Dan Hampton - Viper Pilot

NO ONE WRITES A BOOK ALONE, AND THIS IS CERTAINLY NO EXCEPTION. I need to especially acknowledge those who believed in me, taught me, and waited for me to grow up somewhat, to become the officer and fighter pilot in this book.

The story itself would never have been possible without the men, named and unnamed, who were part of this over the years; my brother fighter pilots who possess the extraordinary flying skills, courage, and aggressiveness that win wars. None of us would have gotten to the fight without the dedication and long-suffering professionalism of the support folks and aircraft maintainers who put us there. They have my lifelong thanks for handling the million details required to put fighter jets in the air. Special thanks to the 99 ABW/PA and the 57th FW Viper AMU, Nellis AFB, for their time and the loan of a jet for the ebook filming of Viper Pilot.

Sincere appreciation goes to my agent, Jeff Herman, and everyone at William Morrow/HarperCollins who assisted with this effort. True professionals, they politely pushed, chopped, corrected, and ultimately brought this book to publication. This especially applies to my editor, Peter Hubbard, for his many insights, unfailing enthusiasm, and calm direction throughout this endeavor.

ACC: Air Combat Command. The major command containing all stateside fighter units.

ACT: Air Combat Training. Generally, as one or two pairs against an unknown number of adversaries.

ANGELS: Altitude in thousands of feet. Technically, only used for friendly aircraft.

AOR: Area of Responsibility. Places like Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

BFM: Basic Fighter Maneuvers. 1 v. 1 dogfighting.

BINGO: A preset amount of fuel that, when reached, results in mission termination. Influenced by weather, threats, availability of air refueling tankers etc… .

BLIND: Lost visual on a friendly flight member.

BLOCK 50: A type of F-16. Block designations are for different specific capabilities. Block 50 includes the HARM Targeting System pod and associated avionics.

BOARDS: Slang for speed brakes.

BURNER: Afterburner.

CBU: Cluster Bomb Unit.

CEEJAY: F-16CJ. Also a Block 50.

COMPANY GRADE OFFICER: Junior officers. A second lieutenant, first lieutenant, or captain.

DEFENDING: Technically, a defensive reaction against a SAM or anti-aircraft artillery. Usually accompanied by the type of threat, if known, and a direction for the maneuver.

EAGLE: F-15C.

EOR: End of Runway. This area is directly to the side of the runway and used for arming/de-arming.

EWO: Electronic Warfare Officer. A specialist in signals analysis. Not a pilot.

FIELD-GRADE OFFICER: A major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel.

FIGHTING WING: A fluid, loose formation that puts a wingman on about a one-mile string behind his leader. Think of a water skier behind a boat.

FINGERTIP: Close formation. Usually about three feet from wingtip to wingtip.

FOX ONE/TWO/THREE: Air-to-air missile shots. “Fox One” is an older radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow. “Fox Two” is a close-range, infrared Sidewinder, and “Fox Three” is the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM).

FRAG: Fragments from an explosion. Also a “fragmentary order”—a squadron’s piece of the larger air-tasking order detailing missions, targets, and weapons.

FWIC: Fighter Weapons Instructor Course.

GRUNT: Slang for an infantryman. Friendly ground forces.

HARM: High Speed Anti Radiation Missile.

HOG: Slang for A-10 Thunderbolt II.

HORNET: Slang for the F/A-18 multi-role fighter.

HOTAS: Hands On Throttle And Stick. Technology that permits the activation of weapons, aircraft systems, and cockpit displays from multifunction switches on the control stick and throttle.

HTS: HARM Targeting System Pod.

HUD: Heads Up Display. A transparent plastic rectangle mounted on the glare shield with superimposed flying symbology and weapon attack cues.

IFF: Identification Friend or Foe. An electronic code that can be read by other friendly aircraft.

ILS: Instrument Landing System.

KILLBOX: A thirty-mile square piece of airspace. Given an alphanumeric identifier, killboxes are used for deconfliction between flights of fighters.

KLICK: A “kilometer.” About one-sixth of a mile.

LANTIRN: Low Altitude Navigation Targeting InfraRed Night. An older, specialized system used on Block 40 F-16s for low-level night-strike missions.

LOOSE DEUCE: A wider, more flexible form of Fighting Wing. A two-mile string.

MAGNUM: Warning call made to indicate a HARM firing.

MFD: Multi Function Display.

MiG: An abbreviation for Mikoyan Gurevich, a prominent Soviet/Russian aircraft manufacturer. Sometimes is generically applied to any enemy fighter.

MIKE: Microphone. Also denotes “millimeter,” as in twenty mike mike (20-mm cannon). Can also mean “minutes.”

MIL POWER: Full non-afterburning power.

NO JOY: Lost visual. Should be used only for enemy aircraft. Often used in place of “blind.”

NVG: Night-Vision Goggles.

PADLOCKED: Brevity communication for “my eyes are locked and if I look away I’ll lose sight.”

PATCHWEARER: Graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School. Also called “Target Arm.”

RIFLE: Brevity comm for a Maverick missile shot. Used now for any guided munition.

ROE: Rules of Engagement. Specific conditions that permit the use of deadly force.

ROUTE: A wider, more relaxed version of fingertip formation.

RTB: Return to Base.

RTU: Replacement Training Unit.

RWR: Radar Warning Receiver. Tells the pilot which radar system has locked him.

SHOE CLERK: A rear-echelon type. Noncombat personnel.

SLAPSHOT: A quick-reaction HARM shot along a line of bearing to a threat.

SMS: Stores Management System. Onboard computer that accounts for all weapons ballistics and aiming symbology.

TACAN: TACtical Air Navigation system. Provides bearing and range to a selected channel that can be located at a ground station or between other aircraft.

TALLY HO: Visual sighting of an enemy aircraft. Sometimes used to indicate sighting any aircraft.

TARGET ARM: A graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School. Also called a Patchwearer.

TD BOX: Target Designator Box which is put around anything locked onto by the F-16 radar.

TOC: Tactical Operations Center.

TOT: Time Over Target.

UNIFORM: UHF radio.

VICTOR: VHF radio.

VIPER: Slang for the F-16 multi-role fighter.

VISUAL: Sighting of a friendly aircraft.

VUL: Short for “Vulnerability” time. This is the fragged, or allotted, time that fighter is given in a target area.