A-10s over Kosovo (illustrations removed)

Late May proved the most successful period for air attacks against Serb ground forces. Several factors influenced that success and combined to provide a greater opportunity for NATO air attacks. Those factors included an increased force structure, improved weather conditions, and a KLA offensive in western Kosovo that forced the Serbian Third Army out of its hiding places. NATO increased the number of AFACs and strikers for near-continuous daylight operations until combat operations ceased on 10 June 1999. A-10s continued to provide airborne and ground CAS alert until the end of June as NATO occupation ground forces entered Kosovo.

GLOSSARY

AAA—antiaircraft artillery

AB—air base

ABCCC—airborne battlefield command and control center (EC-130E)

AC—alternating current (electrical power with alternating polarity)

ACC—Air Combat Command

ADI—attitude direction indicator

ADVON—advanced echelon

AEF—Air Expeditionary Force

AEW—Air Expeditionary Wing

AFAC—airborne forward air controller, aka FAC(A)

AFSOUTH—Allied Forces Southern Europe; NATO’s regional headquarters at Naples, Italy

AGL—above ground level

AGM—air-to-ground missile

AIM—air intercept missile

AI

—air interdiction

AIRCENT—Allied Air Forces Central Europe (NATO)

AIRSOUTH—Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (NATO)

AMRAAM—advanced medium range air-to-air missile

AO—area of operations

AOR—area of responsibility

APC—armored personnel carrier

APU—auxiliary power unit arty artillery pieces

ASC—air strike control

ATACMS—air tactical missile systems

ATO—air tasking order

AWACS—airborne warning and control system (E-3)

BAI—battlefield air interdiction

bandit—an enemy aircraft

BDA—battle damage assessment

BE—basic encyclopedia number used to catalog targets

bingo—(1) brevity term used by tactical air forces to indicate a fuel level that requires termination of the mission and recovery to a tanker or home station; (2) brevity term used by special operations SAR helicopter forces to indicate that the door gunner is abeam the survivor

bino

—gyro-stabilized binoculars; 12 power and 15 power

bomblet—a CBU submunition

bootleg—unscheduled (e.g., a bootlegged tanker is an unscheduled air-to-air refueling)

BRAA—tactical control format providing target bearing, range, altitude, and aspect, relative to a friendly aircraft

break—an aggressive, abrupt maneuver to defeat SAM, AAA, or air-to-air threats

BSD—battle staff directives

C3CM—command, control, and communications countermeasures

CAIFF—combined air interdiction of fielded forces

CANN—temporarily removing parts from an aircraft (cannibalization) so others can fly

CAP—combat air patrol

CAS—close air support

CAVOK—ceiling and visibility OK

CBU—cluster bomb unit

CEM—combined effects munition (CBU-87)

CFACC—combined forces air component commander

COAC—combined air operations center

Compass Call—an aircraft configured to perform tactical C3CM (EC-130H)

CP

—control point

CSAR—combat search and rescue

DC—direct current (electrical power with constant polarity)

DCA—defensive counterair

DEAD—destruction of enemy air defenses

dirtball—dirt road

doolie—first year cadet at the AF Academy

EABS—expeditionary air base squadron

ECM—electronic countermeasures

EFS—expeditionary fighter squadron

ELS—expeditionary logistic squadron

EO—electro-optical

EOG—expeditionary operations group

ESS—expeditionary support squadron

EUCOM—US European Command

EW—electronic warfare

FAC—forward air controller

fence

—the demarcation line between friendly and enemy territory

FG—fighter group

FL—flight level; thousands of feet when using a standard altimeter setting of 29.92 (FL 300 is 30,000 MSL with 29.92 set)

FLEX—force level execution targeting cell (located within the CAOC)

FM—type of radio that uses frequency modulation; used by A-10 pilots primarily for interformation communication

FOV—field of view

fox mike—military phonetic alphabet expression for FM and commonly used to refer to the FM radio

frag—(1) the “fragmented order” which tasked unit aircraft, weapons, targets, and TOTs; (2) a lethal piece of warhead case that is explosively projected from the point of detonation to its impact point

FS—fighter squadron

FW fighter wing

GAU-8—A-10’s internal 30 mm cannon (Avenger)

GPS—Global Positioning System

Guard—a common emergency frequency that all pilots monitor

hard deck—the lowest altitude for operations allowed by the ROE

hardball—paved road

HARM—high-speed antiradiation missile (AGM-88)

heads-down—when the pilot concentrates on things inside the aircraft or looking outside through the binoculars, and is unable to clear the airspace for threats or other aircraft

hitting the tanker—aircrew jargon for rejoining on, connecting to, and taking fuel from a tanker