Glossary Of Military Terminology

Aerospace

The combined atmosphere and space beyond the Earth, where air and space operations occur.

Air Defense

Measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action.

Amphibious Operations

Military operations launched from the sea by an amphibious force to conduct landing force operations ashore.

Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA)

Weapons designed to combat aircraft, including guns and missile systems.

Anti-Personnel Mine

A type of mine designed to target and injure or kill personnel.

Assault Rifle

A selective-fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine.

Ballistic Missile

A missile with a high, arching trajectory, which is initially powered and guided but falls under gravity onto its target.

Battalion

A military unit typically consisting of 300 to 1,000 soldiers.

Bayonet

A blade that may be fixed to the muzzle of a rifle and used in close combat.

Brigade

A major tactical unit that is larger than a battalion and smaller than a division, usually commanded by a brigadier general or colonel.

Bunker Buster

A type of bomb designed to penetrate hardened or underground military bunkers.

Camouflage

Concealment by means of disguise to blend with the surroundings.

Cluster Bomb

A bomb that releases multiple smaller submunitions, spreading them over a wide area.

Counterintelligence

Activities designed to prevent or thwart spying, intelligence gathering, and sabotage by an enemy or other foreign entity.

Cruise Missile

A guided missile that flies at a relatively low altitude and at a constant speed to deliver a warhead accurately over long distances.

Cyber Warfare

The use of computer technology to disrupt the activities of a state or organization, especially the deliberate attacking of information systems for strategic or military purposes.

Decoy

A device or tactic used to mislead or lure an enemy, often away from the real target.

Defensive Position

A location where forces can defend against an attack, often fortified or prepared to resist enemy assault.

Directed-Energy Weapon (DEW)

A weapon that emits energy in an aimed direction without the means of a projectile, such as lasers or microwaves.

Doctrine

Fundamental principles by which military forces guide their actions in support of objectives. It is authoritative but requires judgment in application.

Dumb Bomb

An unguided bomb dropped from an aircraft, relying on gravity and momentum.

Electronic Warfare (EW)

Military action involving the use of electromagnetic energy to determine, exploit, reduce, or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum and actions that retain friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Engagement

A tactical conflict, usually between opposing lower-echelon maneuver forces.

Exoskeleton

A wearable mobile machine powered by a system of motors or hydraulics that enhance the physical performance of a soldier.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)

The detection, identification, on-site evaluation, rendering safe, recovery, and final disposal of unexploded explosive ordnance. an answer to this item.

Field Artillery

A category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field.

Fire Support

Assistance to elements of the combat forces by delivering, coordinating, and integrating fires from weapons or electronic warfare.

Force Projection

The ability to project military power from one location to another, including the ability to conduct expeditionary warfare.

Fragmentation Grenade

A hand-thrown explosive weapon designed to disperse shrapnel upon detonation.

Gatling Gun

A type of rapid-firing, multi-barrel firearm invented by Richard Gatling.

Grenade Launcher

A firearm designed to launch grenades, which can be attached to a rifle or standalone.

Guerrilla Warfare

A form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants use military tactics, including ambushes, sabotage, raids, and hit-and-run tactics.

Guided Missile

A missile equipped with a guidance system that allows it to maneuver during flight to hit a specific target.

HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) Round

A type of munition used to defeat armored vehicles, using a shaped charge to focus explosive energy.

Hollow Point Bullet

A bullet designed to expand upon impact, increasing its stopping power and causing more damage to the target.

Hostile Fire

Weapon fire that is aimed intentionally at friendly forces.

Humanitarian Assistance

Programs conducted to relieve or reduce the results of natural or man-made disasters or other endemic conditions such as human pain, disease, hunger, or deprivation.

Improvised Explosive Device (IED)

A bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than conventional military action, often used in asymmetric warfare.

Incendiary Device

A weapon designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire.

Infantry

Soldiers who fight primarily on foot, usually with small arms.

Insurgency

An organized movement aimed at the overthrow of a constituted government through the use of subversion and armed conflict.

Intelligence

Information concerning an enemy or potential enemy or an area; the conclusions drawn from such information.

Javelin

A man-portable, shoulder-fired anti-tank guided missile system.

Joint Operations

Military actions conducted by joint forces, or by service forces in relationships (e.g., joint warfare) with other service forces.

Jamming

Deliberate interference with radio, radar, or other electromagnetic signals to prevent effective use by an enemy.

Kinetic Energy Penetrator

A type of anti-tank ammunition that relies on kinetic energy to penetrate armor.

Laser-Guided Bomb

A bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to accurately hit a target illuminated by a laser designator.

Light Machine Gun (LMG)

A type of machine gun designed for mobility and usually used by infantry squads.

Logistics

The science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces.

LZ (Landing Zone)

A designated location where aircraft can land and take off.

Machine Gun

An automatic firearm designed to fire bullets in rapid succession from an ammunition belt or magazine.

Manoeuvre Warfare

A military strategy that advocates using speed and surprise to bypass enemy forces and collapse their ability to resist.

Mil-Spec

Short for military specification and refers to a set of standards developed by the U.S Department of Defence (DOD) to ensure the products, materials and specifications meet or exceed required standards to enable the needs of military organizations and applications.

Minefield

An area planted with explosive mines.

Mortar

A portable, muzzle-loading cannon used to fire shells at high angles.

MRO - Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul

Ensuring aircraft safety, reliability, and compliance through inspections, repairs, and upgrades of components and systems. 

Multinational Force (MNF)

A force composed of military elements from more than one nation, often part of an international coalition.

Napalm

A flammable liquid used in warfare, often used in flamethrowers and firebombs.

NATO Stock Number (NSN)

A standardized 13-digit numerical code assigned to items of supply used by NATO countries for identification, cataloging, and logistics purposes.

Naval Operations

Operations conducted by naval forces to gain or exploit control of the seas, protect sea lines of communication, or conduct power projection from the sea.

No-Fly Zone

A designated area over which aircraft are not permitted to fly, often established for humanitarian or military reasons.

Offensive Operations

Military operations aimed at seizing, retaining, and exploiting the initiative.

Optical Sight

A device used to assist in aiming by providing an enhanced visual of the target.

Ordnance

Military supplies, including weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment

Peacekeeping

Operations intended to maintain peace and security in areas of conflict, often conducted by international forces.

Penetrator

A munition or warhead designed to penetrate armor or other barriers before exploding.

Precision-Guided Munition (PGM)

A weapon capable of being guided to a target with high accuracy.

Psychological Operations (PSYOP)

Operations intended to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.

Quick Reaction Force (QRF)

A military unit capable of rapid deployment to respond to various situations, often used in emergency or contingency situations.

Quadcopter Drone

A type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with four rotors, often used for surveillance or delivery of small payloads.

Recoilless Rifle

A type of lightweight artillery that fires a projectile without significant recoil.

Reconnaissance

A mission to obtain information about enemy activities, resources, or the terrain.

Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG)

A shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon that fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead.

Rules of Engagement (ROE)

Directives issued by competent military authority that delineate the circumstances and limitations under which forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement with other forces encountered.

Sabot Round

A type of ammunition that uses a sabot to allow a smaller-diameter projectile to be fired from a larger-caliber weapon.

Smart Bomb

A bomb equipped with precision guidance systems, such as GPS or laser, to accurately hit targets.

Special Forces

Military units trained to conduct special operations, often including counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action, and unconventional warfare.

Strategic Airlift

The transportation of personnel, equipment, and supplies from one location to another by air, usually over long distances.

Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM)

A missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles.

Tactical Air Support

Aircraft used to support ground forces in combat operations, providing close air support and air interdiction.

Theater of Operations

A geographic area in which military operations are conducted to achieve strategic objectives.

Torpedo

A self-propelled underwater missile used by submarines, ships, and aircraft to target enemy vessels.

Tracer Ammunition

Bullets or cannon shells equipped with a pyrotechnic charge that produces a visible trace of light, allowing shooters to follow the projectile trajectory.

Underbarrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL)

A grenade launcher mounted underneath the barrel of a rifle.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

An aircraft piloted by remote control or onboard computers, often used for surveillance and reconnaissance.

Urban Warfare

Military operations conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities.

Vanguard

The foremost part of an advancing army or naval force.

Variable Yield Warhead

A nuclear warhead that can be set to produce a range of explosive yields, allowing for flexibility in use.

Veteran

A person who has served in the military.

Warhead

The explosive or toxic material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.

Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD)

A weapon capable of causing widespread death and destruction, typically including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.

Wire-Guided Missile

A missile guided to its target by signals sent through a wire connected to the launcher.

X-Band Radar

A radar frequency band used for tracking and fire control, especially in missile guidance systems.

Xenon Flash Lamp

A high-intensity light source used in various military applications, including photography and signaling.

Yield

The amount of energy released by a nuclear explosion, usually measured in kilotons or megatons of TNT.

Yardarm

A horizontal spar mounted on the mast of a ship, used to support and control the ship's sails.

Zeroing

The process of adjusting the sights of a firearm so that it aims accurately at a target at a specific distance.

Zone of Action

A tactical subdivision within an area of operations, typically assigned to a specific unit or formation.

Zone of Fire

An area into which a designated unit is to fire, usually in support of friendly forces or to neutralize enemy positions.