CHAPTER 8 AIRCRAFT ORDNANCE INTRODUCTION As an Airman, you might be assigned to the armament branch of an aircraft squadron, the weapons department of a naval air station, or an aircraft carrier. Regardless of where you are assigned, you will work around aircraft armament systems and various associated weapons. Aviation  Ordnancemen  (AOs)  handle  aircraft ordnance. They work with aircraft guns and pyrotechnics. They also maintain bombs, rockets, missiles, mines and torpedoes. They maintain the aircraft weapons releasing and launching equipment necessary for disbursing such items. AOs are familiar with the safety precautions for working with such material. Personnel directly involved in ordnance handling must be qualified and/or certified according to the Navy's current qualification/certification program. You may not be assigned in an area that requires direct contact with ordnance. You must still be familiar with the basic characteristics of ordnance and hazards peculiar to aircraft ordnance. GENERAL TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize common terms and definitions associated with aircraft ordnance. AOs use special terminology on the job. To understand this chapter, you should know these terms. A few of the more common terms and definitions are as follows: Ordnance. Military material (such as combat weapons of all kinds) with ammunition and equipment required for its use. Ordnance includes everything that makes up a ships or aircraft's armament. This includes guns, ammunition, and all equipment needed to control, operate, and support the weapons. Propellant. The material that provides the energy for propelling a projectile. Specifically an explosive charge for propelling a bullet, shell, or the like. It may also be a fuel, either solid or liquid, for propelling a rocket or missile. Pyrotechnics. Ammunition containing composi- tions that produce illumination. Examples are colored lights or smoke for marking or signaling, or incendiary effects of smoke screens. Ammunition. A device charged with explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics, initiating composition, or chemical material. Bomb-type ammunition. Bomb-type ammunition is characterized by a large high-explosive charge-to- weight ratio. Examples are aircraft bombs, mines, and warheads used in guided missiles and rockets. This ammunition has destructive blast effect at or near the target. Cartridge-activated device (CAD).  Explosive- loaded devices designed to provide the means of releasing or harnessing potential cartridge energy to initiate a function or a special-purpose action. Aircraft equipment, such as ejection seats, canopy ejection systems, aircraft bomb racks, and launchers, use CADs. Chemical ammunition. Chemical ammunition consists of a variety of items that depend upon a chemical filling for its effect rather than upon explosives or shrapnel. An explosive or ignition element must activate this ammunition. Inert ordnance. Actual size ammunition items with working mechanisms used for training exercises but having no explosive materials. Guided missile. An unmanned vehicle designed as a weapon that travels above the surface of the earth. This vehicle follows a course or trajectory that is guided by an automatic or remotely controlled mechanism within the vehicle. Incendiary. A chemical used to ignite combustible substances. Practice/training ammunition. An ammunition item that looks and acts just like the service item. It may be a modification of a service (tactical) item or something designed specifically for practice. Used in training associated with all types of ordnance. Practice ammunition may either be expendable or recoverable, depending upon the device involved. 8-1