MiG-21 “Fishbed”: The MiG-21 is a single-engine, single-seat fighter designed by the Soviets but widely distributed to their allies. Though an older design, it is still a fairly maneuverable aircraft and a dangerous opponent in a close-in dogfight. It carries a primitive radar and radar-guided missiles in addition to heat-seekers and a cannon.
MiG-23 “Flogger”: The MiG-23 is a single-engine, single-seat fighter also distributed by the Soviets. Very fast, it is a notoriously poor dogfighter. It does have a fairly effective radar and radar-guided missiles to take advantage of that fact.
MiG-29 “Fulcrum”: A brand-new Soviet fighter that has been heavily exported to their allies. While not quite as good as current U.S. designs, the twin-engined MiG-29 is too close for comfort. It is equipped with a good radar and missile armament.
MLR — Main Line of Resistance: Term for a line defining the forward edge of a military unit’s main defensive position.
MRE — Meals Ready to Eat: The modern replacement for the legendary “C” rations, an MRE is a series of plastic pouches filled with freeze-dried foods. While individual opinions vary, on the whole they are seen as a vast improvement over their predecessors.
NSP — National Security Planning Agency: The new name for the KCIA, or Korean Central Intelligence Agency. This organization is responsible for stopping espionage and subversion threatening the Republic of Korea.
OP — Observation Post: A small, often concealed, position occupied by one or two men whose mission is to provide early warning of enemy movement.
OV-10D Bronco: A twin-turboprop observation plane, it was designed during Vietnam to serve as a forward air controller. It has a crew of two and carries a small weapons load of its own.
P-3C Orion: A four-engine turboprop, this successful design is based on the Lockheed Electra airliner. Instead of passengers, the fuselage carries many different sensors, computers, and a bomb bay full of sonobuoys and homing torpedoes.
PFC: Private First Class.
PMP — Pontonno-Mostovoi Park: The name for a type of Russian pontoon bridge.
Radar-Guided Missiles: All air-to-air missiles have some sort of guidance mechanism to help them find the target. The two most common types are infrared, or heat-seeking, systems, such as the AIM-9L Sidewinder, and radar-guided systems, such as the AIM-7M Sparrow. Essentially, radar-guided missiles home in on a target “painted” by a friendly radar. They are longer-ranged than heat-seeking missiles and can usually attack a target from any angle. They are also more complex and cost more to build.
RF-5A: A reconnaissance variant of the F-5A Freedom Fighter. It is a small, simple, twin-engine fighter with the armament removed and cameras installed in the nose. Its only defense is speed.
RIO — Radar Intercept Officer: The U.S. Navy term for the flight officer in the backseat of a two-seat fighter, such as the F-14 Tomcat or F-4 Phantom II. While the pilot flies the aircraft, the RIO operates the plane’s complex weapons systems.
ROK — Republic of Korea: South Korea.
RORSAT — Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite: A Russian radar satellite that searches for ships. It can transmit information back to naval headquarters in the Soviet Union or even provide targeting data directly to surface ships or subs with long-range weapons.
RPG — Rocket-Propelled Grenade: Russian designation for a series of simple antitank weapons. The most common is the RPG-7, which is a shoulder-fired weapon with a short range.
RPK: A Russian designation for a light machine gun of mediocre performance, especially when compared to the U.S. M60 machine gun. It weighs a little over 12 pounds.
R.S.F.S.R. — Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic: The largest of the fifteen republics making up the Soviet Union. The R.S.F.S.R. contains more than half the Soviet population and three-quarters of the nation’s territory. It stretches from the Baltic Sea in the west to the shores of the Pacific Ocean in the east — including all of Siberia.
RTO — Radio Telephone Operator: Any soldier assigned to carry and operate a unit’s radio. He is usually found near the officers.
S-60: The designation for a Russian-designed twin 57mm antiaircraft gun. They are normally deployed in batteries of six or regiments of twenty-four. The guns are radar-guided.
SA-2 Guideline: An elderly Soviet antiaircraft missile. The “SA” stands for “surface to air.” It is designed to engage high-altitude targets.
SA-7 Graiclass="underline" A small, shoulder-fired missile with a heat-seeker. It can engage low-altitude targets at close range. A later version, the SA-14 Gremlin, has improved performance.
SA-8 Gecko: A newer, mobile antiaircraft missile, it can engage aircraft at low and medium altitude. It is completely self-sufficient, with the radar and missiles mounted on an amphibious wheeled vehicle.
SA-N-8: A naval version of the shoulder-fired SA-14 Gremlin, it is a short-range, heat-seeking antiaircraft missile.
Sabot: Technically the French word for “shoe,” it is also the name for an armor-piercing tank shell. A small superheavy tungsten alloy or depleted-uranium penetrator is fixed to a larger boot, the sabot, which is the same size as the tank’s main gun barrel. When the round is fired, the boot falls away as it leaves the barrel, freeing the penetrator for its fight to the target.
SACEUR — Supreme Allied Commander in Europe: A NATO command, the billet is occupied by a four-star general who would command all NATO forces in Europe in wartime.
SAM — Surface-to-Air Missile: A general term applied to any missile used to shoot at aircraft.
SAR — Search and Rescue: The use of aircraft and specialized rescue teams to search for and recover aircrews downed behind enemy lines.
SH-2F Sea Sprite: A small twin-engine helicopter with a crew of three. It can land and take off from the fantail of a small warship and search for ships or chase down sonar contacts. It can carry torpedoes or depth charges for use against enemy subs. It is also called the LAMPS Mark I, for “Light Airborne Multipurpose System.”
SH-60B Seahawk: A twin-engine helicopter designed to replace the SH-2F Sea Sprite. Equipped with powerful engines and advanced electronics, the Seahawk is also called the LAMPS Mark III. It can search for surface ships or submarines and attack both types of targets.
SIGINT — Signals Intelligence: Similar to ELINT, it encompasses both the collection of enemy electronic emissions and the later analysis of those emissions.
SMG: Submachine gun.
Sonobuoys: Small, air-droppable sonar devices used to detect submarines. They may be either active pinging sonars or passive listening devices. ASW aircraft and helicopters usually carry large numbers of sonobuoys.
SOP — Standard Operating Procedure: Standardized instructions covering the optimum procedures for many different types of operations — for everything from forming a convoy to attacking a bunker. Because it is supposed to be “standard” Army-wide, it allows different units to cooperate more efficiently.