Why Do Fighter Pilots Say 'Fox' When They Fire A Missile?
Story by Jonathan H. Kantor • 4h
If you've ever watched a movie like "Top Gun," "Independence Day," or anything dealing with fighter jets, you've likely heard pilots say "Fox One," "Fox Two," or "Fox Three" when they fire a missile. Movies don't explain what the fox codes mean, but rest assured, they have a meaning, and they're used for a practical purpose. It all boils down to the many different types of missiles that NATO fighter jets are capable of firing, and because there are 32 countries in NATO, there are a lot of options.
Still, despite the plethora of powerful ordnance fighters that can fire, pilots use one of three NATO brevity codes to quickly and easily report what ordnance is being sent toward an enemy. The primary purpose of the fox brevity codes used by NATO is to reduce the chances of friendly fire because calling out the type of missile informs a pilot's wingman and others operating in the area what kind of weapons are currently careening through the air.
Some air-to-air missiles are more advanced than others, and each fox code refers to one of three types: semi-active radar homing, infrared homing (heat-seeking), and active radar homing. Each of these three types of missiles has positives and negatives, and they're fired depending on the situation. It's up to the pilot to determine the type of ordnance to fire, and once they do, they get on the radio and say their callsign, followed by one of the fox codes. This is true whether the pilot is an American servicemember flying a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor or it's a Greek pilot operating an F-35 Lightning II and has been since the codes were first used during the Vietnam War.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-do-fighter-pilots-say-fox-when-they-fire-a-missile/ar-AA1Jndo3?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=7d5ec15c958f4fba980a86869b1c7121&ei=14
