A/A (AA7 (admitted – toléré) air-to-air)

A/A is the abbreviation for air-to-air. NATO's glossary of acronyms and abbreviations lists it as the preferred short form of the term, and gives the French equivalent as air-air. The entry is published in AAP-15 (2013), the Glossary of NATO acronyms and abbreviations.

The same entry marks AA7 as "admitted", which the French column renders as toléré. In other words, NATO accepts AA7 as a variant but names A/A as the form to use. The entry also cites STANAG 4586. This page explains how to read that entry and what it does and does not tell a Canadian supplier.

What the NATO glossary entry says

The glossary is a bilingual reference. Each line pairs an abbreviation with its full English term and its French counterpart. For this entry, the underlying term is air-to-air and the French equivalent is air-air.

• Preferred abbreviation: A/A
• Admitted abbreviation: AA7 (French status: toléré)
• Full term: air-to-air
• French equivalent: air-air
• Related standard cited: STANAG 4586

Preferred and admitted forms

NATO terminology work separates forms that are preferred from forms that are only admitted. A preferred abbreviation is the one NATO recommends in documents. An admitted abbreviation is tolerated, which is the sense of the French word toléré. For air-to-air, A/A holds the preferred position and AA7 sits in the admitted position.

The practical reading is simple. When you write or review technical material that follows NATO conventions, A/A is the form the glossary supports. If you meet AA7, the glossary treats it as an accepted variant of the same term rather than a different concept.

How air-to-air is used

Air-to-air describes an interaction in which both parties are airborne: one aircraft or airborne system acting against, communicating with, or otherwise interacting with another airborne system. The abbreviation A/A is shorthand for that relationship. It is a label for a category, so its exact weight in a given document depends on the phrase it appears in, such as a description of a capability, an interface or a system function.

The French form, air-air, matters for Canadian readers because federal documents are published in both official languages. Bilingual bid material that carries NATO terminology can use A/A in English and air-air in French for the same idea.

The STANAG 4586 reference

The glossary entry points to STANAG 4586. A STANAG is a NATO standardization agreement, and the glossary cites this one alongside the abbreviation. The glossary entry is the source for that link between the term and the standard. For the full text and scope of any standard, use NATO's own channels, including the NATOTerm terminology database, which NATO describes as its official database of non-classified military and relevant non-military terminology, and the NATO encyclopedia.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

A/A is a terminology item. The abbreviation creates no certification, registration or compliance obligation on its own. Any requirement involving air-to-air systems or STANAG 4586 would come from the wording of a specific solicitation or contract, not from the glossary entry.

Bid teams should do three things. Read the solicitation's own definitions and technical annexes first. Treat A/A as air-to-air and AA7 as the admitted variant when both appear in source material. Where a solicitation names STANAG 4586 or another NATO standard, obtain that standard directly and respond to the stated requirement rather than to the abbreviation.