| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| FPV | First-Person View — flown via video goggles, typically small and cheap |
| COTS | Commercial Off-The-Shelf — ready-made consumer product, e.g. a common quadcopter |
| C2 link | Command & Control — the control connection between operator and aircraft |
| BLOS / SATCOM | Beyond Line Of Sight — control via satellite, past the visual horizon; see Starlink & Starshield |
| GNSS | Umbrella term for satellite navigation (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS) |
| INS | Inertial Navigation System — navigation without external signals |
| ATR | Automated Target Recognition — autonomous onboard target recognition |
| Loitering munition | Munition that loiters to find a target before its attack dive |
| Fibre-optic guidance | Control via a physical cable instead of radio waves — cannot be jammed |
| CRPA | Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna — GPS antenna that suppresses jamming |
| Mothership | Platform acting as a relay, extending the range of smaller drones |
| Swarm | Coordinated employment of multiple drones at once |
| Decoy | Unarmed lure drone that makes air defence expend itself |
Remember
These terms recur in the reference cards (Chapter 10) and in the platform descriptions of Chapter 2.