What are the Aircraft and Role Codes Used in Air Operations?

Aviation; It has strategic importance in today's countries in military and economic terms. At this point, the Air Force has an important role in the protection of national security policies in which the protection of territorial integrity is essential. Territorial integrity should not be identified only with land or sea assets; it should be known that the airspace above these assets is also a part of territorial integrity. At this point, the air forces perform the duties they are obliged to perform with their air elements and land-based air defence systems. The air force performs this task with all kinds of Air Defence and Attack and other aircrafts in other roles.  

Even though the development of information technology provides qualitative gains for security forces, it has different needs against the change and transformation of battlefields.  It has become an inevitable reality today to have highly capable air combat and defence systems in order to respond to the increasing number and variety of threats. 

Maintaining the qualitative structure of air warfare elements, and at some point their modernisation, has become even more important in the 21st century, when technology is changing rapidly. Many states are looking for ways to provide their air forces with systems that have the capabilities required by the age. They are also investing in the development of precision weapons and systems to protect air, land and sea platforms from air attacks.

Military action is a coordinated military action taken by a state or non-state actor in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in favour of the party or state conducting the action. Operations may be of a combat or non-combat nature and are designated by a code name for national security purposes. Military operations are generally known by their generally recognised common usage names rather than by their operational objectives.

In today's aviation world, there are many model aircraft and aircraft used in air defence and air operations or in warfare. 

Each model aircraft is identified by a code number such as A-B-C-E-F-KC. 

These codes explain to air operation planners and practitioners the roles for which the aircraft model is built and available. 

In an air operation mission plan, all missions, including pre-war intelligence and reconnaissance, offensive and post-bombardment pilot rescue vehicles, are planned and kept either waiting in the air or ready for take-off on the ground when needed. 

For all these missions, aircraft and aircrafts suitable for different missions and purposes are prepared by the armed forces of the countries before the start of the operation and used in training and real missions.

The situation is the same for civilian aircraft. An aircraft type designator is a two-, three- or four-character alphanumeric code indicating each aircraft type (and some sub-types) that may appear in flight planning. These codes are defined by both the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). ICAO codes are published in ICAO Document 8643 Aircraft Type Designators and are used by airline operations such as air traffic control and flight planning. ICAO designators are used to distinguish between aircraft types and variants with different performance characteristics that affect ATC (Air Traffic Controller), while codes do not distinguish between service characteristics (passenger and freight variants of the same type/series will have the same ICAO code). IATA codes are published in Annex A of IATA's annual Standard Tariffs Information Manual (SSIM) and are used for airline tariffs and computer reservation systems. IATA designators are used to distinguish between aircraft types and variants that differ from an airline commercial perspective (size, role, internal configuration, etc.). Besides an Aircraft Type Code, IATA may optionally define an Aircraft Group Code for types and variants that share common characteristics (e.g. all Boeing 747 freighters, regardless of series).

Reference 1 provides a partial list of ICAO type designators for a number of multi-engine and turbine aeroplanes listed in References 1, together with the relevant IATA type codes, where available. For example, in this list, the aeroplane with ICAO code AN124 is identified as IATA type code A4F. The model name is Antonov An-124 Ruslan. A320 ICAO coded aircraft is also defined as 320 as IATA type code.  The model name is also defined as Airbus A320.

This list of United States Tri-Service (Army, Air Force and Navy) aircraft designations, given in Reference 2, includes prototype, pre-production and operational type designations under the United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, which replaced the 1924 Air Force, 1922 Navy and 1956 Army designation systems in 1962.

To give an example for military aircraft, an aircraft (B-52) with a B code in front of it (Bomber) tells us about a B-52 aircraft in the bomber role. The ICAO code is defined as B52 and describes the Boeing B52- Stratofortress model.

When F-16 or F-35 or F-4 is written, we understand that the relevant aircraft is produced and can be used for the Fighter role. 

To give another example of these codes, SR-71, the fastest aircraft in the world, refers to an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft on a Strategic Reconnaissance mission.

Sometimes these codes can be used in duplicate. For example, EF-111 Raven aircraft (Electronic -Fighter) tells us about an F-111 aircraft that can perform both electronic jamming and air combat or bombardment missions. 

With the different roles of all these different aircraft, it is aimed to fulfil the air operation mission by jointly planning roles and missions for the desired target and desired purposes. 

If there will be a need for additional fuel while going to the target, KC (Kerosene Cargo) Fuel tanker or Air Refuelling aircraft are planned and the aircraft that will go to the relevant mission are planned to refuel in the air. 

The target is photographed with the available reconnaissance aircraft to determine whether the target has been completely destroyed or not. Reconnaissance - Fighter aircraft coded RF-4 are assigned to this task and the destruction of the target is detected by photo reconnaissance.

F-coded aircraft, which are produced for multi-role purposes, can perform different types of warfare such as Escort and Sweep missions, and even different missions such as Bombardment, except for the Fighter role, which is the main mission of the aircraft, depending on the type of payloads mounted on it. It can also switch to one of the Multi-mission roles according to the payloads installed on it. 

With additional LANTRIN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) or different pods, mission devices and missiles installed on the aircraft, it can also perform missions such as night flight, over-sea flight or flight over 100 metres above ground level.  In addition, it can take off and land on aircraft carriers. It can be used to direct laser weapons to the target.

In civil aviation applications, in cold and snowy countries such as Canada, it is possible to land transport planes and helicopters on snow and ice runways by adding skids in addition to aircraft tyres. 

Or, in another way, forest firefighting aircraft or transport aircraft can land and stay in lakes and seas with the equipment attached underneath. 

In this way, in places where there is no runway for landing and take-off, the aircraft can land and take off on the sea, lake, river or ice. 

Each aircraft can be produced in different models, for example, models that can take off from an aircraft carrier can also be produced and used.

Examples of these aircraft include the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) F-35A, which can take off and land on normal runways, the short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B, which can take off and land on an aircraft carrier, and the carrier variant (CV) F35C, which is a naval variant.

An aircraft model can also be produced with different code numbers for different missions. The A-6 Intruder aircraft is an example of this situation. 

The A-6 Intruder is an all-weather, all-weather, medium-range attack aircraft with two turbo jet engines and two crew members planned to operate on aircraft carriers. It has an integrated attack/navigation system for detecting small targets at low altitude and can carry a wide range of nuclear and/or conventional weapons and advanced air-to-surface missile systems. Also known as the A-6. The tanker type for aerial refuelling is called KA-6. The electronic countermeasures type is called EA-6A.

An aircraft can be built in different mission roles and different models of aircraft can be built for these missions.  While the KA-6 aircraft can fuel one or two aircraft, the KC-135 aircraft can fuel 10 F-16s according to the need. 

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refuelling aircraft manufactured by Boeing and used by the Turkish Air Force. It was developed based on the Boeing 367-80 prototype aircraft. The same aircraft was also the basis for the Boeing 707 passenger aircraft. KC -135 can carry approximately 90 tonnes of fuel. 

In addition to the radars deployed in the country, early warning and warning aircraft such as EW-3A (Early Warring) are used in coordination with the air operation centres to intervene when necessary by examining all kinds of movements of all friendly and enemy aircraft in the airspace where the operation is carried out. 

With the structural changes and modifications required to be made on the aircraft for all these missions, the same model aircraft can be used for different missions. 

Not every aircraft can launch every missile and bomb. Depending on the fuel and payload capacity of each aircraft, the bombs or other payloads it can carry also differ. 

Depending on the type of ammunition available, aircraft produced by different countries can also be added to these missions. Examples of these foreign aircraft include the French Rafale F4R or British Harrier, German Tornado and Eurofighter aircraft.  

The Meteor Missile, an air-to-air missile similar to the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, which can also be used by F-16s, can be used by Rafael or Eurofighter TYPHOON FGR4. 

Depending on the type of mission to be performed or the training required, it may be desirable to have all aircraft in different roles or all in the same configuration and in a single role. A country expecting an enemy air attack can put all of its aircraft in the air defence role configuration and keep them in that role. 

The common purpose of using all these different roles in a plan is to eliminate enemy air attacks or to neutralise enemy air defence and air forces by using the air power of friendly forces in an effective and successful joint and joint manner according to the structure and characteristics of enemy forces and air defence systems. 

Helicopters capable of SAR (Search and Rescue) missions are also deployed to rescue the pilots or crew or equipment of aircraft shot down by enemy defence of potentially friendly aircraft or air power. 

The UH code (Utility Helicopter) stands for Utility Helicopter and the UH-1H model military helicopter is classified as such. 

Apart from these, there are also aircraft such as C-160 or C-5 for personnel and material transport (Cargo), which have logistics or transport missions. 

Apart from these roles, there are also helicopters and aircraft on hospital duty for forest fires, emergency injured transport or treatment. 

All these codes are briefly listed below with their English equivalents.

A: Attack aircraft

B: Bomber

C: Cargo/Transport

E: Special electronic installation

F: Fighter

G: Glider

H: Helicopter

K: Tanker

L: Laser-equipped

O: Observation

P: Maritime patrol

Q: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

R: Reconnaissance

S: Anti-submarine warfare

S: Spaceplane

SR: Strategic Reconnaissance

T: Trainer

U: Utility

V: Vertical take-off/short take-off and landing (VTOL/STOL)

X: Special research, Experimentation

Z: Lighter-than-air

Each aircraft or aircraft is planned by the planners according to its purpose in accordance with the events or situations experienced, either in wartime or in natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and it is ensured that it performs its mission with the operation / mission order depending on the permissions and responsibilities given by the authorities. 

Air power aims to achieve success with the joint use of elements in many roles in order to use all available air power in training, exercises and crisis situations to the extent of the possibilities and capabilities. 

Another analogy is the use of all the elements in the orchestra in harmony, resulting in a wonderful work. 

You can do business with a single aircraft, but it is also possible to create a better work by using thousands of them in harmony.

References

1. https://www.icao.int/publications/DOC8643/Pages/default.aspx

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Tri-Service_aircraft_designations

3. https://airpowerasia.com/2020/04/24/challenges-of-integrated-air-defence/