AEROSPACE ACRONYM & Abbreviation Guide

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December 2010

Avionics Magazine proudly presents the fifth edition of our biennial Aerospace Acronym & Abbreviation Guide. Updated with the latest terms from the magazine’s pages, this comprehensive guide has grown to more than 3,000 civil and military acronyms.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

  • C2 command and control

  • C3 command, control and communication

  • C41 command, control, communica­tions, computers & intelligence

  • C4ISR command, control, communica­tions, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance

  • C-MANPADS Counter-Man Portable Air Defense System

  • C/A code course acquisition code (GPS)

  • C/NO carrier-to-noise density ratio

  • C/R command/response

  • C/SOIT communications/surveillance operational implementation team

  • C/UT code/unit test

  • C&C command and control

  • C&W control and warning

  • CA conflict alert

  • CAA Cargo Airline Association

  • CAA Civil Aviation Administration

  • CAA Civil Aviation Authority

  • CAAC Civil Aviation Administration of China

  • CAAFI Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (FAA)

  • CAAS common avionics architecture system

  • CAASD Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (MITRE Corp.)

  • CAB Civil Aeronautics Board

  • CAB combat aviation brigade (U.S. Army)

  • CAC caution advisory computer

  • CACP cabin area control panel

  • CAD computer-aided design

  • CADC central air data computer

  • CADS centralized automatic dependent surveillance

  • CAE component application engineer

  • CAGE commercial avionics GPS engine

  • CAH cabin attendant handsets

  • CAI caution annunciator indicator

  • CALSEL variation of SELCAL system

  • CAM computer-aided manufacturing

  • CAN controller area network

  • CANbus control area network

  • CANSO Civil Air Navigation Services Organization

  • CAOC Combined Air Operations Center

  • CAP Civil Air Patrol (U.S.)

  • CAP Collaborative Arrival Planning

  • CAPA Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations

  • CAPS commercial airliner protection system

  • CARE cooperative actions on R&D in Eurocontrol

  • CARTS Common Automated Radar Terminal System

  • CAS CDTI assisted separation

  • CAS close air support

  • CAS collision avoidance system

  • CAS commercially available software

  • CAS computed airspeed

  • CASA Civil Aviation Safety Authority

  • CASA controller automated spacing aid

  • CASCADE Co-operative ATS (Air Traffic Services) through Surveillance and Communication Applications Deployed in ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference)

  • CASE computer-aided software engineering

  • CASR Civil Aviation Safety Regulations

  • CASS Consolidated Automated Support System

  • CAT categories (I, II, IIIa/b/c) approach

  • CAT clear air turbulence

  • CAT computer aided testing

  • CATEX categorical exclusion

  • CATM Collaborative Air Traffic Management

  • CATMT Collaborative Air Traffic Management Technologies

  • CAVS CDTI assisted visual separation

  • CBA cost/benefit analysis

  • CBM condition based maintenance

  • CBP Customs and Border Patrol (U.S.)

  • CBRNE chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear high yield explosives (U.S. Army)

  • CBT computer-based training

  • CC connection confirm

  • CCA circuit card assembly

  • CCB configuration control board

  • CCB converter circuit breaker

  • CCD category class diagram

  • CCD charged coupled device

  • CCD coherent change detection

  • CCD cursor control device

  • CCIR International Radio Consultative Committee

  • CCITT Consultative Committee Interna­tional Telephone and Telegraph

  • CCP consolidated control panel

  • CCS cabin communication system

  • CCS common core system

  • CCSD common constraint situation display

  • CCTV closed-circuit television

  • CD carrier detect

  • CD chrominance difference

  • CDA continuous descent approach

  • CDA coordinating design authority

  • CDAM centralized data acquisition module

  • CDAM common data acquisition module

  • CDG configuration database generator

  • CDI course deviation indicator

  • CDM collaborative decision-making

  • CDMS CDM system

  • CDMS control and data management system

  • CDP continuous data program

  • CDQM collaborative departure queue management

  • CDR critical design review

  • CDS central dispatch system

  • CDS cockpit display systems

  • CDS common display system

  • CDSS cockpit door surveillance system

  • CDT controlled departure time

  • CDTI cockpit display of traffic information

  • CDU control display unit

  • CDV compressed digital video

  • CEC cooperative engagement capability

  • CEI cabin equipment interfaces

  • CENTCOM U.S. Central Command

  • CENTRIXS Combined Enterprise Regional Exchange System

  • CEP circular error probable

  • CEQ Council on Environmental Quality

  • CF certification

  • CF change field

  • CFDIU centralized fault display interface unit

  • CFDS central fault display system

  • CFDU configurable file data unit

  • CFIT controlled flight into terrain

  • CFM cubic feet per minute

  • CFM configuration management

  • CFMU central flow management unit

  • CFR Code of Federal Regulations

  • CFS cabin file server

  • CG center of gravity

  • CHAIN Compartmented High Assurance Information Network

  • CHI computer/human interface

  • CHIS center hydraulic isolation system

  • CI configuration item

  • CI cabin interphone

  • CID category interaction diagram

  • CIDIN common ICAO data interchange network

  • CIDS cabin interphone distribution system

  • CIE Commission Internationale de I‘Eclairage

  • CIGS copper-indium-gallium-diselenide

  • CIP capital investment plan

  • CIP convergence & implementation program (Eurocontrol)

  • CIS common information services

  • CIS corporate information system

  • CLEEN Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise Program (FAA)

  • CLNP connectionless network protocol

  • CLNS connectionless network service

  • CLTP connectionless mode transport protocol

  • CM context/configuration management

  • CMC central maintenance computer

  • CMCF CMC function

  • CMCS CMC system

  • CMD command

  • CMF common message format

  • CMGT contract management

  • CMM capability maturity model

  • CMM common mode monitor

  • CMM component maintenance manual

  • CMN control motion noise

  • CMOS complementary metal oxide semiconductor

  • CMP configuration management plan

  • CMS cabin management system

  • CMU communication management unit

  • CND can not duplicate

  • CNDB customized navigation database

  • CNES Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (France)

  • CNG 2020+ carbon neutral growth from 2020 and beyond (AIA)

  • CNI communications, navigation and identification

  • CNP communications/navigation/pulse

  • CNR customer notification reports

  • CNS communication, navigation surveillance

  • CNS/ATM communications, navigation, sur­veillance/air traffic management

  • CNSI communications/navigation/surveillance/identification

  • CNUS cabin network server unit

  • COA certificate of authorization

  • COCOM combatant commander (U.S. Army)

  • CODEC coder/decoder

  • CofA certificate of airworthiness

  • COM cockpit operating manual

  • COMINT communications intelligence

  • COMINT/DF COMINT direction finding

  • COMM communications

  • COM/MET/OPS communications/meteorological/operations

  • CON continuous

  • CONEMP concept of employment (U.S. Army)

  • CONOPS concept of operations

  • CONUS continental United States

  • CONUSE concept of use

  • COP character-oriented protocol

  • COP common operating picture (U.S. Army)

  • COTP connection-oriented transport protocol

  • COTR contracting officer’s technical representative

  • COTS commercial-off-the-shelf

  • CP central processor

  • CP conflict probe

  • CP control panel

  • CPA closest point of approach

  • CPA collision prediction and alerting

  • CPC cabin pressure controller

  • CPC controller-pilot communications

  • CPC cursor position control

  • CPCI computer program configuration item

  • CPCS cabin pressure control system

  • CPDLC controller-pilot data link commu­nications

  • CPE circular position error

  • CPI continuous process improvement

  • CPM core processing module

  • CPM critical path method

  • CPR compact position reporting

  • CPS cabin pressure sensor

  • CPS central processing system

  • CPU central processing unit

  • CR change of request

  • CR connection request

  • CR contrast ratio

  • CRA conflict resolution advisory

  • CRAF Civil Reserve Air Fleet

  • CRC cyclic redundancy checking/code

  • CRD Concepts and Requirements Directorate (U.S. Army)

  • CRD current routing domain

  • CRADA cooperative research and devel­opment agreement

  • CRDA converging runway display aid

  • CRM crew/cockpit resource management

  • CRPA controlled reception pattern antenna

  • CRS Congressional Research Service (U.S.)

  • CRISD computer resources integrated support document

  • CRISTAL CoopeRative Validation of Surveil­lance Techniques and Applications (Eurocontrol)

  • CRM collision risk model

  • CRM crew resource management

  • CRMA code reuse multiple access

  • CRR cutover readiness review

  • CRS course

  • CRT cathode ray tube

  • CRTC combat readiness training center

  • CRZ cruise

  • CS commercial service

  • CS common service

  • CS control station

  • CSC cargo system controller

  • CSC common signaling channel

  • CSC computer software component

  • CSCI computer software configuration item

  • CSD Coalition Shared Databases (U.S. Army)

  • CSF command/status frame

  • CSMA carrier sense multiple access

  • CSMA/CD carrier sense multiple access with collision detection

  • CSCP cabin system control panel

  • CSDB commercial standard data bus

  • CSDS cargo smoke detector system

  • CSEU control systems electronics unit

  • CSMM crash survivable memory modules

  • CSMU cabin system management unit

  • CSP Common Sensor Payload

  • CSPA closely spaced parallel approach

  • CSPO closely spaced parallel operations

  • CSPR closely spaced parallel runways

  • CSS cabin systems subcommittee (ARINC)

  • CSTAC Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee

  • CSU channel service unit

  • CSU computer software unit

  • CSU configuration strapping unit

  • CTA control area

  • CTA controlled time of arrival

  • CTAF common traffic advisory frequency

  • CTAI cowl thermal anti-icing

  • CTAS center TRACON automation system

  • CTC cabin temperature controller

  • CTC combat training centers (U.S. Army)

  • CTD cabin training device

  • CTL control

  • CTMO centralized air traffic flow man­agement organization

  • CTOL conventional takeoff and landing

  • CTR center

  • CTR control zone

  • CTRD configuration test requirements document

  • CTRL control

  • CTS clear to send

  • CTS conformance test suite

  • CTS/TCTS combat training system/tactical combat training system

  • CTU cabin telecommunications unit

  • CU channel utilization

  • CU combiner unit (HUD)

  • CU control unit

  • CUG closed user group

  • CUTE common use terminal equipment

  • CV/DFDR cockpit voice and digital flight data recorder

  • CVR cockpit voice recorder

  • CVRCP cockpit voice recorder control panel

  • CW clockwise

  • CW continuous wave

  • CWI continuous wave interference

  • CWID Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration

  • CWP central weather processor

  • CWP controller/ed working position

  • CWS control wheel steering

  • CY calendar year