(aviation, of an act or action) With the participants being two or more aircraft in flight.
Used in a Sentence
air-to-air
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for air-to-air.
Editorial note
In air-to-air conflict that means getting the jump on the other guy and getting off a shot before he knows you're there.
Examples15
Definitions2
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(aviation, of an act or action) With the participants being two or more aircraft in flight.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of air-to-air gathered in one view.
(aviation, military, of a missile) Fired from an aircraft in flight at another one.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for air-to-air.
adjective
(aviation, of an act or action) With the participants being two or more aircraft in flight.
adjective
(aviation, military, of a missile) Fired from an aircraft in flight at another one.
Example sentences
In air-to-air conflict that means getting the jump on the other guy and getting off a shot before he knows you're there.
Most aircraft with air-to-air radar, such as fighters, have the radar on and use it from takeoff to landing.
During the Vietnam war the US began to look into the unexpected underperformance of its pilots in air-to-air combat.
Sounds like what's needed is a bunch of high altitude blimps or cargo planes with air-to-air missiles.
Not even the most fervent A-10 fanatics believe that the A-10 is a capable air-to-air fighter; it was never intended to be.
I don't know that it could be done today, but I imagine in the not-to-distant future we'll have effective air-to-air UAVs.
Your comments about modern air-to-air missiles may be correct, but in 1968, the beyond-visual-range (BVR) engagement was more of a bomber general's fantasy than a reality.
As many have pointed out, this type of air-to-air platform may make sense for knocking out our current opposition, but when that opposition is all drones?
Think of the people writing software for air-to-air missiles.
Anti-radiation missiles exist but Air-to-Air missiles aren't widely used.
Oh and they have no real air-to-air defence.
The whole long-range dominance idea reminds me of early-Vietnam era F4 Phantoms - they were supposed to use the early models of Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles exclusively for air-to-air combat.
Quote examples
Axe says "The two jets would be playing the roles of opposing fighters in a pretend air battle, which the Air Force organized specifically to test out the F-35’s prowess as a close-range dogfighter in an air-to-air tangle".
Hmmm, it's not clear that "a database of “over 1,450 air-to-air victories” around the world from 1965 to the present" can really help us understand a world that is infested with aerial drones.
Proper noun examples
Air-to-air combat is exceedingly rare these days, and in the very near future no piloted aircraft will be able to keep up with a drone anyway (smaller, lighter, able to pull G-forces that would black out or kill a human pilot).
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use air-to-air in a sentence?
In air-to-air conflict that means getting the jump on the other guy and getting off a shot before he knows you're there.
What does air-to-air mean?
(aviation, of an act or action) With the participants being two or more aircraft in flight.
What part of speech is air-to-air?
air-to-air is commonly used as adjective.