Lash-Up

Glossary

AA: Anti-aircraft

ABL: Airborne laser

ACES: Advanced crew escape suit

ADO: Aerospace Defense Organization

ADP: Advanced Development Programs

AESA: Active Electronically Scanned Aray

Aerospike: An advanced-design rocket engine that can compensate for altitude, making it burn fuel more efficiently as the air gets thinner.

ASAP: As soon as possible

ASAT: Anti-satellite

AWOL: Absent without leave

Beidou: A Chinese satellite navigation system similar to GPS but limited in coverage to Aisa and the Western Pacific. A system with global coverage, called COMPASS, is planned to be operational in 2020.

BMC: Battle management center

BOQ: Bachelor officer quarters

C3: Command, control, communications

CAD: Computer-aided design

CEC: Cooperative engagement capability

CIC: Combat information center

CJCS: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

CMC: Central Military Commission

CNO: Chief of Naval Operations

DCIS: Defense Criminal Investigative Service

DoD; Department of Defense

DSP: Defense Support Program. A reconnaissance satellite system designed to provide early warning of intercontinental ballistic missile launches.

EVA: Extra-vehicular activity

ECM: Electronic countermeasures

EO: Electro-optical

EW: Electronic warfare

FAA: Federal Aviation Administration

FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation

FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency

HMMWV: High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, acronym pronounced as “Humvee”

Galileo: A European satellite navigation system similar to GPS, funded by the European Union.

GLONASS: Global Navigation Satellite System. Russia’s equivalent to the U.S. Navstar GPS.

GPS: Global Positioning System. A navigation system that uses a constellation of 24 satellites that sends precise timing signals to receivers on Earth. By comparing the time differences, the receiver can find its location. The constellation’s orbits a arranged so that several are above the horizon at any given time. The more satellites that are visible to the receiver, the more precise the navigation fix. GPS is funded and run by the U.S. Government.

IP: Initial point

IR: Infrared

IT: Information Technology

JCS: Joint Chiefs of Staff

LED: Light-Emitting Diode

MoD: Ministry of Defence

MP: Military police

MSS: Ministry of State Security

NSA: National Security Agency

NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NAVAIR: Naval Air [Systems Command]

NIOC: Navy Information Operations Command

NMCC: National Military Command Center

NNSOC: Naval Network and Space Operations Command

NORAD: North American Aerospace Defense [Command]

PLA: People’s Liberation Army

PT: Physical training

R&D: Research and development

SAM: Surface to air missile

SATCOM: Satellite communications

SCIF: Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility

SECDEF: Secretary of Defense

SIPRNET: Secret Internet Protocol Router Network

SPAWAR: Space and Naval Warfare [Systems Command]

SRB: Solid-rocket booster

STRATCOM: Strategic Command

Supergun: An extremely large-bore artillery piece. The technology for superguns was a specialty of Dr. Gerald Bull, a Canadian-born engineer who advocated their use for space launches, as well as military applications.

SVN: Space Vehicle Number

TAO: Tactical action officer

TDRS: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite

TEL: Transporter-erector-launcher

UON: Urgent operational need