CHAPTER 3
MILITARY AIRCRAFT IDENTIFICATION,
PERFORMANCE, AND CHARACTERISTICS
As an Air Traffic Controller (AC), it is essential to have an understanding of aircraft
mission, performance, and operating characteristics. You do not need to be a pilot or
have a degree in aeronautical engineering, but a basic understanding will enable you to
assist the pilot and possibly prevent you from issuing control instructions that the pilot
cannot perform. This information is also an integral part of your planning and execution
of control procedures. This chapter covers the military aircraft that you will most likely
come in contact with as a Navy AC.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The material in this chapter will enable you to:
Identify aircraft by their designations
Recognize aircraft performance and maneuverability capabilities
Recognize aircraft operational characteristics
AIRCRAFT DESIGNATION
All aircraft of the Armed Forces have tri-service designations; that is, a given aircraft
bears the same alphanumeric identification symbol whether it is used by the Navy,
Army, or Air Force. The designation system uses a sequence of letters and numbers to
identify aircraft by special status, mission modification, basic mission, and design
modification.
Basic Mission Identifiers
One portion of the standard tri-service alphanumeric identification symbol is the basic
mission identifier.
The basic military designator of an aircraft contains a minimum of a letter and a number,
with the letter always being first in the sequence (e.g., C-130, F/A-18, E-2). The letter
indicates the basic mission of the aircraft. Table 3-1 lists the basic mission letters used
by the Armed Forces and their corresponding missions.
3-1
