. Open-source implementations exist in most languages; using a TLE with any other propagator gives wrong results because the elements are model-specific.","c":"Space","w":"Simplified perturbations models","r":["TLE","Orbital elements"]},{"t":"SgtMaj","x":"Sergeant Major","s":"Marine Corps sergeant major, the senior enlisted adviser at battalion level and up","d":"In the Marine Corps a sergeant major (E-9) serves as senior enlisted adviser to a commander from battalion upward, similar to an Army CSM. The parallel E-9 technical track is master gunnery sergeant. The Navy equivalent role is a command master chief.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Sergeant major","CMC","Command master chief","Command chief"],"w":"Sergeant major","r":["CSM","SNCO"]},{"t":"Shahed-136","s":"Iranian delta-wing one-way attack drone, built in Russia as the Geran-2","d":"The Shahed-136 is an Iranian one-way attack UAS with a small piston engine, a range of over 1,000 km and a warhead of tens of kilograms. Russia produces it in large numbers as the Geran-2 and has added jet-powered variants and improved navigation. Its low cost and volume made it the main reason C-UAS, gun-based air defense and cheap interceptors became urgent priorities.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Geran-2","Shahed","Geran"],"w":"HESA Shahed 136","r":["OWA drone","Interceptor drone","Cost-exchange ratio"]},{"t":"Shake and bake","s":"Slang for an NCO or officer promoted quickly through an accelerated course","d":"Shake and bake originated in the Vietnam War for sergeants produced by accelerated NCO courses rather than years of experience. It now refers to anyone who gained rank quickly without much field time. It is mildly derisive.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["NCO"]},{"t":"SHAPE","x":"Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe","s":"Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, NATO's operational HQ in Mons","d":"Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe: the headquarters of Allied Command Operations, located at Casteau near Mons, Belgium. It plans and directs all NATO military operations and commands the joint force commands at Brunssum, Naples and Norfolk. Its commander is SACEUR.","c":"NATO & Allied","w":"Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe","r":["SACEUR","ACO"]},{"t":"SHF","x":"Super High Frequency","s":"3 to 30 GHz, the core of radar and satellite communications","d":"The ITU band from 3 to 30 GHz, spanning the IEEE C, X, Ku and K bands and part of Ka. It hosts most fire control radars, military X-band SATCOM and commercial Ku and Ka satellite services. Rain attenuation becomes significant toward the top of the band.","c":"RF","k":["super high frequency","centimeter band"],"w":"Super high frequency","r":["EHF","X band","Ku band"]},{"t":"Shijian","s":"Chinese experimental satellite series, some performing RPO in GEO","d":"Shijian (practice) is a Chinese satellite designation covering scientific and technology demonstration missions, several of which have shown military-relevant capabilities. Shijian-17 and Shijian-21 have performed maneuvers near other satellites in GEO, and Shijian-21 towed a defunct BeiDou satellite to a graveyard orbit in 2022.","c":"Space","k":["SJ-21","SJ-17"],"r":["RPO","Co-orbital ASAT","Graveyard orbit"]},{"t":"Shoot-look-shoot","s":"Firing one interceptor, assessing the result, then firing again if needed","d":"Shoot-look-shoot conserves interceptors by waiting to see if the first shot succeeded before firing another. It needs enough time and depth in the engagement, which faster threats remove. The alternative is salvo firing (shoot-shoot) with two or more interceptors at once.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["shoot-shoot","salvo doctrine"],"r":["Cost-exchange ratio","Kill assessment"]},{"t":"SHORAD","x":"Short-Range Air Defense","s":"Air defense covering low altitudes and short ranges near ground forces","d":"SHORAD protects maneuver units and sites against aircraft, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles at short range with guns, MANPADS and short-range missiles. The US Army largely divested it after the Cold War and has been rebuilding it since 2018. It overlaps heavily with C-UAS.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["short range air defence","VSHORAD"],"r":["M-SHORAD","MANPADS","C-UAS"]},{"t":"Sidelobe","s":"Secondary lobes of an antenna pattern outside the main beam","d":"Lobes of an antenna radiation pattern outside the main beam. Sidelobes let jammers and interference enter a radar from off-axis and let ES receivers detect emitters they are not illuminated by directly. Low sidelobe design, tapering, blanking and cancellation reduce their effect.","c":"RF","k":["sidelobe level","SLL","backlobe"],"w":"Sidelobes","r":["Sidelobe blanking","Sidelobe cancellation","Beamwidth"]},{"t":"Sidelobe blanking","x":"SLB","s":"Suppressing detections that arrive through antenna sidelobes using a guard channel","d":"Sidelobe blanking compares the main channel with a low-gain guard antenna covering the sidelobe region and blanks returns that are stronger in the guard channel. It rejects pulsed interference and repeater jamming entering through sidelobes. It does not help against continuous noise jamming, which needs sidelobe cancellation.","c":"Radar","k":["SLB"],"r":["Sidelobe cancellation","Sidelobe","Stand-off jamming","Guard channel"]},{"t":"Sidelobe cancellation","x":"SLC","s":"Adaptive subtraction of jamming entering antenna sidelobes using auxiliary antennas","d":"A sidelobe canceller weights and subtracts signals from auxiliary antennas so noise jamming in the sidelobes is nulled while the mainbeam is preserved. Each auxiliary channel can null roughly one jammer direction. In digital arrays the same idea generalizes to fully adaptive beamforming.","c":"Radar","k":["SLC","coherent sidelobe cancellation","CSLC","coherent sidelobe canceller"],"r":["Sidelobe blanking","Adaptive nulling","Digital beamforming","Adaptive beamforming"]},{"t":"Sidelobes","s":"Lower-gain lobes of an antenna pattern outside the main beam","d":"Sidelobes let clutter, jamming and interference enter the receiver and leak transmit energy that ESM can detect. Low-sidelobe designs (say -40 dB or better) need tapering and tight array calibration. Electronic protection features such as sidelobe blanking and cancellation target them specifically.","c":"Radar","k":["sidelobe","antenna sidelobes","SLL"],"r":["Amplitude taper","Sidelobe cancellation","Grating lobes"]},{"t":"SIF","x":"Selective Identification Feature","s":"Unencrypted IFF modes 1, 2 and 3/A used for identity codes","d":"The selective identification feature refers to the unencrypted IFF modes: Mode 1 (mission code), Mode 2 (unit or airframe code) and Mode 3/A (shared with civil ATC squawk codes), often used with Mode C altitude. They provide no protection against spoofing, which is why cryptographic modes exist.","c":"Radar","k":["Mode 1","Mode 2","Mode 3/A","Mode C"],"r":["IFF","Mode 4","Mode 5"]},{"t":"SIGINT","x":"Signals Intelligence","s":"Intelligence from intercepted communications, electronic and instrumentation signals","d":"Intelligence derived from intercepted signals, comprising communications intelligence (COMINT), electronic intelligence (ELINT) and foreign instrumentation signals intelligence (FISINT), singly or combined. In the US, the NSA/CSS leads the national SIGINT enterprise, while the services operate tactical and airborne collectors. SIGINT differs from ES mainly in who tasks it and for what purpose, not in the hardware.","c":"SIGINT","k":["signals intelligence"],"w":"Signals intelligence","r":["COMINT","ELINT","FISINT","Electromagnetic warfare support"]},{"t":"Signals of opportunity","s":"Navigating with RF signals not built for navigation, such as cellular or Starlink","d":"Signals of opportunity (SOOP) navigation exploits existing transmissions such as cell towers, broadcast TV and radio, and LEO broadband satellites by measuring their timing, Doppler or phase from known or estimated locations. It needs no new infrastructure but depends on mapping transmitters and their clocks.","c":"PNT","k":["SOOP","SoOP"],"r":["LEO PNT","Alt-PNT"]},{"t":"Signature management","s":"Controlling a force's detectable emissions and signatures","d":"The deliberate control of the electromagnetic, acoustic, thermal and visual signatures of a force to avoid detection and targeting. In the RF domain it combines EMCON, LPI/LPD waveforms, directional antennas and decoy emitters. Lessons from Ukraine, where emitting command posts are quickly found and struck, have made it a top priority for ground forces.","c":"EW","k":["EM signature management","signature reduction"],"r":["EMCON","LPI","Decoy"]},{"t":"SILENTBARKER","s":"NRO and Space Force GEO space domain awareness satellites launched in 2023","d":"SILENTBARKER is a joint NRO and US Space Force program of space-based sensors that search for and track objects in the GEO belt from orbit, improving timeliness of detection over ground sensors. It launched on the NROL-107 mission in September 2023. Details of its constellation size and performance are classified.","c":"Space","k":["NROL-107"],"r":["GSSAP","SDA (space domain awareness)","NRO"]},{"t":"SIMPLE","x":"Standard Interface for Multiple Platform Link Evaluation","s":"NATO protocol for carrying datalink traffic over IP, mainly for testing","d":"SIMPLE is a NATO protocol (STANAG 5602) for exchanging Link 16 and other TDL messages over IP networks, primarily for interoperability testing and simulation between sites. It is similar in purpose to JREAP-C. Test labs and simulators often support it.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["STANAG 5602"],"r":["JREAP","Link 16"]},{"t":"Simplified acquisition","s":"Streamlined procedures for purchases below the simplified acquisition threshold","d":"FAR Part 13 allows quicker, less formal buys under the simplified acquisition threshold, which is adjusted periodically for inflation, and below a micro-purchase threshold a government purchase card can be used without competition. Commercial items can use simplified procedures at higher values.","c":"Acquisition","k":["SAT","simplified acquisition threshold","micro-purchase","GPC","purchase card"],"r":["RFQ","FAR Part 12"]},{"t":"SINCGARS","x":"Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System","s":"VHF frequency-hopping combat net radio waveform","d":"SINCGARS is a VHF-FM combat net radio operating from 30 to 88 MHz with frequency hopping, used for voice and low-rate data by US and allied forces since the 1980s. The waveform is now hosted in most modern multi-band radios, such as the AN/PRC-117G, PRC-152 and PRC-163. It remains the baseline voice net for many ground units.","c":"Comms","w":"SINCGARS","r":["Combat net radio","HAVE QUICK","AN/PRC-152","Frequency hopping","VHF","Have Quick"],"k":["single channel ground and airborne radio system"]},{"t":"Single-platform geolocation","s":"Locating an emitter using measurements from one moving platform","d":"Locating an emitter with a single platform by combining measurements over time as it moves, using AOA, phase rate of change, interferometry or Doppler. It avoids the data links and synchronization of multi-ship TDOA/FDOA but takes longer to converge. Fighter EW suites and ES aircraft commonly use it.","c":"EW","k":["single-ship geolocation","SSGL"],"r":["Interferometry","Geolocation","TDOA"]},{"t":"SINR","x":"Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio","s":"Signal power divided by interference plus noise power","d":"The ratio of wanted signal power to the sum of interference (including jamming) and noise power. SINR is the figure that actually governs link performance in contested or crowded spectrum and is the core metric for anti-jam and spectrum sharing designs.","c":"RF","k":["SNIR"],"w":"Signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio","r":["SNR","Jamming-to-signal ratio"]},{"t":"SIPRNet","x":"Secret Internet Protocol Router Network","s":"DoD network for information classified up to SECRET","d":"SIPRNet is DoD's network for classified information up to secret, physically or cryptographically separated from unclassified networks and accessed from accredited facilities. Many C2 systems such as GCCS-J run on it. Products intended for it must be accredited, use secret-level authentication tokens, and typically meet IL6 or equivalent requirements if cloud-hosted.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["SIPR","Secret Internet Protocol Router Network"],"w":"SIPRNet","r":["NIPRNet","JWICS","Impact levels"]},{"t":"SITREP","x":"Situation Report","s":"Situation report: a periodic update on a unit's status, position and activity","d":"A SITREP reports a unit's location, situation, activities, logistics status and plans, at set times or on request. Formats are set by unit SOP. Reporting tools often aim to auto-fill SITREPs from sensor and system data.","c":"Comms","w":"Command center","r":["SPOTREP","SALUTE"]},{"t":"SKL","x":"Simple Key Loader","s":"AN/PYQ-10 handheld key loader used across DoD","d":"The Simple Key Loader, AN/PYQ-10, is a handheld key loader from Sierra Nevada Corporation used to store, manage and transfer electronic key and related data to radios and encryptors. It replaced older fill devices such as the KYK-13 and AN/CYZ-10. It is being supplemented by newer next-generation load devices.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["AN/PYQ-10"],"r":["Key loader","KIK-30","KYK-13"]},{"t":"Skydio X10D","s":"US-made rugged quadcopter on the Blue UAS list, used by the Army","d":"Skydio X10D is a defense version of Skydio's X10 quadcopter with onboard autonomy, thermal and visual cameras and radios for contested environments. It was selected for the Army's Short Range Reconnaissance program and is on the Blue UAS list. Skydio became a common US alternative to DJI for government users.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["X10D","Skydio"],"r":["Blue UAS","SRR","DJI"]},{"t":"Skynet","s":"UK military SATCOM satellite system","d":"Skynet is the United Kingdom's military satellite communications system, with Skynet 5 satellites providing X-band and UHF service, operated under a long-running service contract. Skynet 6A, built by Airbus, is the next satellite, and a wider Skynet 6 enduring capability program is under way. It is interoperable with WGS and other allied systems.","c":"NATO & Allied","k":["Skynet 5","Skynet 6A"],"r":["WGS","X-band"]},{"t":"SLBM","x":"Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile","s":"Ballistic missile launched from a submarine","d":"SLBMs give the most survivable leg of the triad because SSBNs are hard to find at sea. The US and UK both use Trident II D5.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["submarine-launched ballistic missile"],"r":["Trident II D5","SSBN"]},{"t":"Slew-to-cue","s":"Automatically pointing a narrow sensor at a detection from a wide-area sensor","d":"Slew-to-cue uses a detection or track from a radar, acoustic, RF or wide-area sensor to point an EO/IR camera or weapon at the target for confirmation or engagement. It is the basic integration pattern for base defense and counter-UAS systems. Latency and coordinate accuracy between sensors govern whether the target lands in the camera's field of view.","c":"Sensors","k":["cueing","sensor cueing"],"r":["Sensor fusion","Ground surveillance radar","Counter-UAS radar"]},{"t":"SM-2","x":"Standard Missile 2","s":"Raytheon ship-launched area air defense missile, semi-active homing","d":"SM-2 is the Navy's long-serving fleet air defense missile, guided by the ship's radar with semi-active terminal homing. Block IIIC adds an active seeker. It is being supplemented by SM-6 but remains in wide service with allies.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["RIM-66","SM-2 Block IIIC"],"r":["SM-6","Aegis","VLS"]},{"t":"SM-3","x":"Standard Missile 3","s":"Raytheon exoatmospheric ballistic missile interceptor for Aegis BMD","d":"SM-3 intercepts short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere with a kinetic kill vehicle. Block IIA, co-developed with Japan, has a larger 21-inch body and has demonstrated an ICBM-class intercept test. It is used from ships and from Aegis Ashore.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["RIM-161","SM-3 Block IIA","SM-3 Block IB"],"w":"RIM-161 Standard Missile 3","r":["Aegis BMD","Exoatmospheric","Hit-to-kill"]},{"t":"SM-6","x":"Standard Missile 6","s":"Raytheon multi-role missile for air defense, terminal BMD and anti-ship strike","d":"SM-6 combines the SM-2 airframe with an AMRAAM-derived active seeker, giving it over-the-horizon air defense, terminal ballistic missile defense, and an anti-ship mode. It is the Navy's leading answer to hypersonic threats in the terminal phase for now. The Army's Typhon launcher also fires it.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["RIM-174","SM-6 Block IA","SM-6 Block IB","ERAM"],"w":"RIM-174 Standard ERAM","r":["SM-2","Aegis","Typhon"]},{"t":"Small business set-aside","s":"Competition restricted to small businesses, often triggered by the Rule of Two","d":"A set-aside limits competition to small businesses or a socioeconomic subgroup. The Rule of Two requires a set-aside when two or more capable small businesses are expected to offer at fair market prices. Size is determined by the NAICS code's size standard.","c":"Acquisition","k":["set-aside","Rule of Two","SB"],"r":["8(a)","SDVOSB","HUBZone","WOSB","NAICS code"]},{"t":"Smallsat","s":"Satellite under roughly 500 kg, from cubesats up to ESPA class","d":"Smallsat is a loose class for satellites below about 500 kg, often subdivided into minisatellites (100 to 500 kg), microsatellites (10 to 100 kg), nanosatellites (1 to 10 kg) and smaller. Smallsats enable proliferated constellations, cheap demonstrations and rideshare launches. Military usage has shifted many missions to smallsats for cost and resilience.","c":"Space","k":["small satellite","microsat","nanosat","minisat"],"w":"Small satellite","r":["Cubesat","ESPA","Proliferated constellation"]},{"t":"SMART-L","s":"Thales L-band long-range naval and land surveillance radar","d":"SMART-L is a Thales Nederland L-band long-range air and surface surveillance radar, with the SMART-L EWC (Early Warning Capability) adding a GaN rotating AESA able to track ballistic missiles out to very long range. It is fitted to Dutch, Danish, German and other navies, and a ground-based SMART-L MM version is in service.","c":"Radar","k":["SMART-L EWC","SMART-L MM"],"w":"SMART-L","r":["Rotating AESA","L-band"]},{"t":"SME","x":"Subject Matter Expert","s":"Subject matter expert","d":"An SME is someone with deep expertise in a topic, often brought into requirements reviews, evaluations and design sessions. Pronounced as letters or \"smee.\" Experienced operators acting as user SMEs are valuable for product teams.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["End user"]},{"t":"SMEAC","x":"Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration and logistics, Command and signal","s":"Mnemonic for the five-paragraph order: situation, mission, execution, admin, command","d":"SMEAC stands for Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration and logistics, and Command and signal, the five paragraphs of an order. It is the Marine Corps' standard teaching mnemonic and widely used across services. A briefing that wanders from this structure often confuses a military audience.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Five-paragraph order","OPORD"]},{"t":"Smith chart","s":"Graphical tool for impedance matching and reflection analysis","d":"A polar plot of reflection coefficient overlaid with circles of constant resistance and reactance, used to visualize impedances and design matching networks. Vector network analyzers display S-parameters on it.","c":"RF","w":"Smith chart","r":["Impedance","S-parameters","VSWR"]},{"t":"SNAFU","s":"Slang: situation normal, all fouled up","d":"SNAFU, from World War II, describes the normal state of military confusion; the original uses a stronger word than \"fouled.\" It has entered general English as a word for a mix-up. FUBAR is the more severe version.","c":"Slang & Brevity","w":"SNAFU","r":["FUBAR"]},{"t":"SNCO","x":"Senior Noncommissioned Officer","s":"Senior noncommissioned officer, roughly E-7 to E-9 (E-6 and up in the Marines)","d":"Senior NCOs include sergeants first class, master sergeants, first sergeants and sergeants major in the Army; chiefs in the Navy; and staff sergeants and above in the Marine Corps. They are the institutional memory of a unit and advisers to commanders. Winning over SNCOs is often key to adoption.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Senior NCO","Staff NCO","Chief petty officer","CPO"],"r":["NCO","CSM","1SG"]},{"t":"SNR","x":"Signal-to-Noise Ratio","s":"Ratio of echo power to receiver noise power; drives detection probability","d":"SNR is the ratio of target signal power to noise power after processing, typically in dB. A single-look detection with Pd 0.9 and Pfa 1e-6 needs roughly 13 dB for a steady target and more for fluctuating ones. Radar designers track SNR through the radar equation, integration gain and losses, alongside SCR (signal-to-clutter) and SIR (signal-to-interference).","c":"Radar","k":["S/N","signal to noise ratio"],"w":"Signal-to-noise ratio","r":["SINR","Eb/N0","Noise floor","Radar equation","Probability of detection","Noise figure"]},{"t":"SOC","x":"Security Operations Center","s":"Team and facility that monitors and responds to security events","d":"A security operations center monitors networks and systems for security events, triages alerts and coordinates incident response, using SIEM and endpoint tools. DoD SOCs are often part of CSSPs. Products feeding a SOC need standard log formats and integrations.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["CSSP"]},{"t":"SOCOM","x":"United States Special Operations Command","s":"US Special Operations Command, which oversees all special operations forces","d":"US Special Operations Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, is a combatant command with service-like responsibilities: it has its own budget line (Major Force Program 11) and acquisition authority for SOF-peculiar equipment. Its components are the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine special operations commands plus the Joint Special Operations Command. It is often an early, fast-moving customer for new technology.","c":"Organizations","k":["USSOCOM"],"w":"United States Special Operations Command","r":["SOF","JFSOCC","CCMD"]},{"t":"SOF","x":"Special Operations Forces","s":"Special operations forces: units trained for special missions such as DA and UW","d":"SOF include Army Special Forces, Rangers, special operations aviation, Navy SEALs, Air Force special tactics, Marine Raiders and others, under SOCOM. SOF have their own acquisition authority and budget, making them an early adopter for many technologies. SOF truths include \"humans are more important than hardware.\"","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["SOCOM","DA","UW","SR"]},{"t":"Software Acquisition Pathway","s":"Pathway for iterative software delivery with user feedback, outside traditional milestones","d":"Established in 2020 under DoDI 5000.87, this pathway funds software through planning and execution phases instead of milestones, with releases expected at least annually and ideally far more often. It replaces heavy requirements documents with a Capability Needs Statement and a User Agreement, and expects DevSecOps practices and continuous authorization. A March 2025 Secretary of Defense memo directed that it be the preferred pathway for software development.","c":"Acquisition","k":["SWP","SWAP","DoDI 5000.87"],"r":["CNS","MVP","MVCR","BA 08","cATO","Software factory"]},{"t":"Software-defined radio","s":"Radio whose signal processing is implemented in software or firmware","d":"A radio in which functions such as modulation, filtering and demodulation are implemented in software or reprogrammable hardware rather than fixed circuits, so new waveforms can be loaded. Nearly all current military radios and many EW systems are SDRs; commercial SDRs (for example Ettus USRP) are widely used for prototyping. US military radio waveforms historically followed the Software Communications Architecture.","c":"RF","k":["SDR","software radio"],"w":"Software-defined radio","r":["SCA","JTRS","IQ data","FPGA","RFSoC"],"x":"SDR"},{"t":"Software factory","s":"Organization and toolchain for continuous delivery of software, often with cATO","d":"A software factory is a team plus a standardized DevSecOps pipeline and platform that produces and deploys software continuously. DoD has dozens, including Kessel Run, Platform One, Army Software Factory, Space CAMP and Navy factories. Vendors can sometimes deliver through a factory's pipeline to inherit its authorization.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Kessel Run","Platform One","DevSecOps pipeline"],"r":["DevSecOps","cATO","Software Acquisition Pathway","Kessel Run","Platform One"]},{"t":"Software Fast Track","s":"2025 DoD CIO initiative replacing parts of RMF with faster software authorization","d":"Software Fast Track (SWFT) is a DoD CIO initiative launched in 2025 to speed authorization of software by relying on vendor-supplied artifacts such as SBOMs, third-party assessments and secure development attestations, with automated risk analysis, in place of lengthy RMF packages. It was announced alongside direction to overhaul RMF. Details continue to evolve, so vendors should check current DoD CIO guidance.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["SWFT"],"r":["RMF","SBOM","ATO"]},{"t":"Solar flare","s":"Sudden burst of radiation from the Sun that can black out HF radio","d":"A solar flare is an intense release of electromagnetic energy from the Sun, classed A, B, C, M and X by X-ray flux. Its X-rays reach Earth in about eight minutes and ionize the dayside upper atmosphere, causing HF radio blackouts, and strong flares can raise radio noise that affects GNSS and radar. Flares are often accompanied by energetic particle events and CMEs.","c":"Space","w":"Solar flare","r":["Space weather","CME","Solar particle event"]},{"t":"Solar particle event","s":"Flood of energetic protons from the Sun that raises radiation hazards","d":"A solar particle event (or solar energetic particle event) is a burst of high-energy protons and ions accelerated by flares and CMEs. It raises single event effect rates in satellites, degrades solar arrays, blinds star trackers and sensors, and causes polar cap absorption that blacks out HF at high latitudes. NOAA rates them S1 to S5.","c":"Space","k":["SPE","SEP event","proton event"],"r":["SEU","Space weather","Solar flare"]},{"t":"Soldier load","s":"The total weight soldiers carry, a constant constraint on new gear","d":"Dismounted soldiers routinely carry heavy loads of armor, weapons, ammunition, water, radios and batteries, which causes injuries and slows movement. Every new device competes for weight, power and space. SWaP (size, weight and power) requirements reflect this.","c":"Ground","k":["Combat load","Load carriage"],"r":["Ruck","Plate carrier"]},{"t":"Sole source","s":"Award to one firm without competition, requiring a justification","d":"Sole source awards must fit an exception to full and open competition, such as only one responsible source, urgency or international agreement, and be documented in a Justification and Approval. Exceptions include SBIR Phase III and OT follow-on production, which do not need a J&A.","c":"Acquisition","k":["noncompetitive","other than full and open competition"],"r":["J&A","Full and open competition","SBIR Phase III sole source"]},{"t":"Sonar","x":"Sound Navigation and Ranging","s":"Underwater sensing with sound, either listening (passive) or pinging (active)","d":"Sonar detects and locates objects underwater using sound, which travels far in water while radio and light do not. Performance depends on the sonar equation: source level, transmission loss, noise, target strength and processing gain. Naval sonars include hull-mounted arrays, towed arrays, variable depth sonars, dipping sonars on helicopters and sonobuoys.","c":"Sensors","w":"Sonar","r":["Active sonar","Passive sonar","Towed array"]},{"t":"Sonobuoy","s":"Expendable buoy dropped from aircraft that listens or pings and radios data back","d":"Sonobuoys are dropped by aircraft such as the P-8A and MH-60R and relay acoustic data by radio. Common US types include the AN/SSQ-53 DIFAR passive directional buoy, AN/SSQ-62 DICASS active buoy, and AN/SSQ-125 multistatic active coherent source. Production capacity for sonobuoys has become a defense industrial base topic.","c":"Sensors","k":["DIFAR","DICASS","SSQ-53","SSQ-125"],"w":"Sonobuoy","r":["Active sonar","Passive sonar","MAD"]},{"t":"SOO","x":"Statement of Objectives","s":"Brief government statement of goals; offerors write their own SOW or PWS in response","d":"A SOO lists the government's top-level objectives and lets bidders propose the approach, including writing the SOW or PWS that will go into the contract. It is common in prototype and innovation solicitations and rewards creative solutions.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Statement of Objectives"],"r":["SOW","PWS","CSO"]},{"t":"SOP","x":"Standard Operating Procedure","s":"A unit's written set of standard procedures for routine and recurring tasks","d":"A standard operating procedure (also called a tactical SOP or TACSOP) sets out how a unit handles routine actions so orders can focus on what is unique. SOPs specify report formats, radio procedures, load plans and much more. A new product often requires changes to a unit's SOP before it is truly adopted.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["TACSOP","TSOP"],"r":["TTP","Battle drill"]},{"t":"Sortie","s":"One mission flight by a single aircraft","d":"A sortie is one aircraft flying one mission, from takeoff to landing. Sortie generation rate measures how many missions a force can fly, limited by maintenance, fuel, weapons and crews. It is a common metric in air operations, logistics and readiness software.","c":"Aviation","k":["sortie rate","sortie generation"],"r":["CAP","ACE"]},{"t":"SOSA","x":"Sensor Open Systems Architecture","s":"Open Group standard for modular C4ISR, EW and radar hardware and software","d":"The Open Group's Sensor Open Systems Architecture Technical Standard defines modular, interoperable hardware (based on OpenVPX profiles) and software interfaces for radar, EW, SIGINT and communications sensors. The US Army, Navy and Air Force increasingly require SOSA-aligned products, so cards and chassis are marketed with SOSA alignment.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Sensor Open Systems Architecture","SOSA aligned","Open Group SOSA","SOSA Technical Standard"],"r":["CMOSS","OpenVPX","MOSA","HOST","VITA 49"]},{"t":"SOTM","x":"SATCOM On The Move","s":"Satellite terminals that keep a link while the vehicle is moving","d":"SATCOM on the move terminals stay pointed at the satellite while their vehicle, ship or aircraft moves, using stabilized mechanical antennas or electronically steered arrays. They demand tight pointing to avoid interfering with adjacent satellites, and LEO services make SOTM easier with flat panels. COTM (communications on the move) is the broader term including terrestrial links.","c":"Comms","k":["COTM","OTM"],"r":["SOTP","Phased array user terminal","VSAT"]},{"t":"SOTP","x":"SATCOM On The Pause","s":"Terminals that set up quickly at a short halt, rather than while moving","d":"SATCOM on the pause terminals are designed to be deployed and pointed within minutes when a unit stops, often with larger or higher-gain antennas than SOTM terminals, giving more throughput at the cost of mobility. Examples include fly-away and vehicle-mounted auto-acquire terminals.","c":"Comms","k":["on-the-halt"],"r":["SOTM","VSAT"]},{"t":"Source reliability rating","s":"Admiralty code: A to F for source reliability, 1 to 6 for information credibility","d":"The standard two-character rating applied to raw intelligence reports, often called the Admiralty or NATO system. The source is graded A (completely reliable) to F (reliability cannot be judged), and the information 1 (confirmed by other sources) to 6 (truth cannot be judged), giving ratings such as B2. NATO doctrine (AJP-2) uses it, and fusion tools should carry the rating with each report.","c":"Intelligence","k":["Admiralty code","Admiralty system","NATO system"],"w":"Admiralty code","r":["HUMINT","All-source intelligence"]},{"t":"Source selection","s":"Process of evaluating proposals and choosing a winner","d":"Source selection under FAR Part 15 and the DoD Source Selection Procedures evaluates proposals against stated factors using either a best-value tradeoff or lowest price technically acceptable approach. The Source Selection Authority makes the decision. Debriefings afterward explain strengths and weaknesses and start the clock for protests.","c":"Acquisition","k":["SSA","SSEB","Source Selection Authority","best value","tradeoff"],"r":["LPTA","RFP","Bid protest","Debriefing"]},{"t":"Sources sought","s":"Notice asking which firms can do a job, often to decide on a small business set-aside","d":"A sources sought notice is market research to find capable vendors, frequently used to determine whether the Rule of Two supports a small business set-aside. Small businesses should respond if they want an upcoming opportunity set aside for them.","c":"Acquisition","k":["sources sought notice","SSN"],"r":["RFI","Small business set-aside","SAM.gov"]},{"t":"South Atlantic Anomaly","s":"Region over South America and the South Atlantic where radiation dips lower","d":"The South Atlantic Anomaly is where the inner Van Allen belt comes closest to Earth, because the geomagnetic field is offset and weak there. LEO satellites passing through it see elevated proton flux and single event upsets, so operators often pause sensitive instruments or expect more anomalies over this region. It is slowly drifting and changing shape.","c":"Space","k":["SAA"],"w":"South Atlantic Anomaly","r":["Van Allen belts","SEU","LEO"]},{"t":"SOUTHCOM","x":"United States Southern Command","s":"US Southern Command, covering Central and South America and the Caribbean","d":"US Southern Command covers Central America, South America and the Caribbean (Mexico is in NORTHCOM), headquartered in Doral, Florida. Its missions include counter-narcotics, security cooperation and disaster response. It runs Joint Interagency Task Force South.","c":"Organizations","k":["USSOUTHCOM"],"w":"United States Southern Command","r":["CCMD","NORTHCOM"]},{"t":"SOW","x":"Statement of Work","s":"Contract document describing the specific tasks the contractor must perform","d":"A SOW spells out what work is to be done, often in detail, along with deliverables and standards. It is common in development contracts. When the government wants to specify outcomes rather than methods it uses a PWS or a SOO instead.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Statement of Work"],"w":"Statement of work","r":["PWS","SOO","CDRL"]},{"t":"Space-based GMTI","s":"Ground moving target tracking from satellites, replacing aircraft like JSTARS","d":"After retiring the E-8C JSTARS, the US Air Force and Space Force with the NRO pursued satellite-based GMTI to track moving ground targets from orbit, a capability less vulnerable to long-range air defenses than aircraft. Details of the program are largely classified, though the Space Force has publicly stated it is fielding an initial capability. Space-based AMTI for aircraft tracking is pursued in parallel.","c":"Space","k":["space-based MTI","SB-GMTI"],"r":["GMTI","AMTI"]},{"t":"Space-based Link 16","s":"Link 16 delivered from satellites, as on the SDA Transport Layer","d":"Space-based Link 16 places Link 16 terminals on satellites so that ground, air and maritime users can receive and send J-series messages beyond line of sight. The Space Development Agency's Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites, launching from 2025, carry Link 16 payloads for tactical data distribution. It changes network design, since space nodes see much larger areas than airborne relays.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["Link 16 from space"],"r":["Link 16","SDA"]},{"t":"Space C2","x":"Space Command and Control","s":"Software and processes for directing space forces and fusing SDA data","d":"Space command and control covers the systems that turn space domain awareness and satellite status into decisions and orders for space operations. The Space Force has pursued modern, software-factory-built tools for this, including the Kobayashi Maru program, and the ATLAS system to replace the legacy SPADOC catalog processing system. Integrating commercial data and allied feeds is a recurring requirement.","c":"Space","k":["Kobayashi Maru","ATLAS","SPADOC"],"r":["SDA (space domain awareness)","UDL","CSpOC"]},{"t":"SPACECOM","x":"United States Space Command","s":"US Space Command, the combatant command for military operations in space","d":"US Space Command was re-established in 2019 and is responsible for military operations in space, with an area of responsibility starting 100 km above sea level. Its headquarters has been in Colorado Springs, and a move to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama was announced in 2025. It employs forces that the Space Force organizes, trains and equips.","c":"Organizations","k":["USSPACECOM"],"w":"United States Space Command","r":["CCMD"]},{"t":"Spacecraft charging","s":"Buildup of electric charge on a satellite that can cause damaging discharges","d":"Spacecraft charging is the accumulation of charge on surfaces (surface charging) or inside dielectrics (internal or deep dielectric charging) from space plasma and energetic electrons. Discharges can cause phantom commands, damage electronics or degrade solar arrays. It is most severe in GEO and MEO during geomagnetic storms, and design guidance such as NASA-HDBK-4002 addresses grounding and materials.","c":"Space","k":["ESD","internal charging"],"r":["Geomagnetic storm","Van Allen belts"]},{"t":"Space cyber","s":"Cybersecurity of satellites, ground segments and the links between them","d":"Space cybersecurity covers threats to the ground segment, user terminals, TT&C and payload links, and the spacecraft's own software. The best-known real attack, on Viasat's KA-SAT terminals at the start of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, came through the ground management network. Frameworks include Aerospace Corporation's SPARTA matrix, CNSSP 12 for national security space systems and the US Space Policy Directive 5 principles.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["satellite cybersecurity","SPD-5"],"r":["SPARTA","CNSSP 12","TT&C","Ground segment"]},{"t":"Space debris","s":"Defunct satellites, spent stages and fragments that clutter orbit","d":"Space debris is any human-made object in orbit that no longer serves a purpose: dead satellites, rocket bodies, mission-related objects and fragments from explosions, collisions and ASAT tests. The public catalog holds tens of thousands of tracked objects, while millions of pieces too small to track can still damage spacecraft at orbital speeds. Debris drives shielding, collision avoidance workload and disposal rules.","c":"Space","k":["orbital debris","space junk"],"w":"Space debris","r":["Kessler syndrome","ASAT","Conjunction","Deorbit"]},{"t":"Space Fence","s":"S-band radar on Kwajalein Atoll that tracks small LEO and MEO objects","d":"Space Fence is a large ground-based S-band phased-array radar built by Lockheed Martin on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, declared operational in 2020. It detects and tracks objects much smaller than legacy sensors could, mostly in LEO, greatly increasing the size of the catalog. Its data flows into the Space Force's space object catalog.","c":"Space","w":"Space Fence","r":["Space Surveillance Network","SSA"]},{"t":"Space RCO","x":"Space Rapid Capabilities Office","s":"Space Force office for fast, often classified, space acquisition","d":"The Space Rapid Capabilities Office, at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, develops and fields urgent space capabilities on short timelines, reporting to a board outside the normal acquisition chain. Much of its work is classified; publicly known efforts include counterspace and ground systems such as the Remote Modular Terminal jammer. It is distinct from SDA and SSC.","c":"Organizations","k":["SpRCO","Space Rapid Capabilities Office"],"r":["SSC","SDA","Counterspace"]},{"t":"Space Surveillance Network","s":"Global set of US radars and telescopes that track objects in orbit","d":"The Space Surveillance Network (SSN) is the collection of US and allied ground-based radars, optical telescopes and space-based sensors that feed the space object catalog. Members include Space Fence, GEODSS, phased-array missile warning radars that also track satellites, and space-based sensors such as GSSAP. Its observations are processed by the 18th and 19th Space Defense Squadrons.","c":"Space","k":["SSN"],"w":"United States Space Surveillance Network","r":["Space Fence","GEODSS","GSSAP","DARC","SSA"]},{"t":"Space-Track.org","s":"US Space Force website publishing the public satellite catalog and TLEs","d":"Space-Track.org is the public portal where the US Space Force shares its unclassified space object catalog, element sets, decay predictions and conjunction data messages with registered users. It is the standard free source for TLE and OMM data used by commercial software. Safety-of-flight services for civil and commercial operators are transitioning to the Commerce Department's TraCSS.","c":"Space","r":["TLE","CDM","TraCSS","Satellite catalog number"]},{"t":"Space weather","s":"Solar and geomagnetic conditions that affect satellites, signals and grids","d":"Space weather is the variable environment created by the Sun: solar flares, coronal mass ejections, solar energetic particles and the resulting geomagnetic and ionospheric disturbances. It can disrupt GNSS and HF and SATCOM links, increase LEO drag, cause single event effects and charging in spacecraft, and induce currents in power grids. NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issues forecasts and alerts, and the Space Force and Air Force run their own weather support.","c":"Space","w":"Space weather","r":["Solar flare","CME","Geomagnetic storm","Scintillation","SEU"]},{"t":"SpaceWERX","s":"Space Force innovation arm within AFWERX","d":"SpaceWERX runs SBIR and STTR and related programs for the US Space Force, connecting commercial space companies with Space Force needs. It also administers STRATFI and TACFI awards for space topics.","c":"Organizations","r":["AFWERX","SBIR"]},{"t":"S-parameters","s":"Scattering parameters describing how RF networks reflect and transmit signals","d":"Scattering parameters describe the reflection and transmission of a linear RF network at each port, for example S11 (input reflection) and S21 (forward gain or loss). They are measured with a vector network analyzer and exchanged as Touchstone (.s2p) files for simulation.","c":"RF","k":["scattering parameters","S21","Touchstone"],"w":"Scattering parameters","r":["Return loss","Insertion loss","VSWR"]},{"t":"Spares","s":"Replacement parts and assemblies stocked to keep systems running","d":"Spares include initial spares bought with the system, replenishment spares bought over its life, repairables that are fixed and returned, and consumables that are discarded. Spares requirements are computed during provisioning from reliability data. Underfunded or late spares are a top cause of low readiness.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["spare parts","repair parts","initial spares","repairables","consumables"],"r":["Provisioning","Class IX","LRU"]},{"t":"SPARTA","x":"Space Attack Research and Tactic Analysis","s":"Aerospace Corporation's ATT&CK-style matrix of attacks on spacecraft","d":"SPARTA is an open framework from The Aerospace Corporation that catalogs adversary tactics, techniques and countermeasures specific to spacecraft and their ground systems, modeled on MITRE ATT&CK. It is used for threat modeling, test planning and mapping controls for satellite programs.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["Space cyber","CNSSP 12"]},{"t":"Special Access Required","s":"Marking indicating information belongs to a Special Access Program","d":"SAR is the dissemination control marking for SAP information in classification banners, followed by the program's nickname or code word. In acquisition SAR means Selected Acquisition Report, so check context.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["SAR"],"r":["SAP","SAR"]},{"t":"Specialty metals","s":"DFARS rule that certain metals in DoD items be melted in the US or a qualifying country","d":"Under 10 USC 4863 and DFARS 252.225-7009, specialty metals such as certain steels, titanium, zirconium and nickel and cobalt alloys in aircraft, missiles, ships, tanks, weapons and ammunition must be melted or produced in the United States or a qualifying country. There are exceptions such as for commercial electronic components and minimal content. It is a common hidden compliance issue in hardware supply chains.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["DFARS 252.225-7009","10 USC 4863"],"r":["Berry Amendment","Supply chain"]},{"t":"Specific emitter identification","x":"SEI","s":"Identifying an individual transmitter by its unique hardware fingerprint","d":"The technique of distinguishing individual emitters of the same type, for example a particular radar on a particular ship, by unintentional features in their signals such as UMOP, transients and spurious emissions. SEI supports tracking specific units over time and is a SIGINT and ES capability. Machine learning methods for SEI, often called RF fingerprinting, are a large research area.","c":"SIGINT","k":["SEI","emitter fingerprinting"],"r":["UMOP","RF fingerprinting","Emitter identification"]},{"t":"Specific impulse","s":"Measure of engine efficiency, thrust per unit of propellant flow, in seconds","d":"Specific impulse (Isp) expresses how much impulse an engine produces per unit weight of propellant, quoted in seconds. Chemical engines run roughly 200 to 450 s, while electric thrusters reach 1,000 to several thousand seconds at very low thrust. Higher Isp means more delta-v from the same propellant mass, which is why GEO satellites increasingly use electric propulsion.","c":"Space","k":["Isp"],"w":"Specific impulse","r":["Delta-v","Electric propulsion"]},{"t":"Specified task","s":"A task assigned explicitly by higher headquarters","d":"Specified tasks are written out in the order. Implied tasks must be performed to accomplish specified tasks but are not stated, and essential tasks are those that define mission success and go into the mission statement. Sorting tasks this way is a core part of mission analysis.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Implied task","Essential task"],"r":["Mission analysis","Mission statement"]},{"t":"Spectrum certification","s":"Formal approval that an SDS can operate in its planned frequency bands","d":"The process by which a spectrum-dependent system's frequency use is reviewed for compliance with national and international allocations and approved for development and operation. For DoD it runs through the service spectrum offices, the Military Communications-Electronics Board (records are numbered J/F-12) and, for national coordination, the NTIA's Spectrum Planning Subcommittee. It proceeds in four stages from conceptual to operational.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["equipment spectrum certification","J/F-12","frequency allocation-to-equipment"],"r":["DD Form 1494","J/F-12","Stages of spectrum certification","NTIA"]},{"t":"Spectrum-dependent system","x":"SDS","s":"Any system that needs access to the EM spectrum to work","d":"All the electronic systems, subsystems and devices that depend on use of the electromagnetic spectrum to carry out their function, such as radios, radars, sensors, navigation receivers and jammers. DoD policy requires each SDS to go through spectrum certification and supportability assessment before operation.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["SDS","spectrum dependent equipment"],"r":["Spectrum supportability","Spectrum certification"]},{"t":"Spectrum management","s":"Planning, coordinating and managing use of the spectrum","d":"The planning, coordinating and managing of joint use of the electromagnetic spectrum through operational, engineering and administrative procedures, including frequency allocation, assignment, deconfliction and interference resolution. In joint doctrine it is part of EMSO. Products that radiate need frequency assignments from spectrum managers to operate in training or combat.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["frequency management","spectrum management operations","SMO"],"r":["EMSO","Frequency assignment","Joint restricted frequency list"]},{"t":"Spectrum monitoring","s":"Measuring and recording spectrum use over time and area","d":"The measurement and recording of signals across frequency, time and location to determine spectrum occupancy, detect interference and enforce assignments. Military and civil regulators both run monitoring networks, and low cost SDR-based sensors have made dense monitoring practical.","c":"RF","k":["spectrum survey","RF survey"],"r":["Spectrum situational awareness","Joint Spectrum Interference Resolution"]},{"t":"Spectrum sharing","s":"Radars coexisting with commercial wireless in the same or adjacent bands","d":"Pressure to reallocate spectrum to 5G and Wi-Fi has pushed military radars to share bands such as 3.1 to 3.45 GHz and 3.55 to 3.7 GHz (CBRS) in the US. Techniques include dynamic spectrum access, environmental sensing capabilities, cognitive radar and receiver hardening. The 2022 to 2023 C-band 5G rollout and its effect on aircraft radar altimeters showed how adjacent-band interference can become an operational issue.","c":"Radar","k":["federal-commercial sharing","dynamic spectrum sharing","CBRS"],"r":["CBRS","Dynamic spectrum access","Lower 3 GHz band","Cognitive radar","Radar altimeter"]},{"t":"Spectrum situational awareness","s":"Real-time picture of what is using the spectrum where","d":"A real-time understanding of spectrum occupancy, friendly and adversary emitters, interference and available channels in an area, derived from sensors, plans and databases. It underpins dynamic spectrum access, interference resolution and EMBM and is a common product requirement for networked sensors.","c":"EW","k":["spectrum awareness","SSA (spectrum)"],"r":["Electromagnetic battle management","Dynamic spectrum access","Spectrum monitoring"]},{"t":"Spectrum supportability","s":"Assessing whether a spectrum-dependent system can get the frequencies it needs","d":"The assessment of whether a spectrum-dependent system will have the necessary spectrum access to operate in its intended environments, considering national and international regulations, host nation rules and compatibility with other systems. DoD policy requires a spectrum supportability risk assessment (SSRA) during acquisition, and failure to plan for it has forced costly redesigns.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["SSRA","spectrum supportability risk assessment"],"r":["DD Form 1494","Spectrum certification","Host nation approval"]},{"t":"Spectrum warfare","s":"Common shorthand for fighting in and for the electromagnetic spectrum","d":"Informal and organizational term for military operations in the electromagnetic spectrum, combining EW, spectrum management and related cyber activities. The US Air Force uses it in unit names such as the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing.","c":"EW","k":["EMS warfare"],"r":["EMSO","Electromagnetic warfare"]},{"t":"SPECTRUM XXI","s":"DoD software for spectrum management and frequency assignment","d":"A DoD spectrum management software suite used to plan, request and record frequency assignments and perform interference analysis. It is being supplemented and replaced by newer enterprise spectrum tools and EMBM systems.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["SXXI","Spectrum 21"],"r":["SFAF","Spectrum management"]},{"t":"Specular reflection","s":"Mirror-like reflection from a flat surface, the largest contributor to RCS","d":"Specular reflection returns energy at the angle mirroring incidence, so a flat plate facing a radar produces a huge return while the same plate tilted sends energy elsewhere. Stealth shaping exploits this, which is why bistatic and multistatic radars can catch reflections monostatic radars miss. Other scattering mechanisms include edge diffraction, traveling waves and cavity returns.","c":"Radar","k":["specular return"],"r":["RCS reduction","Bistatic radar"]},{"t":"Spiked","s":"Brevity: radar warning receiver shows an air threat tracking or launching","d":"SPIKED reports that the radar warning receiver indicates an air-to-air threat in track or launch mode, followed by bearing or clock position. BUDDY SPIKE means the RWR shows a friendly fighter's radar. MUD is the call for surface threats.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Buddy spike"],"r":["Mud","Naked"]},{"t":"SPINS","x":"Special Instructions","s":"Special instructions issued with the air tasking order","d":"SPINS are the special instructions that accompany an ATO and give aircrews the rules for that period: ROE summaries, communications plans, code words, procedures and airspace details. They change often and are a major reference for pilots and controllers. Mission planning and cockpit software frequently has to ingest SPINS content.","c":"Aviation","r":["ATO","ACO","ROE"]},{"t":"Spiral antenna","s":"Very wideband circularly polarized antenna used in RWRs","d":"A frequency-independent antenna whose arms form an Archimedean or logarithmic spiral, giving circular polarization over a multi-octave band in a flat, conformal package. Cavity-backed spirals are the classic radar warning receiver antenna, often in groups of four for amplitude comparison DF.","c":"RF","k":["cavity-backed spiral","Archimedean spiral"],"w":"Spiral antenna","r":["Radar warning receiver","Amplitude comparison DF","Polarization"]},{"t":"Splash","s":"Brevity: target destroyed, or weapon impact, or rounds landing in 5 seconds","d":"In air-to-air use SPLASH means the target is destroyed; in air-to-surface use it means weapons impact. In surface fires, \"splash\" is sent to the observer 5 seconds before rounds impact so they can watch. \"Splash one\" is the classic shootdown call.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Fox Three","Winchester"]},{"t":"Spot jamming","s":"Concentrating jamming power on one frequency or a narrow band","d":"Jamming concentrated on a single frequency or narrow band to put maximum power density on one victim. It needs accurate frequency knowledge, usually from an ES receiver, and is defeated by frequency agility unless the jammer can follow. Spot jamming is the most power-efficient noise technique against a fixed-frequency emitter.","c":"EW","k":["narrowband jamming"],"r":["Barrage jamming","Follower jamming","Noise jamming"]},{"t":"Spotlight SAR","s":"SAR mode that steers the beam to keep one scene illuminated for finer resolution","d":"Spotlight SAR keeps the beam on a single patch throughout the collection, extending the synthetic aperture and giving the finest cross-range resolution at the cost of coverage. It is used for detailed target imaging and is the source of most sub-meter commercial SAR products.","c":"Radar","k":["spotlight mode"],"r":["SAR","Stripmap SAR"]},{"t":"SPOTREP","x":"Spot Report","s":"Spot report: an immediate report of significant information, especially about the enemy","d":"A spot report quickly passes timely intelligence or status information, often in SALUTE format. It is sent whenever something significant is observed, not on a schedule. Fast, structured spot reporting from the edge is a common product goal.","c":"Comms","r":["SALUTE","SITREP"]},{"t":"SPRS","x":"Supplier Performance Risk System","s":"DoD system where contractors post NIST 800-171 scores and CMMC status","d":"Under DFARS 252.204-7019 and 7020, contractors handling CUI must post a current NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment score in SPRS, out of a maximum of 110. CMMC assessment results and affirmations are also recorded there. Contracting officers check SPRS before award, and SPRS also holds supplier risk scores for quality and delivery.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Supplier Performance Risk System","SPRS score","252.204-7019","252.204-7020"],"r":["CMMC","NIST SP 800-171","DFARS 7012","DFARS 252.204-7012","CMMC 2.0"]},{"t":"Spurious emissions","s":"Unwanted emissions outside the necessary bandwidth","d":"Emissions on frequencies outside a transmitter's necessary bandwidth, including harmonics, parasitic emissions, intermodulation and frequency conversion products, excluding out-of-band emissions immediately adjacent to the channel. Regulators and MIL-STD-461 limit them. In receivers, internally generated spurs can masquerade as signals.","c":"RF","k":["spurs","spurious","spur"],"w":"Spurious emission","r":["Harmonics","SFDR","dBc"]},{"t":"Squad","s":"A unit of about 9 to 13 people led by a staff sergeant or sergeant","d":"An Army infantry squad has nine soldiers in two fire teams plus a squad leader; a Marine rifle squad has 13, with three fire teams. Squads are the focus of many programs aimed at giving small units their own drones, sensors and networks. \"Squad-level\" capability means the squad operates it organically.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Squad","r":["Fire team","Section","Platoon"]},{"t":"Squadron","s":"Army cavalry battalion, an Air Force unit under a group, or a Navy aircraft unit","d":"Squadron means different things by service: in the Army it is a cavalry unit equivalent to a battalion; in the Air Force it is the basic unit, several of which form a group; in the Navy and Marine Corps it is an aviation unit (such as a strike fighter squadron). Squadrons are commanded by lieutenant colonels or commanders (O-5).","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Sqn","Sqdn"],"r":["Battalion","Group","Wing"]},{"t":"Squared away","s":"Slang for organized, competent and in good order","d":"A squared-away soldier has their gear, uniform and tasks in order. A squared-away unit is well run. The opposite is \"ate up.\"","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Ate up","High speed, low drag"]},{"t":"SR","x":"Special Reconnaissance","s":"Covert or clandestine reconnaissance by SOF in hostile or sensitive areas","d":"Special reconnaissance collects or verifies information of strategic or operational significance in hostile, denied or diplomatically sensitive environments, using SOF capabilities. It can include target acquisition and post-strike assessment. Equipment for SR emphasizes low signature and long endurance.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Special reconnaissance","r":["DA","SOF"]},{"t":"SRG","x":"Security Requirements Guide","s":"DISA technology-level security requirements from which STIGs are derived","d":"Security Requirements Guides are DISA documents giving security requirements for a class of technology, such as application servers, operating systems or cloud computing, from which product-specific STIGs are derived. If no STIG exists for a product, the applicable SRG is applied. The Cloud Computing SRG defines DoD impact levels.","c":"Standards & Compliance","r":["STIG","Impact levels"]},{"t":"SRL","x":"System Readiness Level","s":"Composite maturity measure combining TRLs and IRLs across a system","d":"SRL methodologies compute an overall system maturity from component TRLs and interface IRLs. They are less standardized than TRL and used mainly in research and some program assessments.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["System Readiness Level"],"r":["TRL","IRL"]},{"t":"SRM","x":"Solid Rocket Motor","s":"Rocket engine burning cast solid propellant, used in most missiles","d":"Solid rocket motors pack fuel and oxidiser in a cast grain that burns once ignited. They are simple and storable, which suits missiles, but production depended on very few US suppliers, a bottleneck for programs from Javelin to GMLRS to SM-6. Several new entrants have been funded to build SRMs.","c":"Weapons","k":["solid rocket motor","solid-propellant rocket"],"w":"Solid-propellant rocket","r":["Energetic materials","DMSMS"]},{"t":"SRR","x":"System Requirements Review","s":"Technical review confirming system requirements are complete, feasible and understood","d":"The SRR ensures that the contractor and government agree on the system requirements and that they are achievable within cost and schedule. It typically occurs early in TMRR or at the start of a development contract.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["System Requirements Review"],"r":["SFR","PDR","SSS"],"h":"SRR – System Requirements Review"},{"t":"SRR","x":"Short Range Reconnaissance","s":"Army program for a squad or platoon-level quadcopter","d":"Short Range Reconnaissance is the Army's effort to field a small rucksack-portable quadcopter at platoon level. Tranche 1 went to the Skydio X2D and later tranches to the X10D and other Blue UAS vendors. It was a model for buying small drones in competitive tranches.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["Skydio X10D","Blue UAS"],"h":"SRR – Short Range Reconnaissance"},{"t":"SRS","x":"Software Requirements Specification","s":"Specification of the requirements for a software item","d":"The SRS documents functional, performance, interface and quality requirements for a computer software configuration item, traced to system requirements. It is a common CDRL derived from MIL-STD-498 data item descriptions.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Software Requirements Specification"],"w":"Software requirements specification","r":["SSS","IRS"]},{"t":"SRU","x":"Shop Replaceable Unit","s":"Subassembly inside an LRU, replaced at intermediate or depot shops","d":"An SRU, such as a circuit card, is replaced in a shop to repair a failed LRU. The Navy uses the equivalent term shop replaceable assembly (SRA).","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Shop Replaceable Unit","SRA","shop replaceable assembly"],"r":["LRU","WRA","I-level"]},{"t":"SRW","x":"Soldier Radio Waveform","s":"Networking waveform for dismounted soldiers and small units","d":"The Soldier Radio Waveform is a JTRS-developed MANET waveform for squad and platoon level data and voice, operating in L and UHF bands. It runs on radios such as the AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio and the PRC-117G and PRC-155. Commercial waveforms such as TSM have displaced it in much of the Army's lower tactical network.","c":"Comms","r":["MANET","AN/PRC-154","TSM"]},{"t":"SS-26 Stone","s":"NATO designation for the Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile","d":"The NATO designation for the 9K720 Iskander-M, a Russian road-mobile short-range ballistic missile with a range of about 500 km, a maneuvering reentry and decoys. The same launcher fires the 9M728 and 9M729 ground-launched cruise missiles; the 9M729 (SSC-8 Screwdriver) was the system the US cited when it withdrew from the INF Treaty in 2019. Iskanders have been used heavily against Ukraine and are stationed in Kaliningrad.","c":"Weapons","k":["Iskander","Iskander-M","9K720"],"w":"9K720 Iskander","r":["SSC-8","Kinzhal"]},{"t":"SSA","x":"Space Situational Awareness","s":"Knowing what is in orbit, where it is, and where it will be","d":"Space situational awareness is the tracking and cataloging of space objects and the space environment to predict positions, conjunctions and reentries. It is the safety and traffic foundation that civil and commercial operators share. The US military now uses the broader term space domain awareness for the warfighting version, which adds intent, capability and threat assessment.","c":"Space","k":["space situational awareness"],"r":["SDA (space domain awareness)","Space Surveillance Network","Space-Track.org","Conjunction"]},{"t":"SSBN","s":"Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, the sea leg of the triad","d":"SSBNs carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles and patrol undetected to provide a survivable second-strike capability. The US operates Ohio-class SSBNs carrying Trident II D5, which the Columbia class will replace.","c":"Naval","k":["boomer","ballistic missile submarine","Ohio class"],"w":"Ballistic missile submarine","r":["Columbia class","Trident II D5","Triad"]},{"t":"SSC","x":"Space Systems Command","s":"Space Force field command that develops, buys and launches space systems","d":"Space Systems Command, headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, is the Space Force acquisition command responsible for developing, acquiring and launching space systems, including GPS, SATCOM, missile warning and NSSL launch. It replaced the Space and Missile Systems Center in 2021. Industry engagement often goes through its Front Door and commercial offices.","c":"Organizations","k":["Space and Missile Systems Center","SMC"],"w":"Space Systems Command","r":["USSF","NSSL","GPS","Space RCO"]},{"t":"SSN","s":"Nuclear-powered attack submarine","d":"SSNs hunt submarines and ships, conduct strike with Tomahawk, gather intelligence and support special operations. The US fleet includes the Los Angeles, Seawolf and Virginia classes. Production capacity and maintenance backlogs at shipyards limit availability.","c":"Naval","k":["attack submarine","fast attack submarine"],"r":["Virginia class","SSBN","AUKUS"]},{"t":"SSO","x":"Sun-Synchronous Orbit","s":"Near-polar LEO whose plane precesses with the Sun, giving constant local solar time","d":"A sun-synchronous orbit is a near-polar, slightly retrograde LEO (typically 96 to 99 degrees inclination at 500 to 800 km) whose plane precesses about one degree per day because of Earth's oblateness, matching the Earth's motion around the Sun. The satellite crosses each latitude at the same local solar time, which keeps lighting consistent for imagery. Most electro-optical and SAR reconnaissance and commercial imaging satellites use it, and rideshare missions such as SpaceX Transporter target it.","c":"Space","k":["sun-synchronous","dawn-dusk orbit"],"w":"Sun-synchronous orbit","r":["Polar orbit","LEO","J2 perturbation","Rideshare"]},{"t":"SSS","x":"System/Subsystem Specification","s":"Top-level specification of system requirements","d":"The SSS captures system-level requirements and their verification methods, often written from the CDD and refined through SRR and SFR. Lower-level specs trace back to it. Verification methods are typically test, demonstration, analysis or inspection.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["System Specification","System/Subsystem Specification","A-spec"],"r":["SRS","SRR","CDD"]},{"t":"S&T","x":"Science and Technology","s":"DoD research funding in budget activities 6.1 to 6.3","d":"S&T is the portion of RDT&E covering basic research, applied research and advanced technology development, managed by service labs, DARPA and others. It funds technologies before they belong to an acquisition program. S&T efforts that do not find a program sponsor often fail to transition.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Science and Technology"],"r":["6.1","6.2","6.3","Technology transition","Valley of death"]},{"t":"Stability operations","s":"Operations to establish or maintain a safe and secure environment and basic services","d":"Stability operations include security, essential services, governance, infrastructure repair and humanitarian relief, often alongside civilian agencies. Army doctrine treats offense, defense and stability as elements combined in every operation. They were central in Iraq and Afghanistan.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["COIN","Phasing"]},{"t":"Staff numbering","s":"Staff section prefixes S, G, A, N, J and C with numbers 1 to 9 by function","d":"The letter tells you the echelon or service: S for battalion and brigade (and Marine regiment) staffs, G for Army and Marine division and higher general officer commands, A for Air Force staffs, N for Navy staffs, J for joint and C for combined (multinational) staffs. The number gives the function, the same as J-codes: 1 personnel, 2 intelligence, 3 operations, 4 logistics, 5 plans, 6 communications, 7 training or other, 8 resources, 9 civil affairs or other. An S6 is the battalion communications officer, the person who will install or approve your radio.","c":"Organizations","k":["S1","S2","S3","S4","S6","G2","G3","G6","A3","N6","C2 staff"],"r":["J-code"]},{"t":"Stages of spectrum certification","s":"Four DoD stages: conceptual, experimental, developmental, operational","d":"DoD spectrum certification progresses through Stage 1 (conceptual or planning), Stage 2 (experimental, for testing), Stage 3 (developmental) and Stage 4 (operational). Each stage requires an updated DD Form 1494 and grants progressively broader authority to radiate. Programs must reach Stage 4 before fielding.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Stage 1","Stage 4 certification"],"r":["Spectrum certification","DD Form 1494"]},{"t":"STANAG","x":"Standardization Agreement","s":"NATO standardization agreement that allies ratify and implement","d":"A NATO Standardization Agreement: a document recording an agreement among some or all allies to implement a standard, covering anything from ammunition dimensions and fuel to data link formats and imagery files. Technical detail usually sits in an Allied Publication (AxxP) that the STANAG covers, and the NATO Standardization Office manages them. Claiming STANAG compliance is often a requirement in European defense tenders.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Standardization Agreement","AEP","Allied publication","STANAGs"],"w":"Standardization agreement","r":["MIL-STD-1913","AJP","AQAP","NATO"]},{"t":"STANAG 4545","x":"NATO Secondary Imagery Format","s":"NATO Secondary Imagery Format (NSIF), the NATO profile of NITF","d":"The NATO standardization agreement defining the NATO Secondary Imagery Format (NSIF) for exchanging still imagery and associated data among allies, technically aligned with NITF 2.1. Allied Engineering Documentation Publication AEDP-04 contains the detail. Imagery exploitation tools sold to NATO customers usually claim conformance.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["NSIF","AEDP-4"],"r":["NITF","STANAG 4559","STANAG 4609"]},{"t":"STANAG 4559","x":"NATO Standard ISR Library Interface","s":"NATO standard interface for querying and retrieving ISR products from libraries","d":"NATO Standard ISR Library Interface (NSILI): the STANAG defining how ISR product libraries expose their holdings so that users and systems across nations can discover and retrieve imagery, video, GMTI and reports. Coalition shared databases (CSD) implement it, and it was central to NATO's joint ISR initiative. Recent editions add web service interfaces.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["NSILI","CSD","coalition shared database"],"r":["STANAG 4545","STANAG 4607","STANAG 4609"]},{"t":"STANAG 4586","s":"NATO standard interface between UAS control systems and air vehicles","d":"STANAG 4586 defines a standard architecture and message set between a UAS control station and air vehicles, with a vehicle-specific module translating to each aircraft. It lets one ground station control different aircraft and lets allies share UAS data. Many newer US systems use UCS (UAS Control Segment) architecture or MAVLink at the small end, but 4586 remains the NATO reference.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["LOI","GCS","MAVLink"]},{"t":"STANAG 4607","x":"NATO Ground Moving Target Indicator Format","s":"NATO format for ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar data","d":"The NATO Ground Moving Target Indicator Format (NATO EX), a binary packet format for exchanging GMTI radar detections, dwell areas and platform data among systems. It is used by platforms such as E-8 JSTARS (retired), RQ-4 based NATO AGS, and many airborne radars, and is documented in AEDP-07. Tracking and fusion software reads it to plot moving targets.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["GMTI format","AEDP-7"],"r":["STANAG 4559","GMTI"]},{"t":"STANAG 4609","x":"NATO Digital Motion Imagery Standard","s":"NATO digital motion imagery standard, built on MISB specifications","d":"NATO Digital Motion Imagery Standard: the STANAG governing exchange of motion imagery (FMV) among allies, specifying encoding (such as H.264 and H.265), transport in MPEG-2 transport streams and KLV metadata. It is detailed in AEDP-08 and tracks the US MISB standards. Video ingestion and exploitation software for drones generally must handle 4609 streams.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["AEDP-8","MISB","KLV","MISB ST 0601","FMV metadata"],"r":["MISB","KLV","FMV","Targeting pod","Gimbal"]},{"t":"Stand-in","s":"Platforms or weapons that operate inside enemy defenses","d":"Stand-in forces penetrate or persist within an adversary's weapon range, relying on stealth, numbers or low cost. Examples include stealth bombers, the Marine Corps' stand-in forces concept and attritable drones. Stand-in weapons can be shorter range and cheaper than standoff weapons.","c":"Weapons","k":["stand-in forces","SIF"],"r":["Standoff","EABO","B-21 Raider"]},{"t":"Stand-in jamming","x":"SiJ","s":"Jamming from a platform close to the target, often expendable or uncrewed","d":"Jamming from a platform that operates close to the victim, inside threat weapon range, so modest power produces high J/S. Stand-in jammers are typically expendable or attritable, such as MALD-J, drones carrying EW payloads and air-launched effects. They are a growing product category because small, low cost payloads can be effective at short range.","c":"EW","k":["SIJ","stand-in jammer"],"r":["Stand-off jamming","MALD","Air-launched effects"]},{"t":"Standoff","s":"Attacking from outside the range of enemy defenses","d":"Standoff weapons such as JASSM, Tomahawk and LRSO let launch platforms fire from beyond enemy air defenses. They are expensive and depend on off-board targeting, but keep crews and aircraft safer. The opposite approach is stand-in.","c":"Weapons","k":["standoff weapon"],"w":"Standoff weapon","r":["Stand-in","JASSM","A2/AD"]},{"t":"Stand-off jamming","x":"SOJ","s":"Jamming from outside the threat weapon's range, usually through radar sidelobes","d":"Jamming from a platform that stays outside the lethal range of the threat weapon systems, typically engaging radars through their sidelobes or main beam from long range. It needs high power and gain and is the traditional mission of dedicated EW aircraft such as the EA-18G and EC-37B. Long range lowers J/S, so stand-off jamming favors high EIRP arrays such as NGJ-MB.","c":"EW","k":["SOJ","stand-off jammer"],"r":["Stand-in jamming","Escort jamming","EA-18G Growler","Burn-through range"]},{"t":"STAP","x":"Space-Time Adaptive Processing","s":"Joint adaptive filtering across array channels and pulses to cancel clutter and jamming","d":"STAP adapts weights over both antenna elements (space) and pulses (time) to null airborne clutter, whose Doppler varies with angle, and jamming at the same time. It allows detection of slow ground and air targets from moving platforms that simpler Doppler filtering would miss. It is computationally heavy and needs training data that represents the clutter, so reduced-rank and knowledge-aided forms are common in GMTI and AEW radars.","c":"Radar","k":["space time adaptive processing"],"w":"Space-time adaptive processing","r":["GMTI","DPCA","Digital beamforming"]},{"t":"STARCOM","x":"Space Training and Readiness Command","s":"Space Force field command for training, doctrine and test","d":"STARCOM is the Space Force field command responsible for education, training, doctrine, and test and evaluation of space forces, established in 2021. It runs operational test and evaluation of space systems through its deltas and is headquartered at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida.","c":"Organizations","r":["USSF","SpOC"]},{"t":"Starlink","s":"SpaceX's LEO broadband constellation, widely used by militaries","d":"Starlink is SpaceX's proliferated LEO broadband constellation with thousands of satellites linked by laser crosslinks, giving tens to hundreds of Mbps at low latency through flat electronically steered user terminals. Its use by Ukraine since 2022 showed the military value and the vulnerabilities, including jamming attempts and dependence on a single company's decisions. DoD buys it through PLEO SATCOM; Starshield is the separate government-focused line.","c":"Comms","w":"Starlink","r":["Starshield","PLEO SATCOM","OISL","Phased array user terminal"]},{"t":"Starshield","s":"SpaceX's government business line building satellites and services for DoD","d":"Starshield is SpaceX's offering for national security customers, using Starlink-derived satellite buses and technology with government-specific security and payloads. The NRO has launched many Starshield-based satellites for its proliferated reconnaissance architecture since 2024, and the Space Force buys Starshield services, including a 2024 task order through the PLEO contract. Starshield satellites are distinct from commercial Starlink though they share heritage.","c":"Space","r":["Starlink","MILNET","NRO proliferated architecture","PLEO SATCOM"]},{"t":"Station-keeping","s":"Small maneuvers that hold a satellite in its assigned orbit slot","d":"Station-keeping is the routine use of thrusters to counter perturbations and keep a satellite within its assigned box or orbital position. In GEO, north-south station-keeping against lunar and solar pull costs most of the fuel, and east-west keeping holds the longitude slot. In LEO the main job is countering drag and maintaining constellation phasing. Propellant for station-keeping usually sets a satellite's design life.","c":"Space","w":"Orbital station-keeping","r":["Delta-v","GEO","Electric propulsion"]},{"t":"S&TI","x":"Scientific and Technical Intelligence","s":"Analysis of foreign science, technology and weapon system capabilities","d":"Intelligence on foreign scientific and technical capabilities, research and weapon system performance, used to forecast threats and shape US requirements. DIA's Missile and Space Intelligence Center and the service centers, such as the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) and the Office of Naval Intelligence, produce it. Threat parameters in program documents, such as a validated threat baseline, trace back to S&TI.","c":"Intelligence","r":["TECHINT","NASIC","Threat assessment"]},{"t":"STIG","x":"Security Technical Implementation Guide","s":"DISA configuration standards for hardening products on DoD networks","d":"Security Technical Implementation Guides are DISA-published configuration requirements for operating systems, databases, network devices, applications and containers, with each requirement given a severity category (CAT I, II or III). Systems must be configured to applicable STIGs and scanned for compliance. Vendors can work with DISA to develop a STIG for their product, which eases adoption.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["CAT I","STIG Viewer"],"w":"Security Technical Implementation Guide","r":["SRG","SCAP","DISA"]},{"t":"Stinger","s":"Man-portable infrared surface-to-air missile, FIM-92","d":"Stinger is the US MANPADS, using an infrared seeker against low-flying aircraft, helicopters and drones. It is also mounted on vehicles such as M-SHORAD and Avenger. Production was restarted and expanded after large transfers to Ukraine, and the Army is pursuing a Next Generation Short Range Interceptor to replace it.","c":"Weapons","k":["FIM-92","NGSRI"],"w":"FIM-92 Stinger","r":["MANPADS","M-SHORAD"]},{"t":"Stoplight chart","s":"A status display using red, amber and green ratings","d":"Stoplight charts rate status as green (on track), amber or yellow (at risk) and red (problem), common in readiness and program reviews. Leaders look first at the reds. Dashboards for military users often adopt the same convention.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["RAG","Red/amber/green"],"r":["Quad chart","Readiness"]},{"t":"STP","x":"Space Test Program","s":"DoD program that flies experimental payloads to space","d":"The Space Test Program, run by Space Systems Command, finds rides to orbit for DoD research and development payloads from the services and labs, using rideshare, the ISS and dedicated missions such as STP-2 and STP-S29A. It is a common path for experimental military payloads to get flight heritage.","c":"Space","w":"Space Test Program","r":["Rideshare","SSC"]},{"t":"Strangle","s":"Brevity: turn off the specified equipment","d":"STRANGLE directs turning off equipment, such as \"strangle parrot\" (turn off the IFF transponder), often to reduce emissions. The opposite for IFF is SQUAWK. It relates to emission control (EMCON).","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Squawk"],"r":["Brevity code"]},{"t":"STRATCOM","x":"United States Strategic Command","s":"US Strategic Command, responsible for nuclear deterrence","d":"US Strategic Command, headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, commands nuclear forces and is responsible for strategic deterrence, nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) and related missions. Systems touching nuclear forces face stringent nuclear surety and certification requirements.","c":"Organizations","k":["USSTRATCOM"],"w":"United States Strategic Command","r":["Deterrence","CCMD"]},{"t":"Strategic level","s":"The level of war where national objectives and resources are set","d":"The strategic level concerns national and multinational objectives, guided by documents like the National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy. Strategic also describes systems with national impact, such as nuclear forces or strategic airlift. A tactical action can have strategic effects, hence the term \"strategic corporal.\"","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Strategic","Strategic corporal"],"r":["Operational level","NDS"]},{"t":"Strategic Support Force","s":"Former PLA force for space, cyber and EW, dissolved in 2024","d":"The PLA Strategic Support Force (SSF), created in the 2015 reforms to unify space, cyber, electronic and psychological warfare, was dissolved in April 2024 and replaced by the Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force and Information Support Force. Older literature on PLA space and cyber organization refers to SSF departments such as the Space Systems Department and Network Systems Department.","c":"Organizations","k":["SSF","PLASSF"],"w":"People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force","r":["Information Support Force","Aerospace Force","Cyberspace Force"]},{"t":"Strategic warning","s":"Advance notice that a state is moving toward war or major hostile action","d":"Intelligence notification, given with as much lead time as possible, that a potential adversary is preparing for conflict or a major hostile action. It differs from tactical warning, which is notice of an attack in progress, such as a missile launch detected by space-based infrared sensors. Warning time assumptions shape force posture and mobilization planning.","c":"Intelligence","r":["I&W","Tactical warning"]},{"t":"Stretch processing","s":"Dechirping a wideband LFM return to a low-bandwidth signal for fine range resolution","d":"Stretch processing mixes the received chirp with a delayed replica, converting range into a beat frequency that can be digitized at a much lower rate. It enables very wide bandwidths, hundreds of megahertz to gigahertz, for SAR, ISAR and discrimination over a limited range window. Missile defense radars use it for wideband target imaging.","c":"Radar","k":["deramp","dechirp"],"r":["LFM","ISAR","Range resolution"]},{"t":"Stripmap SAR","s":"SAR mode with fixed beam pointing that images a continuous swath","d":"In stripmap mode the antenna points at a fixed angle while the platform moves, producing a continuous image strip whose cross-range resolution is about half the antenna length. It balances coverage and resolution and is the baseline SAR mode on most airborne and spaceborne systems.","c":"Radar","k":["strip-map"],"r":["SAR","Spotlight SAR","ScanSAR"]},{"t":"Stryker","s":"General Dynamics eight-wheeled armored vehicle family","d":"Stryker is a family of 8x8 wheeled vehicles including infantry carriers, mortar carriers, the 30mm-armed Dragoon and the M-SHORAD air defense variant. It equips SBCTs. Double-V hull versions were added for IED protection.","c":"Ground","k":["Stryker Dragoon","M1126","ICV"],"w":"Stryker","r":["SBCT","M-SHORAD"]},{"t":"STT","x":"Single Target Track","s":"Radar mode dedicating the beam to continuously track one target","d":"In single target track the radar keeps its beam on one target, giving high update rate and accuracy for fire control and missile support. It is obvious to the target's radar warning receiver, which often reports it as a lock. AESAs blur the distinction by interleaving high-rate track dwells with search.","c":"Radar","k":["single-target track","lock"],"r":["TWS","Fire control radar"]},{"t":"STTR","x":"Small Business Technology Transfer","s":"SBIR's sibling program requiring a research institution partner","d":"STTR is structured like SBIR but requires the small business to partner with a university or nonprofit research institution that performs at least 30 percent of the work, with the small business performing at least 40 percent. It carries the same data rights protections.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Small Business Technology Transfer"],"w":"Small Business Innovation Research","r":["SBIR"]},{"t":"sUAS","x":"Small Unmanned Aircraft System","s":"Small drones, usually Groups 1 to 2; FAA defines small as under 55 lb","d":"sUAS generally means Group 1 and 2 systems. The FAA's Part 107 rules use 55 lb as the small UAS limit, which lines up with the Group 2 ceiling. Most current procurement volume, including Replicator and Army squad drone buys, sits in this class.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["small UAS"],"r":["UAS Groups","C-sUAS","Blue UAS"]},{"t":"Subarray","s":"Group of array elements combined before digitization or time delay","d":"Large arrays are split into subarrays that share a beamformer, receiver, or true time delay unit, cutting cost and data rates compared with element-level digitization. Subarray-level digital beamforming supports adaptive nulling and multiple beams with fewer channels. SPY-6's radar modular assembly is a scalable building block of this kind.","c":"Radar","k":["RMA","radar modular assembly"],"r":["Digital beamforming","True time delay","AN/SPY-6"]},{"t":"Sub-clutter visibility","s":"How much weaker than clutter a moving target can be and still be detected","d":"Sub-clutter visibility (SCV) is the ratio by which target echo can be below coincident clutter while still being detected at a given Pd and Pfa. It measures MTI or Doppler processor effectiveness, along with improvement factor and clutter attenuation. Phase noise and transmitter instability usually limit it.","c":"Radar","k":["SCV","MTI improvement factor"],"r":["MTI","Phase noise","Clutter"]},{"t":"Subcontractor","s":"A firm contracted by the prime, or by another sub, to perform part of the work","d":"Subcontractors have no privity of contract with the government, so disputes go through the prime. Many DFARS clauses, including cybersecurity, data rights and counterfeit parts, flow down to them. The prime's purchasing system may be reviewed by DCMA under CPSR.","c":"Acquisition","k":["sub","subcontract","tier 2","supplier"],"r":["Prime","Flowdown","CPSR"]},{"t":"Suite A","s":"NSA's unpublished algorithms for highly sensitive information","d":"NSA Suite A is a set of unpublished cryptographic algorithms used in some Type 1 products for protecting highly sensitive information. Details are classified. NSA now emphasizes CNSA public algorithms for most national security systems, with Suite A remaining in certain legacy and special-use equipment.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["NSA Suite A"],"w":"NSA Suite A Cryptography","r":["Suite B","CNSA","Type 1"]},{"t":"Suite B","s":"Former NSA set of public algorithms for classified use, replaced by CNSA","d":"NSA Suite B was a set of public algorithms announced in 2005, including AES, ECDH, ECDSA and SHA-256/384, approved to protect classified and unclassified national security information. It was replaced in 2015 to 2016 by the Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite in anticipation of quantum computing. Older documents may still reference it.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["NSA Suite B"],"w":"NSA Suite B Cryptography","r":["CNSA","Suite A"]},{"t":"Superheterodyne receiver","s":"Receiver that mixes signals to a fixed intermediate frequency for filtering","d":"A receiver that mixes the incoming signal with a tunable local oscillator to produce a fixed intermediate frequency where selective filtering and gain are applied. Superhets have excellent sensitivity and selectivity but see only one narrow band at a time, so in EW they are swept or used for detailed analysis after another receiver detects a signal. Image rejection and spurious responses are key design concerns.","c":"RF","k":["superhet","heterodyne receiver"],"w":"Superheterodyne receiver","r":["Mixer","Local oscillator","Image frequency","Intermediate frequency"]},{"t":"Supply chain","s":"The network of suppliers that produce and deliver parts and products","d":"Defense supply chains face single sources, long lead times, foreign dependencies, counterfeit risk and restrictions on Chinese and other covered sources. DoD increasingly requires supply chain illumination and SCRM plans. Product companies must vet sub-tier suppliers for compliance with sourcing rules.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["supply chain risk management","supply chain illumination"],"w":"Supply chain","r":["DMSMS","Specialty metals","Section 889","Industrial base"]},{"t":"Supported commander","s":"The commander receiving help; supporting commanders provide it","d":"A support relationship lets one commander aid, protect or sustain another without transferring command. The supported commander sets priorities; the supporting commander determines how to provide the support. Support relationships are how functional commands such as TRANSCOM or SPACECOM work with geographic ones.","c":"Organizations","k":["Supporting commander","Supported/supporting"],"r":["OPCON","CCMD"]},{"t":"Support equipment","s":"Tools, test sets and ground equipment needed to operate and maintain a system","d":"Support equipment includes common and peculiar tools, test sets, calibration equipment and ground handling gear. Peculiar support equipment is specific to one system and expensive, so designs that use common equipment are favored. Automatic test equipment families such as the Navy's CASS and Army's NGATS are often mandated.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["PSE","peculiar support equipment","ATE","automatic test equipment","GSE"],"r":["IPS elements","BIT"]},{"t":"Surveillance","s":"Systematic observation of an area, people or things over time","d":"The systematic observation of aerospace, surface or subsurface areas, places, persons or things by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means. It implies persistence over an area, distinct from reconnaissance, which is a mission to obtain specific information. Persistent surveillance systems such as aerostats and wide area motion imagery generate huge data volumes that drive storage and analytics requirements.","c":"Intelligence","r":["Reconnaissance","ISR","WAMI"]},{"t":"Suspense","s":"A deadline for a staff action","d":"A suspense is the due date on a tasking, as in \"suspense is Friday.\" Missing suspenses is a serious staff failure. Calendars and tasking systems track them.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Suspense date"],"r":["Tasker","NLT"]},{"t":"Sustainment","s":"Keeping fielded systems operational through maintenance, supply and upgrades","d":"Sustainment covers everything after fielding: maintenance, spares, software updates, modifications and support until disposal. It is the largest portion of life-cycle cost and a major long-term revenue source. Sustainability and readiness are now leading concerns for programs such as F-35.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["sustainment support"],"r":["O&S","PBL","Depot","CLS"]},{"t":"Sustainment-level maintenance","s":"Army term for off-system repair at depots and sustainment units that restock supply","d":"Sustainment-level maintenance repairs components and end items and returns them to the supply system rather than directly to users. It includes depot work and below-depot sustainment maintenance.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["sustainment maintenance"],"r":["Field-level maintenance","Depot"]},{"t":"SWaP","x":"Size, Weight and Power","s":"The physical budgets a component must fit in an installed platform","d":"SWaP describes the space, mass and electrical power a system needs. It is often the deciding constraint for airborne, soldier-worn and small unmanned platforms. Reducing SWaP is a common selling point for new electronics.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Size Weight and Power"],"r":["SWaP-C","SWaP-C2"]},{"t":"SWaP-C","x":"Size, Weight, Power and Cost","s":"The core physical and cost budget every fielded system is judged against","d":"SWaP-C adds unit cost to the physical constraints. It reflects the emphasis on affordable, attritable systems in current DoD investments such as small drones and munitions. Proposals often frame advantages as SWaP-C improvements over incumbents.","c":"Engineering & Test","r":["SWaP","SWaP-C2","MOSA"]},{"t":"SWaP-C2","x":"Size, Weight, Power, Cost and Cooling","s":"SWaP-C with thermal management called out as a separate budget","d":"SWaP-C2 most commonly adds cooling to SWaP-C, recognizing that dissipating heat is often the binding constraint for dense electronics in sealed or airborne enclosures. Some writers use the second C for other words, so check the source.","c":"Engineering & Test","r":["SWaP-C","VPX"]},{"t":"Swarm","s":"Many drones coordinating with each other toward a shared goal","d":"A swarm is a group of unmanned systems that coordinate by sharing information and dividing tasks, with a single operator supervising the group. True swarming, with distributed decision-making, is harder than flying many drones at once. Swarms stress C-UAS systems that engage one target at a time.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["drone swarm","swarming"],"r":["Autonomy levels","Replicator","HPM"]},{"t":"Swept jamming","s":"A narrow jamming signal rapidly tuned across a band","d":"A narrowband jamming signal swept across a frequency range so that each channel is hit periodically with full power. It trades continuous coverage for higher power density than barrage jamming and works best against receivers that take time to recover from a hit, such as those with slow AGC. Also called sweep-through jamming.","c":"EW","k":["sweep jamming","swept-spot jamming"],"r":["Barrage jamming","Spot jamming"]},{"t":"Swerling models","s":"Four statistical models (I-IV) for how a target's RCS fluctuates between looks","d":"Peter Swerling's models describe target RCS fluctuation: Swerling I and II use a chi-square distribution with two degrees of freedom (many equal scatterers), III and IV use four degrees of freedom (one dominant scatterer plus smaller ones). Cases I and III fluctuate scan to scan, II and IV pulse to pulse, and Swerling 0 (or V) is a non-fluctuating target. Fluctuating targets need extra SNR for a given Pd, so radar specs should state the assumed Swerling case.","c":"Radar","k":["Swerling cases","Swerling target models"],"r":["RCS","Probability of detection","Fluctuation loss"]},{"t":"SWIR","x":"Short-Wave Infrared","s":"Infrared band of roughly 1 to 3 µm, good for haze penetration and seeing lasers","d":"SWIR imagers, usually InGaAs, see reflected light with better haze and smoke penetration than visible cameras and can see 1064 nm and 1550 nm laser spots that ordinary night vision cannot. They use night-sky airglow for low-light imaging and are increasingly added to gimbals, sights and laser spot trackers. Typical InGaAs response runs about 0.9 to 1.7 µm.","c":"Sensors","k":["short-wave infrared","InGaAs"],"r":["Infrared bands","Laser spot tracker","NIR"]},{"t":"Switchblade","s":"AeroVironment tube-launched loitering munitions; 300 is anti-personnel, 600 anti-armor","d":"Switchblade is AeroVironment's family of tube-launched loitering munitions. The Switchblade 300 is a small backpackable munition for personnel and light vehicles; the Switchblade 600 is larger with an anti-armor warhead and roughly 40 minutes of endurance. Both were supplied to Ukraine and the 600 was selected for the Army's LASSO requirement.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Switchblade 300","Switchblade 600"],"w":"AeroVironment Switchblade","r":["Loitering munition","LASSO"]},{"t":"Synchronization matrix","s":"A grid showing what each unit and function does across time","d":"A synchronization matrix arranges warfighting functions or units against time or phases so the staff can see how actions line up. It is a major product of wargaming. It is often kept as a large spreadsheet, which makes it a frequent target for better tooling.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Sync matrix"],"r":["COA analysis","DSM"]},{"t":"Synthesizer","s":"Circuit that generates precise, programmable frequencies from a reference","d":"A frequency synthesizer generates a range of precise frequencies from a single stable reference, using PLLs, direct digital synthesis or direct analog techniques. Switching speed, phase noise and spurious level are the main specs for radar, EW and hopping radios.","c":"RF","k":["frequency synthesizer","DDS","direct digital synthesis"],"w":"Frequency synthesizer","r":["PLL","Local oscillator","Phase noise"]},{"t":"SysML","x":"Systems Modeling Language","s":"Standard modeling language for systems engineering, maintained by the OMG","d":"SysML extends UML for systems engineering with requirement, block, activity, state and parametric diagrams. SysML v2 is a ground-up redesign with a precise textual notation and a standard API, intended to replace v1.x. Tools include Cameo/Magic Systems of Systems Architect and others.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Systems Modeling Language","SysML v2"],"w":"Systems modeling language","r":["MBSE","Digital engineering"]},{"t":"Systems destruction warfare","s":"PLA theory of winning by paralyzing an enemy's operational system","d":"A PLA operational theory holding that modern wars are won by systems confrontation, disrupting or destroying the key nodes and links of an adversary's operational system, such as C4ISR networks, space assets and logistics. It implies early attacks on satellites, data links and command nodes. US concepts emphasizing resilient, distributed networks respond partly to it.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["system destruction warfare","systems confrontation"],"r":["Intelligentized warfare","A2/AD"]},{"t":"T2SL","x":"Type-II Superlattice","s":"Engineered IR detector made of thin alternating III-V layers, tunable MWIR to LWIR","d":"Type-II strained-layer superlattices, typically InAs/GaSb or InAs/InAsSb, form an effective bandgap set by layer thickness and can be grown on large III-V substrates with commercial-style processes. They promise lower cost and better uniformity than HgCdTe, especially for LWIR and dual-band arrays, and often operate at higher temperatures in barrier (nBn) designs. US government programs have invested in T2SL to secure domestic supply.","c":"Sensors","k":["type II superlattice","SLS","strained-layer superlattice","nBn"],"r":["HgCdTe","HOT detector"]},{"t":"TACLANE","s":"General Dynamics family of HAIPE network encryptors","d":"TACLANE is a family of Type 1 HAIPE network encryptors from General Dynamics Mission Systems, with models such as the TACLANE-1G, 10G and Nano (KG-175 designations). They encrypt IP traffic between classified networks over unclassified transport. TACLANEs are ubiquitous in DoD command posts and data centers.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["KG-175"],"w":"High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor","r":["HAIPE","KG-175","KG-250"]},{"t":"TACON","x":"Tactical Control","s":"Tactical control: limited authority to direct movements and maneuvers in an area","d":"Tactical control is authority over forces, usually attached for a specific task, limited to detailed direction and control of movements or maneuvers. It is narrower than OPCON. Air assets supporting a ground unit are often TACON to it.","c":"Organizations","r":["OPCON","ADCON"]},{"t":"TacRS","x":"Tactically Responsive Space","s":"Space Force effort to launch and operate satellites on very short notice","d":"Tactically Responsive Space is a Space Force program to be able to put a satellite into orbit and into operations within days or hours of a call-up, to replace losses or respond to adversary actions. It runs through demonstrations such as Victus Nox and Victus Haze. It depends on commercial small launch, ready-to-fly satellites and fast on-orbit checkout.","c":"Space","k":["responsive launch","Space Safari"],"r":["Victus Nox","Victus Haze","Smallsat"]},{"t":"TACSAT","x":"Tactical Satellite","s":"Tactical UHF satellite communications, usually narrowband voice and data","d":"TACSAT refers to tactical UHF satellite communications used by manpack and vehicle radios, typically narrowband 5 and 25 kHz channels for voice and low-rate data. It provides BLOS communications without large terminals. Demand for channels is high and access is scheduled.","c":"Comms","r":["MUOS","Integrated Waveform"]},{"t":"TacSRT","x":"Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking","s":"Space Force service buying commercial space data quickly for tactical users","d":"TacSRT is a Space Force approach for rapidly tasking and buying commercial imagery, radar, RF and analytics in response to tactical requests, delivering answers in hours. It is run through Space Systems Command's commercial office with Combatant Command users. It is an example of the Space Force integrating commercial capability as a service.","c":"Space","r":["CASR","Commercial SSA"]},{"t":"Tactical cloud","s":"Deployable cloud computing at the edge, synchronized with enterprise clouds","d":"A tactical cloud is a set of cloud-style compute, storage and services deployed on ships, aircraft, vehicles or forward sites, able to operate disconnected and sync with enterprise cloud when connected. JWCC includes provisions for tactical edge offerings from the cloud providers. It supports running containers and AI models close to users.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["edge cloud","tactical edge cloud"],"r":["Tactical edge","JWCC","DDIL"]},{"t":"Tactical data link","s":"Standardized digital link for exchanging tracks and commands between platforms","d":"A tactical data link (TDL) is a standardized communications link that exchanges formatted messages, such as tracks, targeting data and commands, between aircraft, ships, ground units and C2 centers. Examples include Link 16, Link 11, Link 22 and VMF. Each TDL is defined by a message standard, a waveform and network management procedures, so integrating one means implementing all three.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["TDL","datalink","data link"],"w":"Tactical data link","r":["Link 16","Link 22","TADIL"]},{"t":"Tactical edge","s":"Forward environment where users and systems operate with constrained resources","d":"The tactical edge is where forces operate forward, with limited bandwidth, power, compute and connectivity compared with fixed sites. Systems built for it must work offline, synchronize opportunistically and tolerate loss of reach-back. Edge computing places processing and AI inference there so decisions do not depend on links to a cloud.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["edge"],"r":["DDIL","Tactical cloud"]},{"t":"Tactical level","s":"The level of war where battles and engagements are fought by units","d":"The tactical level concerns the ordered arrangement and maneuver of units in relation to each other and the enemy. In engineering talk, \"tactical\" often also means fielded, ruggedized or used at the edge by small units. Ask which sense is meant.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Tactical","Tactical edge"],"r":["Operational level","Strategic level"]},{"t":"Tacticool","s":"Slang for gear that looks tactical but adds little practical value","d":"Tacticool mocks equipment or accessories chosen for appearance over function. Experienced users are quick to spot it. Product design for military users should prioritize function, weight and simplicity.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Gucci"]},{"t":"TAD","x":"Temporary Additional Duty","s":"Temporary additional duty, the Navy and Marine Corps term for TDY","d":"TAD is temporary duty away from a permanent station in Navy and Marine Corps usage, equivalent to Army and Air Force TDY. It is funded with travel orders. The terms are often used interchangeably in joint settings.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["TDY"]},{"t":"TADIL","x":"Tactical Digital Information Link","s":"Older US term for tactical data links, such as TADIL J for Link 16","d":"TADIL is the older US designation for tactical data links: TADIL A was Link 11, TADIL B was Link 11B, TADIL C was Link 4A and TADIL J was Link 16. DoD has largely replaced the term with the NATO Link names, but it still appears in older specifications and training. Searching for either name is often needed when reading legacy documents.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["TADIL J","TADIL A","TADIL C"],"r":["Link 16","Link 11","Tactical data link"]},{"t":"TAI","x":"Target Area of Interest","s":"Area where friendly forces can engage the enemy to deny a course of action","d":"Target Area of Interest: the geographical area where high-value targets can be acquired and engaged by friendly forces. TAIs are developed from NAIs once intelligence shows where the enemy will be, and are often linked to decision points and fires triggers. They anchor engagement areas in fires planning.","c":"Intelligence","r":["NAI","HVT","Decision point"]},{"t":"Taiwan contingency","s":"A potential Chinese blockade, quarantine or invasion of Taiwan","d":"Planning shorthand for scenarios in which the PRC uses force or coercion against Taiwan, ranging from gray-zone pressure and a quarantine to a blockade or full amphibious invasion. Japanese officials often use the phrase in discussing the implications for Japan. Wargames such as CSIS's 2023 The First Battle of the Next War have shaped public discussion of munitions, attrition and basing needs.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Taiwan scenario","cross-strait conflict"],"r":["Davidson window","Porcupine strategy","Hellscape","First island chain"]},{"t":"TAK","x":"Team Awareness Kit","s":"Family of geospatial situational awareness apps and servers used across DoD","d":"TAK is a family of situational awareness software for maps, position sharing, chat, imagery and mission data, originally built by the Air Force Research Laboratory. Variants include ATAK for Android, WinTAK for Windows, iTAK for iOS and WebTAK, with TAK Server providing federation and data routing. It is managed by the TAK Product Center and is the most common integration target for tactical edge products.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["Tactical Assault Kit","Team Awareness Kit"],"r":["ATAK","TAK Server","Cursor on Target","TAK Product Center"]},{"t":"TAK plugin","s":"Add-on module extending ATAK or WinTAK with new features or integrations","d":"A TAK plugin is a software module, built with the TAK SDK, that adds functions such as drone control, sensor feeds, radio integration or new map tools to ATAK or WinTAK. Plugins for ATAK-MIL must be signed through the TAK Product Center process. Plugin delivery is a common route for startups to put capability in front of users without a separate app.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["ATAK plugin"],"r":["ATAK","TAK Product Center"]},{"t":"TAK Product Center","s":"Government office that develops, manages and distributes TAK","d":"The TAK Product Center manages TAK development, releases, plugin signing and the tak.gov portal where users and developers obtain software and SDKs. It coordinates a large interagency community. Developers register on tak.gov to get SDKs and submit plugins.","c":"Organizations","k":["TPC","tak.gov"],"r":["TAK","TAK plugin"]},{"t":"TAK Server","s":"Server that routes, federates and stores TAK data between clients","d":"TAK Server brokers Cursor on Target and other TAK data between clients, provides data packages, mission synchronization, video and federation between separate TAK networks. It supports TLS with client certificates for authentication. An open source version is available alongside government versions, and many products integrate by connecting to TAK Server streaming ports or its APIs.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["TAK","Cursor on Target","ATAK"]},{"t":"Tally","s":"Brevity: I have sight of the target or enemy","d":"TALLY means sighting of a target, non-friendly aircraft, landmark or enemy position. The opposite is NO JOY. \"Tally ho\" is the old hunting-derived form.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Tally ho"],"r":["No Joy","Visual"]},{"t":"Tango","s":"Slang for a target or enemy, from the phonetic letter T","d":"Tango is used informally to mean a target or enemy individual. It is more common in movies than in formal reporting. Formal terms are enemy, hostile or target.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["NATO phonetic alphabet"]},{"t":"Tanker","s":"Aircraft that refuels other aircraft in flight","d":"Tankers such as the KC-135, KC-46, KC-10 (retired) and Navy carrier assets like MQ-25 extend range and endurance for every other aircraft. Their vulnerability to long-range missiles is a key concern in Pacific planning. The Air Force is studying a next-generation air refueling system.","c":"Aviation","k":["air refueling tanker","NGAS"],"r":["KC-46","AAR","MQ-25 Stingray"]},{"t":"Target development","s":"Turning a candidate target into a vetted, validated, engageable target","d":"The systematic examination of potential target systems and their components to determine the necessary type and duration of action to create a desired effect. It runs from target identification through vetting (checking the intelligence), validation (checking it serves objectives and complies with law) and nomination to a target list, then into detailed weaponeering. JP 3-60 covers it. Targeting software must preserve the audit trail of who vetted and validated each target.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["vetting","validation"],"r":["Target folder","No-strike list","CDE","Joint targeting cycle"]},{"t":"Target folder","s":"File holding all intelligence and data needed to strike a target","d":"A folder, now usually an electronic record, containing target intelligence and related materials prepared for planning and executing action against a specific target: imagery, coordinates and their accuracy, elevation, functional characterization, weaponeering, CDE and legal review. Modern targeting systems manage target folders as databases linked to MIDB. Coordinate mensuration and its error values are key fields.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["target packet","target package"],"r":["Target development","Mensuration","CDE"]},{"t":"Targeting cycle","s":"The repeating process of selecting, engaging and assessing targets","d":"Joint doctrine describes a six-phase joint targeting cycle: end state and commander's objectives, target development and prioritization, capabilities analysis, commander's decision and force assignment, mission planning and force execution, and assessment. Services and SOF use shorter variants such as D3A, F2T2EA and F3EAD. Targeting software usually maps to one of these models.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Joint targeting cycle"],"r":["D3A","F2T2EA","F3EAD","Kill chain"]},{"t":"Targeting pod","s":"External pod with FLIR, TV, laser rangefinder and designator for aircraft weapons","d":"Targeting pods give aircraft stabilized long-range EO/IR imagery, laser designation and target coordinates for precision weapons, and double as ISR sensors with video data links. Examples are the Lockheed Martin Sniper, Northrop Grumman LITENING and Rafael LITENING family, and Thales Damocles and TALIOS. Pod video and metadata streams commonly follow STANAG 4609 and MISB standards.","c":"Sensors","k":["Sniper","LITENING","ATP"],"r":["Laser designator","EOTS","STANAG 4609"]},{"t":"Task and purpose","s":"The pairing of what a unit must do with why it is doing it","d":"Every assigned task should come with a purpose, phrased as \"in order to,\" so subordinates can adapt if the task becomes impossible. The purpose is usually what nests a unit's mission inside its higher unit's. Users will often describe their needs this way.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Mission statement","Commander's intent"]},{"t":"Tasker","s":"A formal assignment of work to an organization or person, usually with a suspense","d":"A tasker directs an organization to do something, such as provide personnel, comments or a report, by a deadline. Tasking systems track them across large headquarters. \"Who has the tasker?\" means who is responsible.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Tasking"],"r":["Suspense","Chop"]},{"t":"Task force","s":"A temporary grouping of units under one commander for a specific mission","d":"A task force is formed for a particular operation or task and can be any size, from a company team to a joint task force. Army battalion task forces mix companies from different battalions. Task force names (TF Smith) are common in operational reporting.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["TF"],"r":["JTF"]},{"t":"Task order","s":"An order for services placed under an existing IDIQ contract","d":"A task order defines the specific work, price and period under an IDIQ's terms. A delivery order is the equivalent for supplies. Orders over certain thresholds on DoD multiple-award contracts may be protested at GAO.","c":"Acquisition","k":["TO","delivery order","DO"],"r":["IDIQ","Fair opportunity"]},{"t":"TBMCS","x":"Theater Battle Management Core Systems","s":"Air Force system for planning and executing the air tasking order","d":"TBMCS is the Air Force system used in Air Operations Centers to plan, produce and disseminate the air tasking order and airspace control order, and to monitor their execution. It is a legacy system being modernized through Kessel Run applications such as KRADOS. Its message formats (ATO and ACO in USMTF) remain important integration points.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["AOC","ATO (air tasking order)","Kessel Run","KRADOS"]},{"t":"TCCC","x":"Tactical Combat Casualty Care","s":"Tactical Combat Casualty Care: the standard for battlefield trauma care","d":"TCCC sets guidelines for care under fire, tactical field care and evacuation care, using the MARCH sequence (massive hemorrhage, airway, respiration, circulation, hypothermia and head injury). All service members get some TCCC training. Medical device makers align products with TCCC recommendations.","c":"Ground","k":["MARCH","TC3"],"r":["IFAK","Tourniquet","MIST"]},{"t":"TCDL","x":"Tactical Common Data Link","s":"Smaller, lower-cost CDL variant for UAVs and tactical aircraft","d":"Tactical Common Data Link is a lighter, lower-cost version of CDL designed for unmanned aircraft and smaller platforms, providing Ku-band links for sensor video and data. It is interoperable with CDL ground terminals within its supported rates. It is commonly used on medium UAS.","c":"C2 & Networks","w":"Common Data Link","r":["CDL"]},{"t":"TCPED","x":"Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination","s":"Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, Dissemination","d":"Shorthand for the end-to-end chain from tasking a sensor to getting the product to a user: tasking, collection, processing, exploitation and dissemination. GEOINT organizations such as NGA use it heavily, and space and commercial imagery programs are often measured by TCPED timelines (how long from tasking to a delivered product). Variants such as TPED leave out collection as a separate step.","c":"Intelligence","k":["TPED"],"r":["PCPAD","PED","Collection management"]},{"t":"TDA","x":"Table of Distribution and Allowances","s":"Army document authorizing personnel and equipment for non-deployable organizations","d":"A TDA authorizes positions and equipment for organizations such as schools, depots, headquarters and installations that are not designed to deploy as units. It complements the MTOE.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Table of Distribution and Allowances"],"r":["MTOE","LIN"]},{"t":"TDMA","x":"Time Division Multiple Access","s":"Sharing a channel by giving each user its own repeating time slot","d":"TDMA lets multiple terminals share a carrier by transmitting in assigned time slots within repeating frames, requiring tight timing synchronization. It is widely used in SATCOM networks (DAMA, many VSAT hubs) and tactical data links such as Link 16. Contrast with FDMA (separate frequencies) and CDMA (separate codes, as in MUOS).","c":"Comms","w":"Time-division multiple access","r":["DAMA","MF-TDMA"]},{"t":"TDOA","x":"Time Difference of Arrival","s":"Locating an emitter from differences in signal arrival time at separated receivers","d":"A geolocation method that measures the difference in arrival time of the same signal at two or more synchronized receivers; each difference defines a hyperbola (or hyperboloid) of possible locations, and their intersection gives the fix. TDOA needs precise time synchronization, usually from GPS-disciplined clocks, and enough signal bandwidth for good time resolution.","c":"EW","k":["time difference of arrival","multilateration","MLAT"],"w":"Trilateration","r":["FDOA","Geolocation","Time of arrival"]},{"t":"TDP","x":"Technical Data Package","s":"Complete technical description of an item sufficient for manufacture or support","d":"A TDP includes models, drawings, specifications, lists, quality assurance provisions and packaging details, prepared per MIL-STD-31000. The government's rights in TDP elements determine whether it can compete production or sustainment.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Technical Data Package"],"r":["MIL-STD-31000","Data rights","PCA"]},{"t":"TDY","x":"Temporary Duty","s":"Temporary duty: official travel away from the permanent duty station","d":"TDY is short-term official travel, such as for a course, exercise or test event, with travel and per diem paid. The Navy and Marine Corps call it TAD. Getting users to a vendor site or test event usually requires TDY funding.","c":"Personnel & Units","r":["TAD","PCS"]},{"t":"Teaming agreement","s":"Pre-award agreement for firms to pursue a contract together","d":"A teaming agreement sets out how a prime and subcontractors, or joint venture partners, will cooperate on a bid and what work shares follow if they win. Courts have sometimes found vague teaming agreements unenforceable, so specify workshare and exclusivity. FAR 9.6 recognizes such arrangements.","c":"Acquisition","k":["TA","teaming"],"r":["Prime","Subcontractor","NDA"]},{"t":"TEC","x":"Total Electron Content","s":"Number of free electrons along a signal path through the ionosphere","d":"Total electron content is the integrated electron density along the path between a satellite and receiver, measured in TEC units. It sets the ionospheric delay on GNSS signals, the largest error source for single-frequency receivers. Dual-frequency receivers (L1 with L2 or L5) measure and remove the delay, which is one reason military and precision receivers use more than one frequency.","c":"Space","r":["Scintillation","L1/L2/L5","GNSS"]},{"t":"TECHINT","x":"Technical Intelligence","s":"Intelligence from exploiting foreign weapons and equipment","d":"Intelligence derived from the collection, exploitation and analysis of foreign materiel, such as captured weapons, wreckage and recovered munitions, to assess capabilities, vulnerabilities and countermeasures. Scientific and technical intelligence (S&TI) is the broader analytic field it feeds. The steady flow of Russian equipment recovered in Ukraine, including missile and drone components with Western chips, has been a major TECHINT source since 2022.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Technical intelligence","r":["S&TI","MASINT","DOMEX"]},{"t":"Technical Assistance Agreement","s":"ITAR agreement authorizing defense services and data sharing with foreign parties","d":"A TAA, approved by DDTC, authorizes a US company to furnish defense services and related technical data to foreign persons, for example to support a foreign partner's integration. TAAs name parties, scope and duration, and amendments are common. In procurement, TAA instead means the Trade Agreements Act.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["TAA","ITAR TAA"],"r":["MLA","ITAR","Export license","Defense service"]},{"t":"Technical data","s":"Controlled information needed to design, build, operate or repair a controlled item","d":"Under ITAR, technical data includes blueprints, drawings, software and instructions related to defense articles; the EAR uses the term technology for the equivalent. Public domain information, general scientific principles and basic marketing information are excluded. Sharing technical data with foreign persons, including through email or cloud storage, is an export.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["ITAR technical data","technology (EAR)"],"r":["Deemed export","ITAR","Fundamental research exclusion"]},{"t":"Technical ELINT","s":"Detailed measurement of emitter characteristics and capabilities","d":"ELINT focused on precisely measuring an emitter's characteristics, such as waveforms, modes, MOP and antenna patterns, to assess its capabilities and support countermeasure development, test range threat simulators and mission data. Aircraft such as the RC-135U Combat Sent are dedicated to it.","c":"SIGINT","k":["TechELINT","technical electronic intelligence"],"r":["ELINT","Operational ELINT","RC-135U Combat Sent","Parametric data"]},{"t":"Technical manual","s":"Official publication for operating, maintaining and repairing equipment","d":"Technical manuals are developed per standards such as MIL-STD-40051 or the international S1000D specification, often delivered as interactive electronic technical manuals. They need government validation and verification before fielding, and errors drive maintenance problems.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["TM","IETM","interactive electronic technical manual","S1000D","MIL-STD-40051","tech order","TO"],"r":["IPS elements","Fielding"]},{"t":"Technology transition","s":"Moving a technology from research or prototype into an acquisition program or fielded use","d":"Transition requires a receiving program with budget, a validated requirement, mature technology and manufacturing, and a contract vehicle. Many promising projects stall for lack of one of these. Technology transition agreements between labs and programs document commitments.","c":"Acquisition","k":["transition","TTA","technology transition agreement"],"r":["Valley of death","POR","TRL","MRL"]},{"t":"TELINT","x":"Telemetry Intelligence","s":"Older term for intelligence from foreign telemetry, now part of FISINT","d":"Intelligence from intercepted telemetry transmitted by foreign missiles, aircraft and spacecraft during tests, revealing performance parameters. The term was folded into FISINT, but TELINT remains in common use in historical and some current writing.","c":"SIGINT","k":["telemetry intelligence"],"r":["FISINT"]},{"t":"TEMP","x":"Test and Evaluation Master Plan","s":"The program's overall test strategy, resources and schedule","d":"The TEMP documents the integrated DT&E, OT&E and LFT&E strategy, resources, critical issues and evaluation framework. It is approved by DOT&E for oversight programs and updated at milestones. Newer policy allows a streamlined T&E strategy for MTA and software programs.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Test and Evaluation Master Plan","T&E strategy"],"r":["DT&E","OT&E","DOT&E"]},{"t":"TEMPEST","s":"Standards and testing for limiting compromising emanations","d":"TEMPEST refers to the NSA and NATO specifications and testing for limiting compromising emanations from equipment that processes classified information, such as the NATO SDIP-27 levels. Equipment may be built to TEMPEST levels, or facilities may meet requirements through distance and shielding (zoning). Products intended for classified spaces may need TEMPEST evaluation or a countermeasures review.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["SDIP-27","NSTISSAM TEMPEST/1-92","emission security","EMSEC","compromising emanations"],"r":["EMSEC","Red/black separation","EMC","EMCON"]},{"t":"Tempo","s":"The relative speed and rhythm of operations over time compared with the enemy","d":"Tempo is the rate of military action, and controlling it helps a force keep the initiative. Operating tempo (OPTEMPO) also means how busy units are with training and deployments, which affects equipment wear and people. Context distinguishes the two.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["OPTEMPO","OPSTEMPO"],"r":["OODA loop","Initiative"]},{"t":"Terahertz","x":"THz","s":"Frequencies from about 0.1 or 0.3 THz to 10 THz between microwaves and infrared","d":"The region between millimeter waves and infrared, roughly 0.3 to 3 THz (some definitions span 0.1 to 10 THz). It offers huge bandwidth and fine imaging resolution but very high atmospheric absorption, limiting it to short range. Applications include security imaging, spectroscopy and research into 6G and short-range links.","c":"RF","k":["THz","submillimeter wave"],"w":"Terahertz radiation","r":["mmWave","EHF"]},{"t":"TERCOM","x":"Terrain Contour Matching","s":"Cruise missile navigation that matches altimeter readings to terrain maps","d":"TERCOM uses a radar altimeter to measure the terrain profile under a cruise missile and compares it with stored contour maps of selected areas to correct inertial drift. It was central to early Tomahawk and air-launched cruise missiles, now complemented by GPS and DSMAC.","c":"PNT","w":"TERCOM","r":["Terrain-referenced navigation","DSMAC"]},{"t":"Terminal guidance","s":"Guidance over the last part of flight, usually from the seeker","d":"Terminal guidance is the final phase, where the weapon refines its aim using a seeker or precise navigation. Its quality largely sets accuracy against moving or relocatable targets. Defensive systems also use 'terminal' for the last layer, defending near the target.","c":"Weapons","k":["terminal homing"],"r":["Midcourse","Seeker","Terminal phase"]},{"t":"Terminal phase","s":"Final part of a missile's flight as it descends to the target","d":"The terminal phase is the last minute or less of a ballistic missile's flight, re-entering the atmosphere toward the target. Terminal defenses like Patriot, THAAD and SM-6 protect specific areas. It offers the shortest time to react but the best chance of filtering out decoys.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["terminal","reentry phase"],"r":["Boost phase","Midcourse","Endoatmospheric"]},{"t":"Terrain-following radar","s":"Forward-looking radar letting low-flying aircraft hug the terrain automatically","d":"Terrain-following radar scans the ground ahead and feeds the flight control system to hold a set height, enabling low-level penetration at night and in weather. It has been fitted to aircraft such as the F-111, B-1B, MC-130 and Tornado. Its emissions are a detectable signature, so terrain-referenced navigation from stored maps is a quieter alternative.","c":"Radar","k":["TFR","terrain following"],"w":"Terrain-following radar","r":["Radar altimeter"]},{"t":"Terrain-referenced navigation","s":"Matching measured terrain height profiles to a stored elevation map","d":"Terrain-referenced navigation (TRN) uses a radar or laser altimeter to measure the height profile beneath a vehicle and correlates it with a digital elevation model to fix position. TERCOM is the classic cruise missile example. It works poorly over flat terrain or water and needs accurate elevation data.","c":"PNT","k":["TRN","terrain aided navigation"],"r":["TERCOM","DSMAC","Vision-aided navigation"]},{"t":"THAAD","x":"Terminal High Altitude Area Defense","s":"Lockheed Martin hit-to-kill interceptor for short to intermediate ballistic missiles","d":"THAAD intercepts ballistic missiles in the terminal phase, both inside and just outside the atmosphere, with a hit-to-kill interceptor and the AN/TPY-2 radar. Batteries are deployed in Korea, Guam and the Middle East and were used in combat against Houthi and Iranian missiles. High interceptor use in 2024 and 2025 raised concerns about stockpiles.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["TPY-2"],"w":"Terminal High Altitude Area Defense","r":["Hit-to-kill","Terminal phase","Patriot"]},{"t":"Theater","s":"A geographic area for military operations, usually a combatant command's region","d":"A theater is the geographic area for which a commander has been assigned responsibility, such as the Indo-Pacific theater. A theater of operations or theater of war is designated within it for a specific campaign. Theater-level systems are those that serve the CCMD and its components.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Theater (warfare)","r":["AOR","Battlespace","CCMD"]},{"t":"Theory of victory","s":"An explanation of how a strategy is expected to win","d":"A causal account of how a given strategy or force will achieve its objectives against an adversary, explaining why the adversary will be defeated or will give up. Critics of US and Ukrainian strategy have argued that plans sometimes lack a clear theory of victory. Defense concepts and capability proposals are increasingly expected to show how they contribute to one.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Deterrence","Mass"]},{"t":"Thermal crossover","s":"Dawn and dusk periods when targets match background temperature and thermal contrast fades","d":"Around dawn and dusk, objects heat or cool at different rates and pass through a point where their apparent temperature matches the surroundings, making them nearly invisible in thermal imagery. The effect lasts tens of minutes and varies by material and weather. Operators plan around it by using visible, SWIR or radar sensors at those times.","c":"Sensors","k":["crossover"],"r":["Thermal imaging","LWIR"]},{"t":"Thermal imaging","s":"Forming images from emitted infrared radiation, independent of visible light","d":"Thermal imagers detect radiation emitted by objects according to temperature and emissivity, usually in the MWIR or LWIR bands, so they work in complete darkness and see through light smoke and haze. Contrast depends on temperature differences, which vary through the day and drop during thermal crossover. Military thermal sights are export controlled under ITAR or EAR depending on performance.","c":"Sensors","k":["thermography","thermal camera"],"w":"Thermography","r":["FLIR","Thermal crossover","NETD"]},{"t":"Thermobaric","s":"Warhead dispersing fuel that then ignites, producing a long, intense blast","d":"Thermobaric and fuel-air explosive weapons disperse an explosive fuel cloud and ignite it, using atmospheric oxygen to create a sustained overpressure that is especially destructive in enclosed spaces. Russia's TOS-1A is a prominent example.","c":"Weapons","k":["fuel-air explosive","FAE","vacuum bomb"],"r":["Warhead","HE"]},{"t":"Third offset","s":"2014 DoD strategy betting on AI, autonomy and human-machine teaming","d":"The Defense Innovation Initiative announced in November 2014 by Secretary Chuck Hagel and driven by Deputy Secretary Robert Work, aiming to regain military-technical advantage over China and Russia through autonomy, AI, human-machine teaming, and advanced networks. It led to the creation of DIUx (now DIU) and Project Maven. Some analysts now speak of a need for a new offset centered on affordable mass.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Third Offset Strategy","Defense Innovation Initiative"],"r":["Offset strategy","Maven","RMA"]},{"t":"THOR","x":"Tactical High-power Operational Responder","s":"AFRL containerised HPM demonstrator for base defense against drone swarms","d":"THOR is an Air Force Research Laboratory HPM weapon in a shipping container, designed to protect airbases from drone swarms. It was tested against swarms and followed by a successor demonstrator called Mjolnir. It helped establish HPM as a practical counter-swarm option.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Mjolnir"],"r":["High-power microwave","Leonidas","HPM"]},{"t":"Threat library","s":"Database of emitter parameters an EW system uses to identify signals","d":"The database within an EW system that maps measured parameters (frequency, PRI, pulse width, scan, modulation) to known emitters and their platforms, along with the priority and response for each. It is derived from parametric intelligence and delivered in mission data. Unknown or ambiguous signals are flagged for analysis and may trigger reprogramming.","c":"EW","k":["emitter library","threat file"],"r":["Mission data file","Parametric data","Emitter identification"]},{"t":"Threshold and objective","s":"Minimum acceptable value and desired value for a performance requirement","d":"Requirements are stated as a threshold, the minimum acceptable value, and an objective, the desired value beyond which more performance is not worth the cost. Contract specifications usually build to threshold with incentives or options for objective. Trading between them is a common negotiation in development.","c":"Acquisition","k":["T/O","threshold","objective"],"r":["KPP","KSA","CDD"]},{"t":"Through-wall radar","s":"Short-range radar that detects people behind walls by movement or breathing","d":"Through-wall radars use low-frequency or ultra-wideband signals to penetrate walls and detect motion, including breathing, of people inside rooms. They are used by special operations, law enforcement and rescue teams. Metal and reinforced concrete walls limit performance.","c":"Sensors","k":["through-the-wall radar","TTWR","sense-through-the-wall"],"r":["Ground-penetrating radar","Micro-Doppler"]},{"t":"Thunderdome","s":"DISA zero trust network security prototype and program","d":"Thunderdome is a DISA program, prototyped by Booz Allen Hamilton from 2022, that delivers zero trust capabilities such as secure access service edge (SASE) and software-defined wide area networking to DoD organizations. It moved into production with expanding deployments. It is intended to replace the Joint Regional Security Stacks.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["Zero trust","JRSS","DISA","SASE"]},{"t":"Thunderforge","s":"DIU project bringing AI agents into military planning workflows","d":"Thunderforge is a Defense Innovation Unit project announced in 2025, with Scale AI as lead, to integrate large language model agents into operational and theater-level planning, starting with INDOPACOM and EUCOM. Partners included commercial AI and defense software firms. It is an example of generative AI moving into C2 planning tools.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["DIU","CDAO"]},{"t":"TID","x":"Total Ionizing Dose","s":"Cumulative radiation dose that gradually degrades electronics","d":"Total ionizing dose is the accumulated energy deposited by ionizing radiation over a mission, measured in rad(Si) or gray. It shifts transistor thresholds and increases leakage until parts fail. Mission dose depends heavily on orbit and shielding: many LEO missions see a few to tens of krad, while MEO and GEO missions need parts rated for much more. Displacement damage from protons is a separate, related degradation mechanism, notably in optical sensors and solar cells.","c":"Space","k":["total dose","krad","displacement damage"],"r":["Rad-hard","SEU","Van Allen belts"]},{"t":"Tier 3","s":"Background investigation level for Secret and Confidential eligibility","d":"Tier 3 is the investigation level under the Federal Investigative Standards for noncritical-sensitive positions and Secret or Confidential clearances. It relies heavily on automated record checks. Under Trusted Workforce 2.0, cleared people are then enrolled in continuous vetting.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["T3","Secret investigation","NACLC"],"r":["Tier 5","PCL","Continuous vetting"]},{"t":"Tier 5","s":"Background investigation level for Top Secret and SCI eligibility","d":"Tier 5, which replaced the Single Scope Background Investigation, is required for critical-sensitive positions, Top Secret and SCI access. It includes subject and reference interviews and takes longer than Tier 3.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["T5","SSBI","Single Scope Background Investigation"],"r":["Tier 3","SCI","PCL","Continuous vetting"]},{"t":"Tile architecture","s":"AESA built from flat, stacked layers parallel to the array face","d":"In a tile architecture, RF circuits are laid out in thin layers parallel to the aperture, giving a thin, light array suited to aircraft, conformal and space applications. It is enabled by highly integrated chips and multilayer boards and is common in modern low-cost arrays. Heat removal and element spacing at high frequency are key challenges.","c":"Radar","k":["tile array","planar AESA"],"r":["Brick architecture","T/R module","Conformal array"]},{"t":"Time of arrival","x":"TOA","s":"Timestamp when a pulse or signal reaches a receiver","d":"The time at which a pulse or signal feature arrives at a receiver, measured with high precision. TOA sequences reveal PRI patterns for deinterleaving, and differences in TOA across separated receivers give TDOA geolocation. Accurate clock synchronization across sites is essential.","c":"EW","k":["TOA"],"r":["TDOA","Pulse descriptor word","PRI"]},{"t":"Time-sensitive target","s":"Target requiring immediate response because it is fleeting or threatening","d":"A joint force commander designated target requiring immediate response because it is a highly lucrative, fleeting target of opportunity or poses, or will soon pose, a danger to friendly forces. Mobile missile launchers are a classic example. Dynamic targeting procedures and compressed kill chains are built for them.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["TST","dynamic target"],"r":["Joint targeting cycle","HPT"]},{"t":"Time transfer","s":"Synchronizing clocks at different locations to a common time reference","d":"Time transfer distributes precise time between sites, by GNSS common view or direct reception, two-way satellite time transfer, fiber links, eLoran, or network protocols such as PTP (IEEE 1588) and NTP. GNSS-disciplined clocks are the usual source for military networks and base stations, which makes timing a hidden dependency on GPS that jamming exposes.","c":"PNT","k":["PTP","IEEE 1588","NTP","TWSTT"],"r":["PTTI","Holdover","1PPS"]},{"t":"TINA","x":"Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Act","s":"Law requiring certified cost or pricing data on large negotiated contracts","d":"TINA, now at 10 USC 3701 to 3708 and formerly the Truth in Negotiations Act, requires offerors to submit and certify current, accurate and complete cost or pricing data for negotiated contracts above a threshold (raised to $2 million in 2018 and adjusted periodically for inflation), with exceptions for adequate price competition and commercial items. Defective pricing can lead to price reductions and fraud claims.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Truth in Negotiations Act","certified cost or pricing data","defective pricing"],"w":"Truth in Negotiations Act","r":["FAR Part 12","DCAA","CAS"]},{"t":"Tip of the spear","s":"The forces first and most directly engaged with the enemy","d":"Tip of the spear describes frontline combat units, such as infantry or special operations forces, as opposed to support elements. Units take pride in the term. It is informal.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Grunt","POG"]},{"t":"TITAN","x":"Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node","s":"Army ground station that pulls space, air and ground sensor data for targeting","d":"Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node: the Army's next-generation intelligence ground station, designed to take data from space, high-altitude, aerial and terrestrial sensors and produce targeting data for long-range fires, with AI and machine learning to help process it. Palantir won the prototype agreement in March 2024, beating RTX, and the system is built in advanced and basic variants on tactical vehicles. It is part of the Army's terrestrial layer of intelligence capability.","c":"Intelligence","r":["DCGS-A","Maven","ISR&T"]},{"t":"Title 10","s":"The US Code title governing the armed forces; federal military status","d":"Title 10 of the US Code organizes DoD and the armed forces. \"Title 10 status\" means federal military service under the President, the status of active forces and of mobilized Guard and reserve. Title 10 forces are restricted by the Posse Comitatus Act in domestic law enforcement.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Title 10 status"],"w":"Title 10 of the United States Code","r":["Title 32","Title 50"]},{"t":"Title 32","s":"US Code title for the National Guard; state control with federal funding","d":"Title 32 status means Guard members serve under the governor's command but are federally funded, as for training or some domestic missions. It differs from state active duty (state-funded and state-controlled) and from Title 10 (federal control). Title 32 forces are not limited by the Posse Comitatus Act.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Title 32 status","State active duty"],"w":"Title 32 of the United States Code","r":["Title 10","National Guard"]},{"t":"Title 50","s":"US Code title covering national security, including intelligence and covert action","d":"Title 50 includes the laws governing the intelligence community and covert action. \"Title 10 versus Title 50\" debates concern whether an activity is a military operation or an intelligence activity, which changes the oversight committees and authorities. It comes up often in cyber and special operations discussions.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Title 50 of the United States Code","r":["Title 10"]},{"t":"TLE","x":"Two-Line Element set","s":"Legacy two-line text format for an object's mean orbital elements, used with SGP4","d":"A TLE is a fixed-width, two-line text record of an object's mean orbital elements at an epoch, published by the US Space Force for cataloged objects through Space-Track.org. TLEs are meant to be propagated with the SGP4 model, and accuracy degrades from around a kilometer at epoch to many kilometers within days. Catalog numbers in the format are running out of five-digit space, so new work should use the CCSDS Orbit Mean-Elements Message (OMM) in XML, JSON or KVN.","c":"Space","k":["two-line element","OMM"],"w":"Two-line element set","r":["SGP4","Space-Track.org","Orbital elements","Ephemeris"]},{"t":"TLP","x":"Troop Leading Procedures","s":"The eight-step planning method used by small-unit leaders without a staff","d":"Troop leading procedures are how platoon and company leaders plan: receive the mission, issue a warning order, make a tentative plan, initiate movement, conduct reconnaissance, complete the plan, issue the order, and supervise and refine. They are fast and informal compared with MDMP. Tools for small-unit leaders should support this tempo, which usually means minutes to hours.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["MDMP","WARNORD","OPORD"]},{"t":"TLS","x":"Terrestrial Layer System","s":"US Army family of integrated ground SIGINT, EW and cyber systems","d":"The Terrestrial Layer System is the US Army family of programs integrating SIGINT, EW and cyberspace capabilities on ground platforms, part of the Army's layered approach that also includes air and space layers. Variants include TLS-BCT for brigade combat teams and TLS-EAB for echelons above brigade, along with dismounted and manpack systems.","c":"EW","k":["Terrestrial Layer System"],"r":["TLS-BCT","TLS-EAB","CEMA"]},{"t":"TLS-BCT","x":"Terrestrial Layer System – Brigade Combat Team","s":"Lockheed Martin vehicle-mounted SIGINT/EW system for Army brigades","d":"The brigade combat team variant of the Terrestrial Layer System, developed by Lockheed Martin and mounted on Stryker and other vehicles, combining SIGINT collection, EW sensing and attack, and cyber effects. It is the Army's first integrated ground EW and SIGINT system of record since the post-Cold War drawdown of tactical EW.","c":"EW","k":["TLS Manpack"],"r":["TLS","TLS-EAB","EWPMT"]},{"t":"TLS-EAB","x":"Terrestrial Layer System – Echelons Above Brigade","s":"Army SIGINT/EW system for division and corps formations","d":"The echelons above brigade variant of the Terrestrial Layer System, providing SIGINT, EW and cyber capability to divisions, corps and Multi-Domain Task Forces with longer-range sensing than TLS-BCT. It was in competitive prototyping and development in the mid-2020s.","c":"EW","r":["TLS","TLS-BCT"]},{"t":"T&M","x":"Time and Materials","s":"Contract type paying fixed hourly labor rates plus materials at cost","d":"T&M contracts pay fixed loaded hourly rates for labor categories plus actual materials cost, up to a ceiling. They are flexible but give the contractor little incentive for efficiency, so FAR requires a determination that no other type is suitable. Labor-hour contracts are the same without materials.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Time and Materials","LH","labor hour"],"r":["FFP","Cost-plus"]},{"t":"TMRR","x":"Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction","s":"MCA phase that matures key technologies and reduces risk before full development","d":"The phase after Milestone A in which technologies are matured, competitive prototypes are often built and the design moves toward a Preliminary Design Review. Requirements are refined into the Capability Development Document. Vendors with critical technology often win TMRR contracts, which can position them for the follow-on development work.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction","TD phase"],"r":["Milestone A","Milestone B","PDR","CDD"]},{"t":"TOC","x":"Tactical Operations Center","s":"Tactical operations center: a unit's main command post for running current operations","d":"A tactical operations center is where a battalion or brigade staff tracks the battle, manages reports and controls subordinates. Army doctrine now favors the term command post (main CP, tactical CP), and making CPs smaller, mobile and less detectable is a priority. Software and hardware for the TOC must handle frequent moves and limited power.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["command post","CP","Command post","JOC","Main CP"],"r":["C2","CPCE","Battle captain","Battle rhythm"]},{"t":"Tomahawk","s":"Long-range subsonic cruise missile for land attack, launched from ships and subs","d":"Tomahawk is the Navy's main long-range land attack cruise missile, with a range over 1,000 miles, fired from VLS cells and submarine tubes. Block V adds a new navigation and communications suite; Block Va is Maritime Strike Tomahawk. It is also fired from the Army's Typhon launchers.","c":"Naval","k":["TLAM","BGM-109","Block V"],"w":"Tomahawk missile","r":["Maritime Strike Tomahawk","VLS","Typhon"]},{"t":"Top attack","s":"Anti-armor mode striking a vehicle from above, where its armor is thinnest","d":"Top-attack weapons climb and dive onto a vehicle or fly over it and fire downward. Tanks carry far less armor on their roofs, so top attack defeats vehicles that would resist a frontal hit. It drove the appearance of improvised roof cages and active protection systems.","c":"Weapons","r":["Javelin","APS","FPV drone"]},{"t":"Tourniquet","s":"A strap tightened above a limb wound to stop severe bleeding","d":"Limb tourniquets, such as the Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT), saved many lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and are carried by every service member. TCCC guidance prefers specific approved models. Counterfeit tourniquets are a known problem.","c":"Ground","k":["CAT","Combat Application Tourniquet","TQ"],"w":"Tourniquet","r":["IFAK","TCCC"]},{"t":"Towed array","s":"Long line of hydrophones towed behind a ship or submarine for passive detection","d":"Towed arrays stretch hydrophones hundreds of meters behind a platform, away from own-ship noise, and their length allows good bearing resolution at low frequencies. Examples include the TB-29 and TB-37 on US platforms and the SURTASS arrays. Left-right ambiguity is resolved by maneuvering or with twin-line or triplet arrays.","c":"Sensors","k":["towed array sonar","TACTAS","SURTASS"],"w":"Towed array sonar","r":["Passive sonar","Variable depth sonar"]},{"t":"Towed decoy","s":"Decoy trailed behind an aircraft on a cable to draw radar-guided missiles","d":"A decoy towed on a cable behind an aircraft that radiates a signal stronger than the aircraft's echo, so radar-guided missiles home on the decoy. Fiber-optic towed decoys receive jamming waveforms generated inside the aircraft, allowing sophisticated techniques. Examples are the AN/ALE-50, AN/ALE-55 and the AN/ALE-70 used on the F-35.","c":"EW","k":["TRD","towed radar decoy","FOTD"],"r":["AN/ALE-55","AN/ALE-50","Decoy"]},{"t":"TPFDD","x":"Time-Phased Force and Deployment Data","s":"The database of forces and cargo that a plan needs moved, and when","d":"The time-phased force and deployment data lists the units, equipment and supplies an OPLAN requires and the timing and routing of their movement. It is managed in joint planning and execution systems and is the input to TRANSCOM's movement planning. Pronounced \"tip-fid.\"","c":"Logistics & Materiel","r":["OPLAN","TRANSCOM"]},{"t":"TR-3","x":"Technology Refresh 3","s":"F-35 hardware upgrade (processor, memory, displays) underpinning Block 4","d":"TR-3 replaces the F-35's core processor, memory and display hardware to provide the computing power for Block 4. Software problems delayed it, and jets delivered from mid-2023 were held until a limited combat-capable version was cleared in 2024. Full combat capability has continued to slip.","c":"Aviation","k":["Technology Refresh 3"],"r":["F-35","Block 4"]},{"t":"Track before detect","s":"Integrating raw data along candidate trajectories before declaring detections","d":"Track-before-detect (TBD) skips thresholding of individual looks and integrates unthresholded data over multiple scans along hypothesized target paths, so weak targets can be found below the single-look detection threshold. Methods include dynamic programming, Hough transforms and particle filters. It is computationally heavy but valuable for small drones, stealthy targets and IRST.","c":"Radar","k":["TBD"],"r":["Non-coherent integration","Particle filter","IRST"]},{"t":"Track correlation","s":"Deciding whether tracks from different sensors represent the same object","d":"Track-to-track correlation compares position, velocity, identity and covariance of tracks from different sources to determine which refer to the same target, avoiding duplicate or dual tracks in the shared picture. Errors produce dual designations or merged targets, both serious in air defense. Sensor registration (bias removal) is a prerequisite.","c":"Sensors","k":["track-to-track correlation","track association","dual tracks"],"r":["Track fusion","Sensor registration","Data association"]},{"t":"Track fusion","s":"Combining correlated tracks from multiple sensors into a single improved track","d":"Track fusion merges state estimates of the same target from different sensors, accounting for correlated errors through methods such as covariance intersection. It is more bandwidth-efficient than sending raw measurements but can be less accurate than measurement-level fusion. Composite tracking in CEC uses measurement-level fusion, while Link 16 networks largely exchange tracks.","c":"Sensors","k":["track-to-track fusion","covariance intersection"],"r":["Track correlation","Sensor fusion","Composite track"]},{"t":"Tracking","s":"Slang for \"I understand and am following\"","d":"\"Tracking\" or \"I'm tracking\" means I follow you or I am aware of it. \"Are you tracking?\" checks understanding. \"Not tracking\" means confused or unaware.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["I'm tracking","Not tracking"],"r":["Copy"]},{"t":"Tracking Layer","s":"PWSA infrared satellites that detect and track missiles, including hypersonics","d":"The Tracking Layer is the PWSA's constellation of infrared sensing satellites for missile warning and missile tracking, including dimmer hypersonic glide vehicles. Wide-field-of-view sensors provide detection and tracking, and tracks pass through the Transport Layer to fire control systems. Tranche 1 Tracking satellites come from L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, and MDA's HBTSS and Discriminating Space Sensor work feeds fire-control quality sensing.","c":"Space","k":["T1TRK","WFOV","missile warning/missile tracking","MW/MT"],"r":["PWSA","HBTSS","Next-Gen OPIR","Transport Layer","Discriminating Space Sensor"]},{"t":"Track initiation","s":"Logic that forms a new track from a sequence of detections","d":"Track initiation turns tentative detections into confirmed tracks using rules such as M-of-N detections in consistent gates. It trades time to confirm against false track rate. Initiation logic is often tuned separately for threats, such as fast low-flying missiles, where speed matters most.","c":"Radar","k":["track confirmation","M-of-N"],"r":["TWS","Gating","False alarm rate"]},{"t":"Track number","s":"Identifier assigned to a track on a tactical data link","d":"A track number is the identifier assigned to a track or participant on a datalink; Link 16 uses five-character octal-based numbers and each unit is allocated blocks. Correlation, decorrelation and dual designation problems arise when systems assign different numbers to the same object. Gateway and C2 software must manage track number blocks carefully to avoid conflicts.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["TN"],"r":["Link 16","JICO","CTP"]},{"t":"TraCSS","x":"Traffic Coordination System for Space","s":"Commerce Department space traffic service replacing DoD for civil operators","d":"TraCSS is the Office of Space Commerce's system for providing basic space situational awareness and conjunction warnings to civil and commercial satellite operators, a task Space Policy Directive 3 (2018) moved from DoD to Commerce. It entered phased operation in 2024 and 2025, building on Space Force catalog data and commercial SSA. Its funding has been contested in budget proposals, so check current status before relying on it.","c":"Space","r":["Space-Track.org","Conjunction","SSA"]},{"t":"Trade Agreements Act","s":"Law requiring products on covered federal buys to come from the US or designated countries","d":"The Trade Agreements Act of 1979 limits purchases above thresholds to US-made or designated country end products, determined by substantial transformation. It notably excludes China, which is why products assembled there can be ineligible for GSA Schedule and many DoD contracts. In export control, TAA instead means Technical Assistance Agreement.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["TAA","TAA compliant"],"w":"Trade Agreements Act of 1979","r":["Buy American Act","Technical Assistance Agreement"]},{"t":"Tradewinds","s":"CDAO acquisition marketplace for AI, data and analytics solutions","d":"Tradewinds is a CDAO-managed suite of acquisition tools, including the Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace, where vendors submit video pitches that government buyers can award against using competitive procedures. It is used for AI, data and digital solutions. For small companies it is one of the faster routes to a DoD contract.","c":"Acquisition","r":["CDAO"]},{"t":"TRADOC","x":"Training and Doctrine Command","s":"Army Training and Doctrine Command, now merging with Army Futures Command","d":"TRADOC has long run Army recruiting, initial training, schools and doctrine writing, while Army Futures Command (AFC) led modernization and concepts. Under the 2025 Army Transformation Initiative the two were directed to merge into a single command. Doctrine and requirements writers have historically sat in these organizations.","c":"Organizations","k":["AFC","Army Futures Command"],"r":["Army Transformation Initiative","Doctrine"]},{"t":"Traffic analysis","s":"Inferring intelligence from the patterns of communications, not their content","d":"Analysis of communications externals, such as who talks to whom, when, how often, on what frequencies and from where, to infer organization, activity and intent without reading the content. It remains valuable against encrypted networks and is a key reason for LPI design and EMCON.","c":"SIGINT","k":["network analysis"],"w":"Traffic analysis","r":["COMINT","EMCON"]},{"t":"Tranche","s":"A batch of capability or production, used in Space Force and European programs","d":"A batch of satellites, aircraft or capability delivered as a group. The Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture uses two-year tranches (Tranche 0, 1, 2 and 3), and Eurofighter Typhoon production is grouped in Tranches 1 through 5. It serves the same purpose as blocks in other programs.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Tranche 1","Tranche 2"],"r":["Block","Increment"]},{"t":"Tranche 0","s":"SDA's first PWSA demonstration tranche, launched in 2023","d":"Tranche 0 was SDA's demonstration set of Transport and Tracking satellites, launched in 2023, used to prove optical crosslinks, Link 16 from space and the tranche acquisition model. SDA demonstrated Link 16 messages from Tranche 0 satellites to ground terminals in 2024. It is often called the warfighter immersion tranche, since its main job was to get operators using the capability.","c":"Space","k":["T0","Tranche 0 Transport","Tranche 0 Tracking"],"r":["Tranche 1","PWSA","Link 16 from space"]},{"t":"Tranche 1","s":"SDA's first operational PWSA tranche, launching from 2025","d":"Tranche 1 is the first operational tranche of the PWSA, with on the order of 126 Transport satellites and 35 Tracking satellites plus demonstration elements. Launches began in September 2025 on SpaceX Falcon 9, after supply chain delays, and continue through the following year. It is the first tranche meant to provide regional persistent coverage for operational use.","c":"Space","k":["T1"],"r":["Tranche 0","Tranche 2","Transport Layer","Tracking Layer"]},{"t":"Tranche 2","s":"Second operational PWSA tranche, planned to launch from about 2027","d":"Tranche 2 expands the PWSA toward global coverage, with Transport Layer contracts (Beta and Alpha variants) and Tracking Layer contracts awarded in 2023 and 2024 to several vendors. It adds capability such as more advanced tactical links and improved sensors. Launches are planned to begin around 2027, subject to schedule changes.","c":"Space","k":["T2","T2TL"],"r":["Tranche 1","Tranche 3","PWSA"]},{"t":"Tranche 3","s":"Third PWSA tranche, with awards beginning around 2025 and launches later in the decade","d":"Tranche 3 is the next generation of PWSA Transport and Tracking satellites. Its Tracking Layer procurement began in 2025, and the future of its Transport Layer has been under review alongside reports of the MILNET proliferated network. Treat its composition and schedule as fluid and check current SDA announcements.","c":"Space","k":["T3"],"r":["Tranche 2","MILNET","PWSA"]},{"t":"TRANSCOM","x":"United States Transportation Command","s":"US Transportation Command, which moves forces and supplies worldwide","d":"US Transportation Command, at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, manages global air, land and sea transportation through its components: Air Mobility Command, Military Sealift Command and Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. It handles deployment planning from TPFDDs. Logistics and tracking products often have TRANSCOM as a key stakeholder.","c":"Organizations","k":["USTRANSCOM","United States Transportation Command","AMC","MSC","SDDC"],"w":"United States Transportation Command","r":["DLA","APS","TPFDD","Contested logistics","CCMD"]},{"t":"TRANSEC","x":"Transmission Security","s":"Protection of transmissions against detection, interception and jamming","d":"Transmission security protects the transmission itself, as opposed to message content, using techniques such as frequency hopping, spread spectrum and hiding traffic patterns. Many military waveforms use separate TRANSEC keys from content encryption keys. Satellite modems for military use often require TRANSEC to hide traffic volume from observers.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["transmission security"],"r":["COMSEC","LPI/LPD","LPE","Frequency hopping","SINCGARS"]},{"t":"Transformation in Contact","s":"Army effort to field new tech in deployed and training units and learn fast","d":"Transformation in Contact, started in 2024 under Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, gives selected brigades new equipment such as small drones and network gear and refines formations based on soldier feedback. It is a route by which commercial technology reaches units quickly for trial. Often abbreviated TiC.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["TiC"],"r":["Army Transformation Initiative"]},{"t":"Transponded payload","s":"Satellite payload that amplifies and frequency-shifts signals without processing them","d":"A transponded or bent-pipe payload receives an uplink, filters, frequency-translates and amplifies it, and retransmits it without demodulating. It is simple, flexible and waveform-agnostic, so new modems work without changing the satellite, but jamming on the uplink passes straight through and noise accumulates. WGS and most commercial GEO satellites are transponded; PTW adds protection over such payloads.","c":"Comms","k":["bent pipe","transparent payload"],"r":["Processed payload","PTW","WGS"]},{"t":"Transponder","s":"Device that automatically replies to IFF or ATC interrogations on 1090 MHz","d":"A transponder receives interrogations on 1030 MHz and answers on 1090 MHz with codes, altitude and, in Mode S and Mode 5, richer data. Military aircraft carry combined units that handle civil (Mode 3/A, C, S, ADS-B) and military (Mode 1, 2, 5) modes. Turning it off for emissions control trades identification for stealth.","c":"Radar","k":["IFF transponder","XPDR"],"w":"Transponder (aeronautics)","r":["Interrogator","Mode 5","ADS-B"]},{"t":"Transport Layer","s":"PWSA mesh network of LEO satellites relaying tactical data worldwide","d":"The Transport Layer is the PWSA's data backbone: LEO satellites linked by optical intersatellite links that carry tactical data, including Link 16 and Ka-band, to and from aircraft, ships, ground forces and ground entry points. It is meant to deliver missile tracks from the Tracking Layer to shooters quickly and to provide beyond-line-of-sight tactical networking. Tranche 1 Transport is built by York Space Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.","c":"Space","k":["T1TL","Transport"],"r":["PWSA","Link 16 from space","OISL","Tracking Layer","Ground entry point"]},{"t":"Traveling-wave tube","x":"TWT","s":"Vacuum tube amplifier giving high power over wide bandwidth","d":"A vacuum electron device that amplifies microwave signals by interaction between an electron beam and a wave on a helix or coupled-cavity structure, giving high power and very wide bandwidth. TWTs still power many satellite transponders, older jammers such as ALQ-99 and high frequency systems, packaged with power supplies as microwave power modules.","c":"RF","k":["TWT","TWTA","MPM","microwave power module"],"w":"Traveling-wave tube","r":["Power amplifier","GaN"]},{"t":"Triad","s":"The three legs of US nuclear forces: ICBMs, SLBMs and bombers","d":"The nuclear triad consists of land-based ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles on SSBNs and nuclear-capable bombers. Each leg offers different survivability, responsiveness and flexibility. All three are being modernised at once: Sentinel, Columbia and B-21 with LRSO.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["nuclear triad"],"w":"Nuclear triad","r":["Sentinel","Columbia class","B-21 Raider","NC3"]},{"t":"Triangulation","s":"Fixing a position from the intersection of bearings from several sites","d":"Locating an emitter by intersecting lines of bearing measured from two or more known positions. Bearing errors produce a region of uncertainty rather than a point, which grows with range and with poor crossing angles. A single moving platform can triangulate by taking bearings over time.","c":"EW","k":["DF fix","bearing fix"],"w":"Triangulation","r":["Line of bearing","Direction finding","Error ellipse"]},{"t":"Trident II D5","s":"Lockheed Martin SLBM carried by US Ohio and UK Vanguard submarines","d":"Trident II D5 is a three-stage solid-fuel SLBM with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). The D5LE life extension keeps it in service on the Columbia class, and a D5LE2 follow-on is planned.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["UGM-133","D5","D5LE","Trident"],"w":"UGM-133 Trident II","r":["SLBM","SSBN","Columbia class","W93"]},{"t":"TRL","x":"Technology Readiness Level","s":"Scale from 1 to 9 measuring a technology's maturity, from concept to proven in operations","d":"TRL 1 is basic principles observed; TRL 4 is lab validation; TRL 6 is a prototype demonstrated in a relevant environment; TRL 7 is a prototype demonstrated in an operational environment; TRL 9 is proven in mission operations. Statute and policy expect critical technologies on major programs to be at least TRL 6 at Milestone B. DoD's Technology Readiness Assessment Guidebook defines the scale.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Technology Readiness Level","TRA","technology readiness assessment"],"w":"Technology readiness level","r":["MRL","IRL","SRL","Milestone B"]},{"t":"T/R module","x":"Transmit/Receive module","s":"Per-element electronics in an AESA: power amp, low-noise amp, phase and gain control","d":"A T/R module typically contains a high-power amplifier, a limiter and low-noise amplifier, a circulator or switch, and core chip functions for phase and amplitude control and beam steering logic. Thousands of them make up a large AESA, so cost, efficiency, reliability and thermal performance per module dominate system economics. GaN has largely replaced GaAs for the power amplifier in new designs.","c":"Radar","k":["TRM","transmit receive module"],"r":["AESA","GaN","Tile architecture"]},{"t":"Troop","s":"A cavalry unit equivalent to a company; also, informally, any individual soldier","d":"In Army cavalry and some aviation units, a troop is the company-level unit, led by a captain, and several troops form a squadron. In everyday speech \"troops\" means soldiers generally. Context makes the difference clear.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Troop","r":["Company","Squadron"]},{"t":"Trophy","s":"Rafael hard-kill active protection system on Israeli and US tanks","d":"Trophy detects incoming projectiles with radar and fires a shot of explosively formed pellets to destroy them. It has been used in combat on Israeli Merkava tanks since 2011 and is fitted to US M1A2 Abrams and some Leopard 2s.","c":"Ground","k":["Trophy APS","ASPRO-A"],"w":"Trophy (countermeasure)","r":["APS","M1 Abrams"]},{"t":"TRP","x":"Target Reference Point","s":"Target reference point: an easily recognizable point used to direct fires","d":"A TRP is a predetermined point, often a terrain feature, used for quick reference in directing direct and indirect fires. Engagement areas are planned around TRPs. Fire control systems store them for fast engagements.","c":"Ground","k":["Engagement area","EA"],"r":["FSCM"]},{"t":"TRR","x":"Test Readiness Review","s":"Review confirming a system, procedures and facilities are ready for formal test","d":"A TRR checks that the test article configuration, procedures, instrumentation, personnel and facilities are ready before a formal test event. Skipping or rushing it is a frequent source of failed tests and retests.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Test Readiness Review"],"r":["CDR","DT&E","TEMP"]},{"t":"True time delay","s":"Steering with actual time delays so the beam stays pointed across wide bandwidths","d":"True time delay (TTD) steering inserts real delays rather than phase shifts, so all frequencies in a wideband signal point the same way and pulses do not smear across the aperture. It is needed for very wideband arrays used in high-resolution imaging, ISAR, discrimination and combined radar-EW apertures. TTD is often applied at subarray level, with phase shifters within each subarray.","c":"Radar","k":["TTD","time-delay steering"],"r":["Beam squint","Wideband array","Subarray"]},{"t":"TSM","x":"TrellisWare Tactical Scalable MANET","s":"TrellisWare barrage-relay MANET waveform widely used by Army and SOF","d":"TSM is a commercial mobile ad hoc networking waveform from TrellisWare Technologies, using barrage relay to deliver voice, PLI and data across large networks without a central node. It is hosted on TrellisWare radios and several multi-channel radios including the PRC-163. The Army adopted it widely in the Integrated Tactical Network, and TSM-X variants extend capacity.","c":"Comms","k":["TSM-X","TrellisWare"],"r":["MANET","ITN","AN/PRC-163"]},{"t":"TSS","x":"Target Selection Standards","s":"Accuracy and timeliness a detection must meet to be targetable","d":"Target Selection Standards: criteria, applied to enemy activity, that decide whether a detected activity is accurate and recent enough to engage, such as location error and time since detection for a given sensor. They prevent firing on stale or imprecise detections. TSS are part of the targeting products produced in the decide phase.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["AGM","HPTL"]},{"t":"TST","x":"Time-Sensitive Target","s":"A target needing immediate response because it is fleeting or highly threatening","d":"A time-sensitive target is one the joint force commander has designated as needing immediate response because it poses or will soon pose a danger, or is a highly lucrative, fleeting target. Mobile missile launchers are a classic example. TST processes drive many latency requirements in C2 systems.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Dynamic targeting","Kill chain"]},{"t":"TT&C","x":"Telemetry, Tracking and Command","s":"Links and functions used to monitor, locate and control a satellite","d":"TT&C is the set of functions and RF links that send telemetry (health and status) down, take ranging measurements for orbit determination, and send commands up. For military satellites the command link must be encrypted under CNSSP 12. US military TT&C commonly uses the S-band SGLS format through the AFSCN, while commercial satellites use unified S-band, X-band or their own gateways.","c":"Space","k":["C2 link","command and telemetry"],"r":["AFSCN","SGLS","Ground segment","CNSSP 12"]},{"t":"TTFF","x":"Time To First Fix","s":"How long a GNSS receiver takes to produce its first position","d":"Time to first fix depends on what the receiver knows at power-on: a hot start (current ephemeris and time) can take seconds, a cold start (no almanac or time) up to minutes. Assisted GNSS and direct acquisition of military codes reduce it. TTFF under jamming is a key requirement for weapons and dismounted receivers.","c":"PNT","k":["cold start","hot start"],"r":["Almanac","Ephemeris"]},{"t":"TTNT","x":"Tactical Targeting Network Technology","s":"High-throughput IP ad hoc airborne networking waveform from Collins","d":"TTNT is an IP-based, low-latency, self-forming airborne networking waveform developed by Rockwell Collins (now Collins Aerospace), operating in the same band as Link 16. It is hosted on MIDS-JTRS programmable channels and is used by Navy aircraft such as the EA-18G and E-2D. It offers much higher throughput than Link 16 for machine-to-machine targeting.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["MIDS-JTRS","Link 16"]},{"t":"TTP","x":"Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures","s":"The methods and techniques for performing tasks, below the level of doctrine","d":"Tactics are the employment and arrangement of forces, techniques are non-prescriptive ways to perform tasks, and procedures are standard, detailed steps. TTPs are published in Army ATPs, multi-service manuals and unit documents, and they evolve quickly in combat. Threat analysts also describe adversary behavior as TTPs.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["Doctrine","SOP"]},{"t":"Tundra orbit","s":"24-hour highly elliptical orbit at 63.4 degrees, a geosynchronous cousin of Molniya","d":"A Tundra orbit is a geosynchronous, highly elliptical orbit with a period of one sidereal day and the 63.4 degree critical inclination. A satellite spends most of each day near apogee over one high-latitude region, so two satellites can give continuous coverage. Sirius satellite radio used it and Russian early warning satellites of the EKS (Tundra) system use it.","c":"Space","w":"Tundra orbit","r":["Molniya orbit","HEO"]},{"t":"Turret","s":"Rotating multi-sensor EO/IR ball mounted on aircraft, ships or vehicles","d":"In EO/IR usage a turret is a stabilized, rotating housing that holds several sensors such as thermal, daylight, SWIR, laser rangefinder and designator. The terms gimbal and turret are often used interchangeably. Turret diameter (for example 10, 15 or 25 inches) is a common class indicator tied to performance and weight.","c":"Sensors","k":["sensor turret","EO/IR turret"],"r":["Gimbal","WESCAM MX"]},{"t":"TWS","x":"Track While Scan","s":"Tracking multiple targets from regular search scans without dedicated track beams","d":"Track-while-scan maintains tracks on many targets by associating detections from each search scan into tracks, rather than locking the antenna onto one target. It preserves situational awareness and gives less warning to the targets than a single-target track. Update rate is limited by the scan period, so fire control often adds dedicated track dwells in electronically scanned radars.","c":"Radar","k":["track-while-scan","TWS mode"],"w":"Track while scan","r":["STT","Track initiation","Kalman filter"]},{"t":"Type 055","s":"Chinese large destroyer, classed by the US as a cruiser, Renhai class","d":"The Type 055 Renhai class is a Chinese guided missile destroyer of around 12,000 to 13,000 tonnes, classified as a cruiser by the US Navy, with 112 vertical launch cells able to fire HHQ-9 air defense, YJ-18 anti-ship and YJ-21 hypersonic missiles. Eight were in service by 2023, with more reported in production. It is among the most capable surface combatants in the world.","c":"Naval","k":["Renhai","Renhai-class"],"w":"Type 055 destroyer","r":["YJ-21","HQ-9","PLAN"]},{"t":"Type 1","s":"NSA-certified cryptographic product for protecting classified information","d":"A Type 1 product is cryptographic equipment or a component certified by NSA for protecting classified national security information, using NSA-approved algorithms and controlled key material. Type 1 devices are usually Controlled Cryptographic Items and require COMSEC accounting. Developing one requires an NSA partnership and a long evaluation, so most integrators buy certified modules.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["Type 1 encryption"],"w":"NSA product types","r":["CCI","Suite A","CSfC","HAIPE"]},{"t":"Type classification","s":"Army determination that an item is acceptable for use and can enter the inventory","d":"Type classification identifies an item's life cycle status and that it is acceptable for its intended military use, typically standard or limited procurement. It is a prerequisite for materiel release and for assigning a LIN in authorization documents.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["TC","TC-STD","type classified"],"r":["Materiel release","LIN"]},{"t":"Typhon","s":"Army ground launcher firing SM-6 and Tomahawk, part of Mid-Range Capability","d":"Typhon, formally the Mid-Range Capability, is an Army battery that fires SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles from ground launchers adapted from the Navy's Mk 41 VLS. It filled the gap between PrSM and LRHW ranges and was deployed to the Philippines and Australia for exercises. It is one of the first US ground-based intermediate-range systems since the INF Treaty ended.","c":"Weapons","k":["MRC","Mid-Range Capability","Strategic Mid-Range Fires"],"r":["SM-6","Tomahawk","VLS"]},{"t":"UARC","x":"University Affiliated Research Center","s":"University Affiliated Research Center, such as Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory","d":"UARCs are university-affiliated laboratories with long-term DoD relationships for essential engineering and research. Examples include Johns Hopkins APL, Georgia Tech Research Institute, and the applied research laboratories at Penn State and the University of Texas. Like FFRDCs, they often evaluate or prototype technology for the government.","c":"Organizations","w":"University Affiliated Research Center","r":["FFRDC"]},{"t":"UAS","x":"Unmanned Aircraft System","s":"The aircraft plus its ground control, datalinks, payloads and support equipment","d":"UAS is the DoD and FAA term for the whole system: the air vehicle, the ground control station, the command and control link, payloads, launch and recovery gear and the crew. Requirements, certification and cybersecurity apply to the system as a whole, so a product that touches any one segment (a radio, a GCS app, a payload) is part of the UAS boundary. US doctrine prefers UAS over UAV because the aircraft alone is rarely the hard part.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["UAV","drone","unmanned aircraft"],"w":"Unmanned aerial vehicle","r":["UAV","RPA","GCS","C2 link","UAS Groups"]},{"t":"UAS Groups","s":"DoD Group 1 to 5 classes by weight, operating altitude and speed","d":"DoD sorts UAS into five groups. Group 1 is under 20 lb, usually below 1,200 ft AGL and under 100 kt; Group 2 is 21 to 55 lb, below 3,500 ft and under 250 kt; Group 3 is under 1,320 lb and below 18,000 ft MSL; Group 4 is over 1,320 lb below 18,000 ft; Group 5 is over 1,320 lb above 18,000 ft. The group drives airspace rules, C-UAS requirements and which program office cares about a product.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Group 1","Group 2","Group 3","Group 4","Group 5","UAS classes"],"r":["sUAS","Group 1 UAS","Group 3 UAS","Group 5 UAS"]},{"t":"UAV","x":"Unmanned Aerial Vehicle","s":"The air vehicle itself, without its ground segment","d":"UAV refers to the flying vehicle only. It is the older and more common civilian and international term, and it still appears in NATO and allied documents. When writing for US DoD audiences, use UAS for the system and UA or UAV for the aircraft.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["drone","UA"],"w":"Unmanned aerial vehicle","r":["UAS","RPA"]},{"t":"UCA","x":"Urgent Capability Acquisition","s":"Pathway for fielding a capability within two years to meet an urgent operational need","d":"Defined in DoDI 5000.81, Urgent Capability Acquisition responds to Joint Urgent Operational Needs and component urgent needs, aiming to field within two years and often much sooner. Documentation is minimal and funding is often reprogrammed. Note that UCA also commonly means Undefinitized Contract Action in contracting, so check context.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Urgent Capability Acquisition","JUON","UON","DoDI 5000.81"],"r":["Adaptive Acquisition Framework","Undefinitized Contract Action","Reprogramming"]},{"t":"UCP","x":"Unified Command Plan","s":"The presidential document that sets combatant command missions and boundaries","d":"The Unified Command Plan establishes the combatant commands, their missions and geographic areas of responsibility. It is reviewed at least every two years and changes when commands are created or boundaries shift. Changes ripple into which command owns a given country or mission.","c":"Organizations","r":["CCMD","AOR"]},{"t":"UDL","x":"Unified Data Library","s":"Space Force cloud data repository for space domain awareness and other data","d":"The Unified Data Library is a cloud-based data platform that aggregates SSA observations, element sets, RF and other data from government, allied and commercial sources into common schemas behind an API. It lets programs and vendors share and consume space data without bilateral interfaces. Commercial SSA providers commonly deliver into the UDL under contract.","c":"Space","r":["SDA (space domain awareness)","Commercial SSA"]},{"t":"UDOP","x":"User-Defined Operational Picture","s":"Operational picture tailored by each user from shared data, versus a single COP","d":"A user-defined operational picture lets each user filter and arrange shared data for their own role, rather than everyone seeing the identical COP. The idea emerged as data volumes grew and different echelons needed different views. Modern C2 products usually deliver a UDOP built on a common data layer, and the COP becomes the authoritative shared data rather than one shared screen.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["COP","Data integration layer"]},{"t":"UEI","x":"Unique Entity Identifier","s":"12-character ID assigned by SAM.gov that replaced the DUNS number in April 2022","d":"The UEI is the government's primary identifier for entities receiving federal awards, assigned during SAM.gov registration. It replaced the Dun and Bradstreet DUNS number on 4 April 2022. You will need it on proposals, invoices and subcontract records.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Unique Entity Identifier","SAM UEI"],"r":["SAM.gov","DUNS","CAGE code"]},{"t":"UEWR","x":"Upgraded Early Warning Radar","s":"Upgraded UHF phased array missile warning radars (PAVE PAWS/BMEWS sites)","d":"The Upgraded Early Warning Radars (AN/FPS-132 and related designations) are UHF phased array radars at sites such as Beale AFB, Cape Cod, Pituffik (Greenland) and RAF Fylingdales, upgraded from PAVE PAWS and BMEWS to support ballistic missile defense as well as missile warning and space surveillance. They feed the US missile warning and Ground-based Midcourse Defense systems.","c":"Radar","k":["AN/FPS-132","PAVE PAWS","BMEWS"],"r":["Cobra Dane","LRDR"]},{"t":"UFO","x":"UHF Follow-On","s":"Boeing-built Navy UHF SATCOM satellites launched 1993 to 2003","d":"UHF Follow-On was a series of 11 Boeing GEO satellites providing Navy and DoD UHF narrowband SATCOM, with some also carrying EHF and Global Broadcast Service payloads. They replaced FLTSATCOM and are being succeeded by MUOS. Few remain in service.","c":"Comms","k":["FLTSATCOM"],"r":["MUOS","UHF SATCOM"]},{"t":"UGS","x":"Unattended Ground Sensors","s":"Small battery-powered sensors left in place to detect people and vehicles","d":"Unattended ground sensors use seismic, acoustic, magnetic, passive IR, imaging or radar sensing to detect and classify activity and report over radio or satellite links. They are used for perimeter security, border monitoring, route surveillance and special operations. Battery life, false alarm rate and low-probability-of-detection communications are key design drivers.","c":"Sensors","k":["unattended ground sensor","UGSS"],"r":["Seismic sensor","Magnetometer","Edge processing"]},{"t":"UGV","x":"Unmanned Ground Vehicle","s":"Robotic ground vehicle, remotely operated or autonomous","d":"UGVs range from small EOD robots to tracked vehicles that carry supplies, evacuate casualties or mount weapons. Ukraine uses large numbers for logistics and mine laying. The Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle effort and the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport (S-MET) are US examples.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["ground robot","unmanned ground vehicle"],"w":"Unmanned ground vehicle","r":["RCV","EOD"]},{"t":"UH-60","s":"Sikorsky Black Hawk utility helicopter","d":"The UH-60 Black Hawk is the Army's main utility helicopter, used for assault, medevac and transport, with Navy (MH-60), Air Force (HH-60W) and many export variants. The UH-60M is the current version. FLRAA's MV-75 is meant to replace a large part of the fleet.","c":"Aviation","k":["Black Hawk","UH-60M","MH-60","HH-60"],"w":"Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk","r":["FLRAA","CH-47"]},{"t":"UHF","x":"Ultra High Frequency","s":"300 MHz to 3 GHz, used for military air radio, SATCOM, cellular and GPS","d":"The ITU band from 300 MHz to 3 GHz. It holds the military air band around 225 to 400 MHz, UHF SATCOM, cellular, GPS, Wi-Fi at 2.4 GHz and many radars. Note that IEEE radar letter designations call only 300 MHz to 1 GHz UHF, with L and S bands above.","c":"RF","k":["ultra high frequency"],"w":"Ultra high frequency","r":["VHF","SHF","L band"]},{"t":"UHF SATCOM","s":"Military satellite communications in roughly 240 to 400 MHz, for small terminals","d":"UHF SATCOM uses frequencies around 240 to 400 MHz, which penetrate foliage and weather and work with small, low-gain antennas on handhelds and vehicles. Channels are narrow (5 and 25 kHz), so capacity is limited and demand is managed with DAMA and the Integrated Waveform. It is easily jammed and congested, and is served by UFO, MUOS legacy payloads and allied satellites.","c":"Comms","k":["narrowband SATCOM","TACSAT"],"r":["MUOS","UFO","DAMA","IW waveform","Scintillation"]},{"t":"UMOP","x":"Unintentional Modulation On Pulse","s":"Hardware-induced quirks within a pulse that fingerprint a specific transmitter","d":"Unintentional amplitude, phase or frequency variations within a pulse caused by the transmitter's particular hardware, such as power supply ripple, tube behavior or switching transients. UMOP is unique enough to distinguish individual transmitters of the same type and is the basis for specific emitter identification.","c":"EW","k":["unintentional modulation"],"r":["Specific emitter identification","MOP","RF fingerprinting"]},{"t":"Unambiguous range","s":"Maximum range a pulse radar can measure without range folding: c/(2·PRF)","d":"An echo arriving after the next pulse has been transmitted appears at the wrong range, a second-time-around echo. The unambiguous range is c/(2·PRF), about 150 km at 1 kHz. Radars resolve folded targets with PRF stagger, multiple PRFs, or pulse-to-pulse coding.","c":"Radar","k":["maximum unambiguous range","Rmax"],"r":["PRF","Range ambiguity","Second-time-around echo"]},{"t":"Uncooled detector","s":"Thermal detector operating near room temperature, such as a microbolometer","d":"Uncooled thermal detectors sense temperature change from absorbed IR rather than counting photons, so they need no cryocooler and are cheap, small, quiet and instantly ready. Sensitivity and response speed are lower than cooled detectors, limiting range. They dominate rifle sights, goggles, vehicle situational awareness and small UAS payloads.","c":"Sensors","k":["uncooled thermal","uncooled IR"],"r":["Microbolometer","Cooled detector","LWIR"]},{"t":"Undefinitized Contract Action","s":"Contract allowing work to start before terms and price are finalized","d":"An Undefinitized Contract Action authorizes urgent work before price agreement, with definitization required within 180 days or before over half the work is complete. Profit is often reduced for risk already incurred. It is also abbreviated UCA, which collides with Urgent Capability Acquisition.","c":"Acquisition","k":["UCA","letter contract"],"r":["UCA","FFP"]},{"t":"Unified Network","s":"Army plan to merge tactical and enterprise networks into one","d":"The Unified Network is the Army plan to bring its tactical and enterprise networks under common architecture, management and security, enabled by zero trust and cloud. It aims to let soldiers access the same services in garrison and deployed. The Army published a Unified Network Plan in 2021.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["ITN","Zero trust","DODIN"]},{"t":"Uniform Contract Format","s":"The standard Sections A through M layout of a negotiated contract and RFP","d":"Under FAR 15.204, solicitations and contracts are organized into Sections A to M: for example B for supplies or services and prices, C for the statement of work, H for special requirements, I for clauses, J for attachments, L for instructions and M for evaluation factors. Commercial buys use the simpler SF 1449 format.","c":"Acquisition","k":["UCF","Section B","Section C","Section H","Section I","Section J"],"r":["RFP","CLIN","SF 1449"]},{"t":"Unlimited rights","s":"Government may use and share the data or software for any purpose","d":"Unlimited rights apply to data developed exclusively with government funds, form fit and function data, and some other categories. The government can give the data to competitors. Data delivered without proper restrictive markings may be presumed to carry unlimited rights.","c":"Acquisition","k":["UR"],"r":["Data rights","Government purpose rights"]},{"t":"UPL","x":"Unfunded Priorities List","s":"A service's list of items it wanted but did not get into the budget request","d":"Each service chief and combatant commander submits an unfunded priorities list to Congress, required by 10 USC 222a. Congress often uses it to add funding in appropriations. Getting onto a UPL is a recognized, though uncertain, route for items that missed the POM.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Unfunded Priorities List","unfunded requirements list","UFR"],"r":["POM","PPBE"]},{"t":"USAP","x":"Unacknowledged Special Access Program","s":"A SAP whose existence itself is protected and not publicly acknowledged","d":"An unacknowledged SAP's existence is classified, and cover stories may be used. Congressional reporting goes to limited committees. Contractors on USAPs cannot disclose their participation.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["Unacknowledged Special Access Program","unacknowledged SAP"],"r":["SAP","Waived SAP"]},{"t":"USCYBERCOM","x":"United States Cyber Command","s":"Unified combatant command for military cyberspace operations","d":"US Cyber Command directs and conducts DoD cyberspace operations, defending the DODIN, supporting combatant commanders and defending the nation against significant cyberattacks. It was elevated to a unified combatant command in 2018 and shares a commander with NSA under the dual-hat arrangement. Its Cyber Command 2.0 initiative, approved in 2024, reshapes force generation and training.","c":"Organizations","k":["CYBERCOM","USCC","Cyber Command 2.0"],"w":"United States Cyber Command","r":["CMF","CNMF","JFHQ-DODIN"]},{"t":"USD(A&S)","x":"Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment","s":"OSD office setting acquisition, sustainment and industrial base policy","d":"Created in 2018 when the former USD(AT&L) was split in two, USD(A&S) owns acquisition policy, contracting policy through Defense Pricing, Contracting and Acquisition Policy, sustainment and the industrial base. Policy documents and class deviations affecting contractors frequently originate here.","c":"Acquisition","k":["A&S","OUSD(A&S)","USD(AT&L)"],"r":["DAE","USD(R&E)","DPCAP","OSD"],"w":"Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment"},{"t":"USD(R&E)","x":"Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering","s":"Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, DoD's chief technology officer","d":"USD(R&E) is DoD's chief technology officer, overseeing science and technology, modernization priorities, DARPA, the Missile Defense Agency, the Space Development Agency and, at times, the Defense Innovation Unit. It sets the critical technology areas that guide research funding. It was created in the 2018 split of AT&L.","c":"Acquisition","k":["R&E","OUSD(R&E)","CTO"],"r":["USD(A&S)","S&T","DIU"],"w":"Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering"},{"t":"User Agreement","s":"Commitment between a software program and its users to collaborate continuously","d":"Required under the Software Acquisition Pathway, the User Agreement sets out how users and the program will interact, prioritize the backlog and accept releases. It is how the pathway substitutes continual user involvement for fixed requirements.","c":"Acquisition","k":["UA"],"r":["CNS","Software Acquisition Pathway"]},{"t":"User segment","s":"The receivers and terminals that use a space system's service","d":"The user segment is the equipment end users operate: GPS receivers, SATCOM terminals, data link terminals and the software that consumes space data. For many programs it lags the space segment by years, so satellites capable of a new signal or waveform go underused, as with GPS M-code and MGUE. Coordinating space, ground and user schedules is a recurring acquisition problem.","c":"Space","k":["user equipment","user terminal"],"r":["Ground segment","MGUE","M-code"]},{"t":"USML","x":"United States Munitions List","s":"The 21 categories of defense articles controlled under ITAR","d":"The USML, at 22 CFR 121.1, lists defense articles in 21 categories, such as IV launch vehicles and missiles, VIII aircraft, XI military electronics, XII fire control and night vision, XIII materials and XV spacecraft. Since reform, most entries are positive lists of specific characteristics. Items that are specially designed for a USML item are often controlled too.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["United States Munitions List","22 CFR 121"],"w":"United States Munitions List","r":["ITAR","USML Category XI","USML Category XV","Commodity jurisdiction"]},{"t":"USML Category XI","s":"ITAR category for military electronics, including radar, EW and certain SIGINT gear","d":"Category XI covers military electronics such as specified radars, electronic warfare and electronic combat equipment, command and control and certain components, along with related technical data and defense services. Many RF and signal processing products end up classified here or in the EAR's 3A611. Careful classification against the paragraph text is essential.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Category XI","Cat XI","USML XI"],"r":["USML","600 series","ITAR"]},{"t":"USML Category XV","s":"ITAR category for spacecraft and related articles","d":"Category XV covers spacecraft, including satellites and ground control equipment, meeting specified criteria, along with related parts and technical data. Reforms in 2014 and later moved many commercial satellites and components to the EAR's 9x515 entries. Space startups should classify carefully, since the boundary has shifted several times.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Category XV","Cat XV","USML XV"],"r":["USML","9x515","ITAR"]},{"t":"USSF","x":"United States Space Force","s":"US military service for space, established December 2019","d":"The US Space Force is the military service responsible for organizing, training and equipping space forces, created on 20 December 2019 within the Department of the Air Force. Its field commands include Space Operations Command, Space Systems Command and Space Training and Readiness Command, and it operates GPS, missile warning, SATCOM, launch ranges and space domain awareness. Its members are called Guardians.","c":"Organizations","k":["Space Force"],"w":"United States Space Force","r":["Guardian","SSC","SpOC","Mission Delta","USSPACECOM"]},{"t":"USSPACECOM","x":"United States Space Command","s":"US combatant command for military operations in space","d":"US Space Command is the unified combatant command responsible for military operations in, from and to space, re-established in August 2019 after an earlier command was folded into STRATCOM in 2002. It draws forces from the Space Force and other services, with components such as the Combined Space Operations Center. In September 2025 the administration announced its headquarters would move from Colorado to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.","c":"Organizations","k":["SPACECOM"],"w":"United States Space Command","r":["USSF","CSpOC","NSDC"]},{"t":"USV","x":"Unmanned Surface Vessel","s":"Uncrewed boat or ship operating on the surface","d":"USVs range from small explosive boats, like those Ukraine used against the Black Sea Fleet, to Navy medium and large USVs intended to carry sensors and missiles. They are a growing market for autonomy, navigation and communications products. The Navy's large USV effort has been restructured more than once.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["unmanned surface vehicle","drone boat","MUSV","LUSV"],"w":"Unmanned surface vehicle","r":["UUV","Saildrone","DMO"]},{"t":"UTM","x":"Universal Transverse Mercator","s":"Universal Transverse Mercator: 60 zones of metric grid coordinates","d":"Universal Transverse Mercator: a projected coordinate system dividing the Earth between 80 degrees south and 84 degrees north into 60 zones, each 6 degrees of longitude wide, with eastings and northings in meters. MGRS is built on it. The polar regions use Universal Polar Stereographic (UPS).","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["UPS"],"w":"Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system","r":["MGRS"]},{"t":"UUV","x":"Unmanned Undersea Vehicle","s":"Uncrewed submarine, tethered or autonomous","d":"UUVs operate underwater and include remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) on tethers and free-swimming autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Military uses include mine countermeasures, seabed survey, ISR and anti-submarine warfare. Communication underwater is very limited, so autonomy and navigation without GPS are central engineering problems.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["AUV","ROV","unmanned underwater vehicle"],"w":"Autonomous underwater vehicle","r":["XLUUV","MCM","ASW"]},{"t":"UW","x":"Unconventional Warfare","s":"Enabling a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce or overthrow a government","d":"Unconventional warfare means activities that enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce, disrupt or overthrow a government or occupying power, operating through or with an underground, auxiliary or guerrilla force. It is a signature mission of Army Special Forces. In common use, people sometimes say UW loosely for any unconventional approach.","c":"Operations & Planning","w":"Unconventional warfare","r":["FID","Irregular warfare","SOF"]},{"t":"V-280","s":"Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor demonstrator, basis of the Army's MV-75","d":"The V-280 Valor is a Bell tiltrotor demonstrator whose rotors tilt while the engines stay fixed, which differs from the V-22. It flew from 2017 and won the FLRAA competition. Production aircraft are designated MV-75.","c":"Aviation","k":["Valor","V-280 Valor"],"w":"Bell MV-75 Cheyenne II","r":["FLRAA"]},{"t":"Valley of death","s":"The funding gap between a successful prototype and a funded production program","d":"The valley of death describes how technologies proven with S&T or SBIR funding fail to transition because no program has budgeted procurement money for them, given the two-year PPBE lag. Tools such as APFIT, SBIR Phase III, OT follow-on production and bridge funding aim to cross it.","c":"Acquisition","k":["death valley","transition gap"],"r":["Technology transition","APFIT","POR","PPBE"]},{"t":"Van Allen belts","s":"Two zones of trapped energetic particles circling the Earth","d":"The Van Allen radiation belts are regions where Earth's magnetic field traps energetic electrons and protons: an inner belt mostly of protons from roughly 1,000 to 6,000 km and an outer belt mostly of electrons from roughly 13,000 to 60,000 km. Satellites in MEO and those passing through on transfer orbits take high total ionizing dose and charging, so they need more shielding and radiation-hardened parts than most LEO satellites.","c":"Space","w":"Van Allen radiation belt","r":["South Atlantic Anomaly","TID","MEO","Rad-hard"]},{"t":"Vandenberg SFB","x":"Vandenberg Space Force Base","s":"California spaceport for polar and SSO launches, home of the Western Range","d":"Vandenberg Space Force Base, on the central California coast, launches southward into polar and sun-synchronous orbits over open ocean and hosts the Western Range, operated by Space Launch Delta 30. It also hosts the CSpOC and ICBM test launches. SpaceX launches many Starlink, NRO and SDA missions from there.","c":"Space","w":"Vandenberg Space Force Base","r":["Cape Canaveral SFS","CSpOC","NSSL"]},{"t":"Vantor","s":"Commercial satellite imagery and geospatial company, formerly Maxar Intelligence","d":"Vantor is the imagery and spatial intelligence company that was Maxar Intelligence until 1 October 2025, when Maxar split into Vantor and Lanteris (the former Maxar Space Systems satellite builder). It operates the WorldView Legion high-resolution constellation and is a major supplier of commercial imagery and 3D terrain data to NGA and the US military.","c":"Intelligence","k":["Maxar","Maxar Intelligence","Lanteris"],"w":"Vantor (company)","r":["GEOINT","NGA"]},{"t":"Variable depth sonar","s":"Active sonar body lowered or towed at depth to get beneath thermal layers","d":"Variable depth sonar places the transducer below surface layers that bend sound, improving detection of submarines hiding beneath them. Many frigates combine a VDS with an active-passive towed array, such as Thales CAPTAS used on several NATO frigates and planned for the Constellation-class. Helicopter dipping sonars apply the same idea.","c":"Sensors","k":["VDS","CAPTAS","dipping sonar"],"r":["Active sonar","Towed array"]},{"t":"VAULTIS","x":"Visible, Accessible, Understandable, Linked, Trustworthy, Interoperable, Secure","s":"DoD Data Strategy goals for how data should be managed","d":"VAULTIS is the acronym for the seven goals in the 2020 DoD Data Strategy. Requirements documents and data architectures often trace features back to these goals, for example cataloging for visible, APIs for accessible and metadata for understandable. It is a useful checklist when designing data products for DoD customers.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["DoD Data Strategy","Data mesh"]},{"t":"V band","s":"IEEE band 40 to 75 GHz, includes the 60 GHz oxygen absorption band","d":"The IEEE band from 40 to 75 GHz. Strong oxygen absorption near 60 GHz makes that region useful for short, hard-to-intercept links such as crosslinks between satellites in space and short-range LPI communications. It is also used for new satellite feeder links and unlicensed short-range networking.","c":"RF","w":"V band","r":["W band","mmWave","LPD"]},{"t":"Velocity gate pull-off","x":"VGPO","s":"Deception that walks a Doppler radar's velocity gate off the target","d":"The Doppler counterpart to range gate pull-off: the jammer captures a pulse-Doppler or CW radar's velocity tracking gate with a return at the true Doppler, then shifts the frequency so the gate drifts away. It is often combined with RGPO so range and range-rate stay consistent and the radar's coherence checks are not alerted.","c":"EW","k":["VGPO","velocity gate stealing"],"r":["Range gate pull-off","DRFM","Deception jamming"]},{"t":"Velocity search","s":"HPRF airborne mode that detects targets by Doppler only, giving speed but no range","d":"Velocity search is a high PRF mode optimized for maximum detection range against approaching targets, reporting closing velocity and angle without range. Range-while-search variants add FM ranging at some cost in sensitivity. It is a standard mode on legacy and current fighter radars.","c":"Radar","k":["VS mode"],"r":["HPRF","Pulse-Doppler radar"]},{"t":"Verification and validation","s":"Checking a system was built right (verification) and is the right system (validation)","d":"Verification confirms that a system meets its specified requirements, using test, demonstration, analysis or inspection. Validation confirms that it meets the user's needs in its intended environment, largely through operational test. Requirements verification matrices track every requirement to its method and evidence.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["V&V","verification","validation","VCRM","IV&V"],"r":["DT&E","OT&E","SSS"]},{"t":"VHF","x":"Very High Frequency","s":"30 to 300 MHz, line-of-sight band for tactical radio, FM and aviation","d":"The ITU band from 30 to 300 MHz, mainly line of sight with some diffraction over terrain. It carries ground tactical radio (SINCGARS operates in 30 to 88 MHz), FM broadcast and civil aviation voice. Long wavelengths make VHF antennas large but help penetration of foliage and buildings.","c":"RF","k":["very high frequency"],"w":"Very high frequency","r":["HF","UHF","SINCGARS"]},{"t":"VICTORY","x":"Vehicular Integration for C4ISR/EW Interoperability","s":"Army standard architecture for sharing data and services on ground vehicle networks","d":"VICTORY defines an Ethernet-based in-vehicle network architecture and interfaces for sharing position, time, video, power management and other services among vehicle systems, reducing redundant boxes. It is part of CMOSS.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Vehicular Integration for C4ISR/EW Interoperability"],"r":["CMOSS","MIL-STD-1275","MOSA"]},{"t":"Victus Haze","s":"Space Force responsive space and RPO demonstration with two vendors","d":"Victus Haze is a Tactically Responsive Space demonstration in which Rocket Lab and True Anomaly each fly a spacecraft, launched on short notice, to perform rendezvous and proximity operations, simulating an adversary and a responder. It was planned for 2025 to 2026. It builds on Victus Nox to exercise both rapid launch and on-orbit maneuvering.","c":"Space","r":["TacRS","Victus Nox","RPO"]},{"t":"Victus Nox","s":"2023 Space Force responsive launch demonstration, launched 27 hours after the call","d":"Victus Nox was a Tactically Responsive Space demonstration in which a Millennium Space Systems satellite was held in a ready state and launched on a Firefly Alpha in September 2023, 27 hours after the launch order. It also checked out on orbit far faster than usual. It set the template for later Victus missions.","c":"Space","r":["TacRS","Victus Haze"]},{"t":"Virginia class","s":"US Navy nuclear attack submarine class built by General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII","d":"Virginia-class SSNs are built in blocks; Block V adds the Virginia Payload Module for 28 more Tomahawk-sized weapons. The Navy wants two per year but production has run closer to 1.2 per year due to workforce and supply chain limits. Australia will buy several under AUKUS.","c":"Naval","k":["SSN-774","Virginia Payload Module","VPM"],"w":"Virginia-class submarine","r":["SSN","AUKUS","Columbia class"]},{"t":"Virtual array","s":"Synthetic aperture formed by MIMO processing of all transmit-receive pairs","d":"In MIMO radar, every pairing of a transmit and receive element acts like a separate element located at the sum of their positions, so a small number of physical elements yields a much larger effective array. This boosts angular resolution for small, low-cost sensors. Motion during the transmit sequence must be compensated.","c":"Radar","r":["MIMO radar"]},{"t":"Vision-aided navigation","s":"Using cameras to estimate motion or match imagery to maps","d":"Vision-aided navigation uses cameras to track features between frames (visual odometry), simultaneously build and locate within a map (SLAM), or match imagery to georeferenced maps for absolute fixes. It is widely used on drones and munitions in GPS-denied conditions and is a lineal descendant of DSMAC. Lighting, weather, featureless terrain and map currency limit it.","c":"PNT","k":["visual odometry","VIO","SLAM","image matching"],"r":["DSMAC","Terrain-referenced navigation","Alt-PNT"]},{"t":"Visual","s":"Brevity: I have sight of the friendly aircraft or ground position","d":"VISUAL means sighting of a friendly aircraft or ground position, the opposite of BLIND. Keeping friendlies in sight matters for safe formation flying and deconfliction. TALLY is used for enemy contacts.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Blind","Tally"]},{"t":"VITA 49","s":"Standard packet format for digitized IF and IQ data and receiver metadata","d":"The ANSI/VITA 49 VITA Radio Transport (VRT) standard defines packet formats for streaming digitized signal data with timestamps and context metadata such as frequency, gain and geolocation, and VITA 49.2 adds spectrum and control packets. It is widely required in defense SDR, SIGINT and EW systems to make receivers and processors interoperable, and is part of SOSA and CMOSS.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["VRT","VITA Radio Transport","VITA 49.2"],"r":["SOSA","CMOSS","IQ data"]},{"t":"Vivaldi antenna","s":"Tapered-slot printed antenna with very wide bandwidth","d":"A printed tapered-slot antenna that offers very wide bandwidth and an endfire pattern. Vivaldi elements are common in wideband phased arrays for EW and in ultra-wideband test and imaging systems.","c":"RF","k":["tapered slot antenna","TSA"],"w":"Vivaldi antenna","r":["Phased array","Spiral antenna"]},{"t":"VLEO","x":"Very Low Earth Orbit","s":"Orbits below roughly 450 km where drag is strong but sensors get closer","d":"Very low Earth orbit usually means altitudes below about 450 km, sometimes down to 200 km or less. Proximity improves imaging resolution and link budgets and debris clears quickly, but atmospheric drag is heavy, so satellites need continuous propulsion or accept short lives. Several commercial imaging and military demonstration programs target VLEO, and drag sensitivity to space weather is a key design risk.","c":"Space","r":["LEO","Atmospheric drag","Deorbit"]},{"t":"VLF","x":"Very Low Frequency","s":"3 to 30 kHz, used for submarine communications and some navigation","d":"The ITU band from 3 to 30 kHz. VLF signals propagate long distances in the earth-ionosphere waveguide and penetrate seawater a few meters, so navies use high power VLF stations to communicate with submarines near the surface. Bandwidth is extremely limited.","c":"RF","k":["very low frequency"],"w":"Very low frequency","r":["ELF","LF"]},{"t":"VLS","x":"Vertical Launching System","s":"Ship missile cells, principally the Mk 41, firing many missile types","d":"The Mk 41 VLS on US cruisers and destroyers has 8-cell modules that fire SM-2, SM-3, SM-6, ESSM, Tomahawk and ASROC. Each cell can hold one large or four quad-packed ESSMs. Navy ships cannot reload at sea, which limits magazine depth and prompted at-sea reload trials.","c":"Naval","k":["Mk 41","Mk 57","vertical launch system"],"w":"Vertical launching system","r":["DDG-51","SM-6","Tomahawk","ESSM"]},{"t":"VMF","x":"Variable Message Format","s":"Bit-oriented K-series message standard for ground and fires datalinks","d":"Variable Message Format is a bit-oriented message standard, MIL-STD-6017, using K-series messages that can be carried over almost any transport, including combat net radio and IP. It is widely used for calls for fire, close air support (digitally aided CAS) and Army ground C2. Its variable length fields make it efficient on low-bandwidth links.","c":"C2 & Networks","k":["K-series","MIL-STD-6017"],"w":"Variable Message Format","r":["AFATDS","Digitally aided CAS","Tactical data link"]},{"t":"V-model","s":"Systems engineering model pairing each design decomposition step with a verification step","d":"The V-model draws requirements and design decomposition down the left side, implementation at the bottom and integration and verification up the right side, with each level of test verifying the matching level of requirements. Defense technical reviews map onto it. Agile and DevSecOps practices are often layered onto it for software.","c":"Engineering & Test","k":["Vee model","SE V","systems engineering V"],"w":"V-model","r":["SE","SRR","TRR"]},{"t":"Volt Typhoon","s":"PRC state-sponsored group prepositioning in US critical infrastructure","d":"Volt Typhoon is a People's Republic of China state-sponsored cyber group publicly identified in 2023 for compromising US critical infrastructure networks, including those supporting military bases, using living-off-the-land techniques. US agencies assessed the activity as prepositioning for disruption during a crisis. It drives emphasis on securing OT and infrastructure supporting military operations.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","w":"Volt Typhoon","r":["APT","Salt Typhoon"]},{"t":"Volume clutter","s":"Distributed clutter from rain, chaff, birds or insects filling a 3D region","d":"Volume clutter returns scale with the illuminated volume, so they grow with range and beamwidth. Rain clutter worsens sharply at higher frequencies, which is one reason long-range search radars favor L- and S-band. Circular polarization and Doppler processing help reject it, and weather radars treat it as the signal.","c":"Radar","k":["rain clutter","weather clutter"],"r":["Clutter","Weather radar","Chaff"]},{"t":"Voluntold","s":"Slang for being assigned to something presented as voluntary","d":"Voluntold describes being \"volunteered\" for a task by a superior. Users sent to a product demo or test may well have been voluntold, which shapes their enthusiasm. It is widely used.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["BOHICA","Tasker"]},{"t":"VORTEX","s":"L3Harris tactical video and data transceiver family","d":"VORTEX is a family of L3Harris tactical video transceivers used to send and receive full-motion video and data between aircraft, UAS and ground users, often associated with ROVER terminals. Variants are installed on manned aircraft and drones. It supports multiple bands and encryption.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["ROVER","Full-motion video"]},{"t":"VPX","s":"VITA 46 rugged embedded computing standard using high-speed serial backplanes","d":"VPX, defined by ANSI/VITA 46, is a rugged form factor for 3U and 6U boards with high-speed serial fabrics, widely used in military radar, EW and mission computing. Its flexibility led to incompatible implementations, which OpenVPX was created to address.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["VITA 46","3U VPX","6U VPX"],"w":"VPX","r":["OpenVPX","SOSA","CMOSS"]},{"t":"VSAT","x":"Very Small Aperture Terminal","s":"Small two-way satellite ground terminal, usually under about 3 m","d":"A VSAT is a small two-way satellite terminal, typically with a dish under 3 m, connecting to a hub in star or mesh networks. Military VSATs include deployable fly-away kits and vehicle terminals operating over WGS and commercial satellites. Core components are the antenna, the BUC (block upconverter) for transmit, the LNB (low-noise block downconverter) for receive, and the modem.","c":"Comms","k":["BUC","LNB","fly-away terminal"],"w":"Very-small-aperture terminal","r":["SOTM","SOTP","MF-TDMA"]},{"t":"VSWR","x":"Voltage Standing Wave Ratio","s":"Measure of impedance mismatch between a line and a load","d":"The ratio of maximum to minimum voltage along a transmission line caused by reflections from an impedance mismatch; 1:1 is perfect, 2:1 reflects about 11 percent of power. High VSWR wastes power and can damage transmitters, so PAs often have VSWR protection. Antenna specs commonly give VSWR across the band.","c":"RF","k":["SWR","standing wave ratio"],"w":"Standing wave ratio","r":["Return loss","Impedance","S-parameters"]},{"t":"Vulnerability","s":"Weakness that could be exploited to compromise a system","d":"A vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, configuration or process that an attacker could exploit. Public vulnerabilities are catalogued as CVEs and scored with CVSS, and DoD tracks required fixes through IAVM. Vulnerability management, finding, prioritizing and remediating, is a continuous requirement for any fielded system.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","r":["CVE","CVSS","IAVA","KEV"]},{"t":"W-1 to W-5","s":"Warrant officer pay grades, technical experts between enlisted and commissioned","d":"Warrant officers are technical and tactical specialists: Army aviators, signal and cyber experts, intelligence technicians and maintenance experts, among others. Grades run from warrant officer 1 (W-1) to chief warrant officer 5 (W-5). The Navy has no W-1, and the Air Force reintroduced warrant officers for IT and cyber specialties in 2024; Army warrant officers are often the deepest hands-on experts on a system.","c":"Personnel & Units","k":["Warrant officer","CW2","CW3","CW4","CW5","WO1","Chief"],"w":"Warrant officer (United States)","r":["E-1 to E-9","O-1 to O-10"]},{"t":"W93","s":"New US Navy SLBM warhead in development, with Mk7 aeroshell","d":"The W93 is the first new US warhead design in decades, being developed by NNSA for Trident II D5 SLBMs alongside the Mk7 reentry body. The UK's Astraea warhead is being developed in parallel. It is expected in the mid-2030s.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["Mk7","W93/Mk7"],"r":["Trident II D5","NNSA"]},{"t":"WAAS","x":"Wide Area Augmentation System","s":"FAA's SBAS improving GPS accuracy and integrity over North America","d":"WAAS is the FAA's satellite-based augmentation system, operational since 2003, which uses a network of reference stations and GEO satellites to broadcast GPS corrections and integrity information. It enables LPV approaches with vertical guidance at many airports without ground equipment.","c":"PNT","w":"Wide Area Augmentation System","r":["SBAS","GPS"]},{"t":"Waived SAP","s":"An unacknowledged SAP exempted from standard congressional reporting","d":"A waived SAP is so sensitive that the Secretary of Defense waives normal reporting requirements, with only the chairs and ranking members of the defense committees briefed orally. It is the most restrictive SAP category.","c":"Security & Classification","k":["waived special access program"],"r":["USAP","SAP"]},{"t":"Walker constellation","s":"Symmetric pattern of satellites spread evenly across inclined planes","d":"A Walker constellation places T satellites in P equally spaced orbital planes at a common inclination, with a phasing parameter F, written i:T/P/F. The Walker delta pattern is the standard layout for GNSS and many LEO constellations because it gives uniform global coverage. Polar variants (Walker star) concentrate coverage at the poles.","c":"Space","k":["Walker delta","Walker star"],"r":["Proliferated constellation","Orbital plane"]},{"t":"WAMI","x":"Wide Area Motion Imagery","s":"Wide-area motion imagery: city-scale persistent video at low frame rate","d":"Wide Area Motion Imagery: persistent imaging of areas several kilometers across, at a few frames per second, from large camera arrays on aircraft or aerostats, allowing analysts to track every vehicle in a city forward and backward in time. Examples include Gorgon Stare, ARGUS-IS and commercial systems. It generates very large data volumes and is a natural fit for automated tracking.","c":"Sensors","k":["WAPS","wide area persistent surveillance"],"w":"Wide-area motion imagery","r":["Gorgon Stare","FMV","Pattern of life"]},{"t":"Warfighter","s":"Anyone in the military who fights or directly supports combat, used for end users","d":"Warfighter is DoD's general term for service members who conduct or directly support military operations. In acquisition it stands for the end user or operational customer, as in \"getting capability to the warfighter.\" It is used across all services, though some troops find it a bit grand.","c":"Operations & Planning","r":["End user","Operator"]},{"t":"Warfighting Acquisition System","s":"The 2025 restructuring of the Defense Acquisition System around portfolios and speed","d":"The name DoD leadership gave in November 2025 to a reorganized acquisition system that emphasizes speed to fielding, commercial solutions and portfolio management over individual program oversight. It followed an April 2025 executive order on modernizing defense acquisition and directed, among other things, converting Program Executive Offices into Portfolio Acquisition Executives. Implementing policy and statutory changes were still rolling out through 2026, so expect a mix of old and new terminology in solicitations and program offices.","c":"Acquisition","k":["WAS"],"r":["DAS","PAE","Adaptive Acquisition Framework"]},{"t":"Wargaming","s":"Simulating an operation, often turn by turn, to test plans against an opponent","d":"In planning, wargaming means stepping through a plan in action, reaction and counteraction to expose problems. The term also covers seminar games and computer simulations used to explore concepts and force design. Products sold as wargaming tools vary widely, from tabletop aids to constructive simulations, so clarify which kind a user means.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["Wargame"],"r":["COA analysis","Red team"]},{"t":"Warhead","s":"The payload part of a munition that produces the destructive effect","d":"The warhead contains the explosive or other payload and determines the effect on the target, from blast-frag and penetrators to shaped charges, EFPs and thermobaric fill. Some missiles, like hit-to-kill interceptors, carry no explosive warhead at all. Warhead and fuze are designed together.","c":"Weapons","k":["payload"],"r":["Blast fragmentation","HEAT","EFP","Fuze"]},{"t":"WARNORD","x":"Warning Order","s":"A preliminary notice that an order is coming, so units can start preparing","d":"A warning order gives subordinates early notice of a likely mission, with whatever is known so far (task, time, movement), so they can begin planning in parallel. Issuing a WARNO is step two of troop leading procedures. Good planning tools let staff push partial information out early instead of waiting for a finished order.","c":"Operations & Planning","k":["WARNO"],"r":["OPORD","TLP","Parallel planning"]},{"t":"Wartime reserve mode","x":"WARM","s":"Emitter modes held back for wartime so adversaries cannot study them","d":"Characteristics and operating procedures of sensors, communications and weapons that are deliberately withheld for use in wartime so that an adversary cannot collect against them and develop countermeasures in peacetime. Designers support WARM by building in modes and waveforms that are not used in training or exercises.","c":"EW","k":["WARM","war reserve mode"],"r":["EMCON","Reprogramming"]},{"t":"Wassenaar Arrangement","s":"Multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods","d":"The Wassenaar Arrangement coordinates control lists among about 42 states, and the EAR's Commerce Control List largely implements its dual-use list. Russia's membership has stalled consensus since 2022, leading allies to coordinate controls outside it.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["Wassenaar"],"w":"Wassenaar Arrangement","r":["CCL","MTCR"]},{"t":"Watson-Watt","s":"DF method comparing outputs of two crossed antennas to compute bearing","d":"A direction finding method, named for Robert Watson-Watt, that compares the amplitudes received on two orthogonal antenna pairs (often an Adcock array or crossed loops) with a sense antenna to compute bearing instantly. It is common in HF, VHF and UHF communications DF and in search-and-rescue direction finders.","c":"EW","k":["Watson-Watt DF","Adcock antenna"],"r":["Direction finding","Doppler DF"]},{"t":"Waveform diversity","s":"Changing or tailoring transmit waveforms to suit targets, clutter and interference","d":"Waveform diversity is the use of different pulse codes, bandwidths, polarizations and modulations across pulses, beams or elements. Digital waveform generation in modern arrays makes it practical, supporting MIMO, LPI, electronic protection and spectrum sharing. It shows up in specs as the number of selectable or programmable waveforms.","c":"Radar","r":["Cognitive radar","MIMO radar","Ambiguity function"]},{"t":"Waveguide","s":"Hollow metal pipe that carries microwave signals with low loss","d":"A hollow metal tube, usually rectangular, that guides microwave energy with lower loss and higher power handling than coax. A waveguide works only above its cutoff frequency, and standard sizes (WR-90 for X band, for example) cover specific bands. It is common in high power radar and satellite systems.","c":"RF","k":["WR-90","rectangular waveguide"],"w":"Waveguide (radio frequency)","r":["Coaxial cable","Horn antenna"]},{"t":"Wave Relay","s":"Persistent Systems MANET technology used in MPU5 radios","d":"Wave Relay is the mobile ad hoc networking technology from Persistent Systems, used in the MPU5 and related radios to create high-bandwidth IP mesh networks for video, voice and data. It is widely used by special operations and robotics programs. The MPU5 runs Android, so it can host apps directly.","c":"Comms","k":["MPU5","Persistent Systems"],"r":["MANET"]},{"t":"WAWF","x":"Wide Area WorkFlow","s":"DoD system in PIEE for submitting invoices and receiving reports electronically","d":"WAWF is mandatory for most DoD payment requests under DFARS 252.232-7006. Vendors submit invoices, combined invoice and receiving reports and other documents, which government acceptors approve. Picking the correct document type and codes avoids payment delays.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Wide Area WorkFlow","iRAPT","252.232-7006"],"r":["PIEE","DD250","CLIN"]},{"t":"Way ahead","s":"The plan for next steps","d":"Way ahead means the proposed course forward, usually the last slide of a brief. It is military-bureaucratic phrasing. Presentations to DoD audiences often end with a way-ahead slide.","c":"Slang & Brevity","k":["Way forward"],"r":["Read-ahead"]},{"t":"W band","s":"75 to 110 GHz band used by millimeter-wave seekers, imaging and cloud radars","d":"W-band radars near the 94 GHz atmospheric window give very fine resolution from tiny apertures and are used in some precision munition seekers, cloud research radars, security body scanners and active denial systems at 95 GHz. Atmospheric and rain losses restrict them to short range.","c":"Radar","k":["94 GHz","mmW radar","millimeter-wave radar"],"w":"W band","r":["V band","mmWave","Ka-band","Atmospheric attenuation"]},{"t":"WBS","x":"Work Breakdown Structure","s":"Hierarchical breakdown of a program's products and work, defined by MIL-STD-881","d":"The WBS decomposes the system into products and tasks, providing the framework for cost estimating, scheduling, EVM and reporting. MIL-STD-881 provides standard WBS templates for system types such as aircraft, electronics, missiles and software. The contract WBS is typically extended down by the contractor.","c":"Acquisition","k":["Work Breakdown Structure","MIL-STD-881","CWBS"],"w":"Work breakdown structure","r":["EVM","IMS","IMP"]},{"t":"Weapon light","s":"A flashlight mounted on a weapon, in white light or infrared","d":"Weapon lights illuminate and identify targets, mounted on rails with pressure switches. IR versions work with NVGs. They often share switches and cables with laser aiming modules.","c":"Ground","k":["WML"],"r":["Laser aiming module","Picatinny rail"]},{"t":"Weapon system cybersecurity","s":"Securing embedded and platform systems such as aircraft and vehicles","d":"Weapon system cybersecurity addresses vulnerabilities in platforms such as aircraft, ships and missiles, whose embedded computers, buses such as MIL-STD-1553 and datalinks were often designed without cyber threats in mind. GAO reports have found widespread weaknesses. Requirements now include cyber survivability attributes and cybersecurity operational test.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["platform IT","cyber survivability"],"r":["RMF","Red team"]},{"t":"Weather radar","s":"Radar measuring precipitation and winds; dual-polarization Doppler is the norm","d":"Weather radars measure reflectivity from precipitation and, with Doppler, radial winds, and dual-polarization versions discriminate rain, hail, snow and debris. The US network is NEXRAD (WSR-88D, S-band), and airborne weather radars on military transports and tankers are typically X-band. Programs are studying phased-array replacements for NEXRAD.","c":"Radar","k":["NEXRAD","WSR-88D","Doppler weather radar"],"w":"Weather radar","r":["Volume clutter"]},{"t":"WESCAM MX","s":"L3Harris WESCAM family of stabilized EO/IR turrets, such as MX-15 and MX-20","d":"WESCAM MX-series turrets, made by L3Harris in Canada, are among the most widely used airborne EO/IR systems on maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters, UAS and aerostats, in sizes such as MX-10, MX-15, MX-20 and MX-25. Variants add laser designation, SWIR and high-definition sensors. MX-series is a frequent integration target for mission systems.","c":"Sensors","k":["WESCAM","MX-15","MX-20","MX-10"],"r":["Gimbal","Turret"]},{"t":"WEZ","x":"Weapon Engagement Zone","s":"Volume where a given weapon can successfully engage a target","d":"The WEZ is the area around a launcher or aircraft within which a weapon can hit a target, depending on the target's altitude, speed and heading. It is used for both friendly weapons and threat systems in mission planning. Displays of threat WEZ rings are a staple of tactical software.","c":"Air & Missile Defense","k":["weapons engagement zone"],"r":["MEZ","FEZ"]},{"t":"WGS","x":"Wideband Global SATCOM","s":"Boeing-built US military X and Ka-band SATCOM satellites in GEO","d":"Wideband Global SATCOM is the DoD's high-capacity wideband system, with Boeing GEO satellites providing X-band and military Ka-band service with cross-banding between them. Ten were launched from 2007 to 2019, partly funded by allies including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and WGS-11 and WGS-12 are in production with improved anti-jam and capacity. It carries the bulk of US military wideband traffic, alongside commercial SATCOM.","c":"Comms","k":["WGS-11","Wideband Global SATCOM"],"w":"Wideband Global SATCOM","r":["X-band","Ka-band","PTW","DSCS"]},{"t":"WGS 84","s":"The global geodetic reference system used by GPS and US military mapping","d":"World Geodetic System 1984: the reference ellipsoid, datum and coordinate frame maintained by NGA that underpins GPS and US and NATO military geospatial data. It has been refined through several realizations, such as G2139 adopted in 2021, keeping it within centimeters of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. Using WGS 84 throughout avoids datum shift errors when combining data.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["EPSG:4326"],"w":"World Geodetic System","r":["Datum","MGRS","GEOINT"]},{"t":"Wide-area motion imagery","s":"Persistent airborne imaging of city-sized areas at once, for tracking movement","d":"WAMI sensors stitch many cameras into gigapixel-class images captured about once per second over areas of several square kilometers or more, so analysts can track vehicles and people forward and backward in time. Examples include Gorgon Stare on the MQ-9 and ARGUS-IS. Data volume and privacy concerns are notable.","c":"Sensors","k":["WAMI","persistent surveillance","Gorgon Stare","WAPS"],"r":["Gimbal","Edge processing"]},{"t":"Wideband array","s":"Phased array that works over a very wide frequency range, often for radar and EW","d":"Wideband arrays use elements such as tightly coupled dipoles, Vivaldi notches or long-slot designs to cover several octaves, supporting multifunction RF systems that combine radar, EW, SIGINT and communications on one aperture. They need true time delay or digital beamforming to avoid squint. Grating lobes at the top of the band constrain element spacing.","c":"Radar","k":["multifunction RF aperture","ultra-wideband array"],"r":["True time delay","Grating lobes","Digital beamforming"]},{"t":"Wideband HF","s":"HF using channels up to 48 kHz wide for higher data rates","d":"Wideband HF, defined in MIL-STD-188-110C and D, uses channels from 3 kHz up to 48 kHz to reach data rates of more than 100 kbps under good conditions. Radios such as the AN/PRC-160 support it. It makes HF a more practical BLOS backup for data when SATCOM is denied.","c":"Comms","k":["WBHF","MIL-STD-188-110D"],"r":["HF","HF ALE","AN/PRC-160"]},{"t":"Wilco","s":"Radio proword: I have received your message, understand it and will comply","d":"WILCO (will comply) already includes ROGER, so \"roger wilco\" is redundant. It is used only by the addressee. It signals intent to carry out an instruction.","c":"Comms","r":["Roger"]},{"t":"Winchester","s":"Brevity: no ordnance remaining","d":"WINCHESTER means an aircraft or unit has expended all its weapons. A partial version names what is gone. In general speech it means out of ammunition or out of options.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["Bingo","Rifle"]},{"t":"Wind turbine interference","s":"Clutter and shadowing from wind farms that degrade radar detection","d":"Large wind turbines produce strong, Doppler-spread echoes from rotating blades that MTI cannot cancel, along with shadowing behind the towers. They affect air surveillance, air traffic and weather radars, and siting reviews by the DoD Siting Clearinghouse in the US address this. Mitigations include infill radars, upgraded processing and terrain-aware placement.","c":"Radar","k":["wind farm clutter"],"r":["Ground clutter","MTI"]},{"t":"Wing","s":"An Air Force unit of several groups, usually one per base, led by a colonel or general","d":"An Air Force wing typically has operations, maintenance, mission support and medical groups and is usually tied to a base. A Marine aircraft wing, by contrast, is a much larger, division-sized aviation command. Navy carrier air wings are the aircraft squadrons embarked on a carrier.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Wing (military unit)","r":["Group","Squadron","NAF"]},{"t":"WinTAK","x":"Windows Team Awareness Kit","s":"Windows desktop version of TAK","d":"WinTAK is the Windows desktop version of TAK, used in command posts, vehicles and operations centers alongside ATAK users in the field. It supports plugins written for Windows. Products targeting command post users often integrate with WinTAK rather than the mobile app.","c":"C2 & Networks","r":["TAK","ATAK"]},{"t":"WMD","x":"Weapons of Mass Destruction","s":"Nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological weapons capable of mass casualties","d":"WMD refers to weapons that can cause large numbers of casualties, chiefly nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, with radiological weapons often included. Countering WMD covers nonproliferation, interdiction and consequence management, and is the focus of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["weapons of mass destruction","CWMD","DTRA"],"w":"Weapon of mass destruction","r":["CBRN"]},{"t":"WNW","x":"Wideband Networking Waveform","s":"JTRS high-capacity ground MANET waveform","d":"The Wideband Networking Waveform is a JTRS-developed high-throughput mobile ad hoc networking waveform for vehicles and command posts. It is hosted on radios such as the AN/PRC-155 Manpack and vehicle radios but saw limited fielding due to complexity and size, weight and power demands. It is a historical reference for later commercial MANET waveforms.","c":"Comms","r":["SRW","MANET","HMS"]},{"t":"Words of estimative probability","s":"Standard phrases such as likely or almost certain, mapped to probability ranges","d":"Standardized terms for expressing likelihood in intelligence assessments, first argued for by Sherman Kent in 1964. ICD 203 sets seven: almost no chance (1 to 5 percent), very unlikely (5 to 20), unlikely (20 to 45), roughly even chance (45 to 55), likely (55 to 80), very likely (80 to 95) and almost certain (95 to 99). UK Defence Intelligence uses a similar Probability Yardstick with slightly different bands. They are used alongside, and kept separate from, confidence levels.","c":"Intelligence","k":["WEP","estimative language","probability yardstick"],"w":"Words of estimative probability","r":["ICD 203","Confidence levels"]},{"t":"WOSB","x":"Women-Owned Small Business","s":"SBA certification enabling set-asides for women-owned small businesses","d":"The WOSB and EDWOSB programs allow set-asides in designated NAICS codes where women-owned firms are underrepresented. Certification through SBA or approved third parties has been required since 2020.","c":"Acquisition","k":["EDWOSB","Women-Owned Small Business"],"r":["Small business set-aside"]},{"t":"WRA","x":"Weapon Replaceable Assembly","s":"Navy term for a line replaceable unit on aircraft","d":"WRA is the Navy and Marine Corps aviation equivalent of an LRU: an assembly removed and replaced at organizational level. It contains SRAs repaired at intermediate level.","c":"Logistics & Materiel","k":["Weapon Replaceable Assembly"],"r":["LRU","SRU"]},{"t":"WRC","x":"World Radiocommunication Conference","s":"ITU conference, held every 3 to 4 years, that revises the Radio Regulations","d":"The ITU conference held every three to four years that revises the Radio Regulations, including frequency allocations for new services. Defense departments participate through national delegations to protect military bands, which are frequently sought for mobile broadband. WRC-23 took place in Dubai in late 2023, and WRC-27 is scheduled for 2027.","c":"Standards & Compliance","k":["WRC-23","WRC-27","World Radiocommunication Conference"],"w":"World Radiocommunication Conference","r":["ITU","ITU Radio Regulations"]},{"t":"X band","s":"Roughly 7 to 8 GHz military SATCOM band used by WGS and allied satellites","d":"Military X-band SATCOM uses about 7.25 to 7.75 GHz downlink and 7.9 to 8.4 GHz uplink, a band reserved largely for government use worldwide. It offers a good balance of capacity and weather resistance and is used by WGS, Skynet, Syracuse and other allied systems. X-band is also widely used for radar, a different allocation within the 8 to 12 GHz range.","c":"RF","w":"X band","r":["IEEE radar bands","Ku band","C band","AN/TPY-2","Fire control radar","WGS","Ka-band","Rain fade"]},{"t":"xGEO","s":"Space Force term for the region beyond geosynchronous orbit, including cislunar space","d":"xGEO is the US Space Force label for everything beyond the geosynchronous belt, including cislunar space and the Lagrange points. It is used when discussing domain awareness and future operations, since current surveillance sensors and catalogs focus on LEO through GEO.","c":"Space","r":["Cislunar space","GEO"]},{"t":"XLUUV","x":"Extra-Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle","s":"Submarine-sized autonomous vehicle for long missions, e.g. Boeing Orca","d":"XLUUVs are large enough to be launched from a pier rather than a ship and to travel thousands of miles carrying modular payloads such as mines or sensors. The Navy's Orca XLUUV, built by Boeing based on its Echo Voyager, suffered long delays and cost growth before delivery began. Australia's Ghost Shark is a comparable allied effort.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Orca","Orca XLUUV","Echo Voyager"],"r":["UUV"]},{"t":"XM30","s":"Army Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle program to replace the Bradley","d":"XM30, formerly OMFV, is the Army's program for a new infantry fighting vehicle with a 50mm cannon option, hybrid power, open architecture and crew automation. American Rheinmetall Vehicles and General Dynamics Land Systems are building competing prototypes for a later downselect.","c":"Ground","k":["MICV","OMFV","XM30 MICV"],"r":["M2 Bradley","ABCT"]},{"t":"XO","x":"Executive Officer","s":"Executive officer: the second in command, who runs the staff and daily business","d":"The executive officer is second in command of a company, battalion, ship or similar unit and typically runs the staff, schedules and administrative machinery. If you need something scheduled or coordinated at a unit, the XO is often the right person. In some staffs the chief of staff fills this role.","c":"Personnel & Units","w":"Executive officer","r":["CO","Chief of staff"]},{"t":"xTech","s":"Army prize competition program for small businesses and startups","d":"xTech, run by the Army's science and technology office, uses prize competitions under 10 USC 4025 to identify technologies, often leading to SBIR awards. Themes rotate, such as xTechSearch and topic-specific competitions. Prize winnings come with Army contacts and sometimes follow-on contracts.","c":"Organizations","k":["xTechSearch","Army xTech"],"r":["AAL","SBIR"]},{"t":"Yagi antenna","s":"Directional antenna of a driven element with reflector and directors","d":"A directional antenna with a driven dipole, a reflector behind and several directors in front, giving moderate gain in a narrow band. Yagis are common for VHF/UHF point links, direction finding and counter-UAS jammers.","c":"RF","k":["Yagi-Uda"],"w":"Yagi–Uda antenna","r":["Log-periodic antenna","Antenna gain"]},{"t":"Yaogan","s":"Chinese military reconnaissance satellite series","d":"Yaogan (remote sensing) is the cover name for a large series of Chinese military satellites, including electro-optical, synthetic aperture radar and triplet formations widely assessed to perform naval ELINT and ocean surveillance. Their numbers have grown rapidly since the mid-2000s, improving China's ability to track US naval forces in the western Pacific.","c":"Intelligence","w":"Yaogan","r":["PLA Aerospace Force","Shijian"]},{"t":"YFQ-42A","s":"General Atomics' CCA Increment 1 prototype","d":"The YFQ-42A is General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' prototype for the Air Force's CCA Increment 1, derived from its earlier XQ-67 work. It first flew in 2025. The 'FQ' designator is the new mission-design series for uncrewed fighter aircraft.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","r":["CCA","YFQ-44A"]},{"t":"YFQ-44A","s":"Anduril's Fury CCA Increment 1 prototype","d":"The YFQ-44A Fury is Anduril's prototype for CCA Increment 1. It first flew in 2025. Anduril is building production capacity for it at its Arsenal-1 facility in Ohio.","c":"UAS & Counter-UAS","k":["Fury"],"r":["CCA","YFQ-42A"]},{"t":"Yield","s":"Energy released by a nuclear weapon, measured in TNT equivalent","d":"Yield is expressed in tons, kilotons or megatons of TNT equivalent. Hiroshima was about 15 kilotons; modern strategic warheads range from tens to hundreds of kilotons. Some weapons have variable or 'dial-a-yield' settings.","c":"CBRN & Nuclear","k":["nuclear yield","dial-a-yield"],"w":"Nuclear weapon yield","r":["Kiloton"]},{"t":"YJ-21","s":"Chinese hypersonic anti-ship missile fired from Type 055 cruisers","d":"The Yingji-21 is a Chinese ship-launched anti-ship ballistic missile, publicly seen in a 2022 test launch from a Type 055 cruiser, assessed as reaching hypersonic speeds in its terminal phase. An air-launched version carried by the H-6 has also been displayed. It extends the PLA's anti-ship ballistic missile capability to sea- and air-launched platforms.","c":"Weapons","k":["Yingji-21","Eagle Strike-21"],"r":["Type 055","DF-21D"]},{"t":"Zero dark thirty","s":"Slang for very early in the morning, before dawn","d":"Zero dark thirty means an unpleasantly early, still-dark hour. Military days often start this early. It is informal.","c":"Slang & Brevity","r":["PT","Military time"]},{"t":"Zero-day","s":"Vulnerability unknown to the vendor with no patch available","d":"A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or for which no fix exists, giving defenders zero days of warning. Zero-days are valuable to APTs and are sometimes used in operations against defense networks. Defense in depth and anomaly detection are the main mitigations.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["0-day","zero-day exploit"],"r":["Vulnerability","APT"]},{"t":"Zero trust","s":"Security model that verifies every user, device and request continuously","d":"Zero trust assumes no implicit trust based on network location, requiring continuous verification of users, devices and requests and least-privilege access to resources. DoD's model, defined in its 2022 Zero Trust Strategy and Reference Architecture, has seven pillars: user, device, application and workload, data, network and environment, automation and orchestration, and visibility and analytics. NIST SP 800-207 provides the federal architecture reference.","c":"Cyber & COMSEC","k":["ZT","ZTA","zero trust architecture","NIST SP 800-207"],"w":"Zero trust architecture","r":["DoD Zero Trust Strategy","ICAM","Thunderdome"]},{"t":"Zircon","s":"Russian 3M22 hypersonic anti-ship and land-attack cruise missile","d":"The 3M22 Zircon (Tsirkon) is a Russian scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile, launched from ships and submarines through the 3S14 universal launcher, with claimed speeds around Mach 8 and range of up to about 1,000 km. Russia declared it operational in 2023 and Ukraine reported Zircon strikes on Kyiv from 2024. NATO designates it SS-N-33.","c":"Weapons","k":["3M22","Tsirkon","SS-N-33"],"w":"3M22 Zircon","r":["Kinzhal","Kalibr","Avangard"]},{"t":"Zulu time","s":"Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the military's standard reference time","d":"Zulu is the military time zone letter Z for UTC (formerly GMT), used for operations across time zones so everyone shares one clock. Local time is designated J (Juliet). Software for military users should display and log Zulu, ideally alongside local time, and never assume the server's zone.","c":"Comms","k":["Zulu","Z","UTC","Juliet time"],"w":"Military time zone","r":["DTG","Military time"]},{"t":"Zumwalt","s":"Three stealthy DDG-1000 destroyers, being refitted for hypersonic CPS missiles","d":"The Zumwalt class consists of three large, low-signature destroyers whose Advanced Gun System was never given affordable ammunition. The Navy is replacing the guns with large tubes for Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missiles. The class is often cited in discussions of acquisition risk.","c":"Naval","k":["DDG-1000"],"w":"Zumwalt-class destroyer","r":["CPS"]}]