Aerospace Acronym and Abbreviation Guide

The Avionics Aerospace Acronym and Abbreviation Guide

December 2010

Avionics proudly presents the fifth edition of our biennial Aerospace Acronym and 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