AAF1 (Allied air force)

AAF1 stands for Allied air force. It is an entry in NATO's glossary of acronyms and abbreviations, where it appears as the English abbreviation for the term. The glossary pairs it with a French abbreviation, FAA1, for "force aérienne alliée".

AAF1 belongs to NATO terminology, the shared vocabulary the Alliance uses in its documents and in military communication across member countries. Canadian suppliers and bid teams who read NATO-related material may meet the abbreviation, and this page explains what it stands for and where to verify it.

The AAF1 entry and its French equivalent

NATO's abbreviation glossary lists "Allied air force" with the abbreviation AAF1. The same glossary lists the French equivalent, "force aérienne alliée", with the abbreviation FAA1. The two entries mirror each other because NATO publishes its terminology in both of its official languages, English and French. The entry appears in the glossary of NATO acronyms and abbreviations held in the NATO Archives.

For a Canadian reader, the bilingual pairing is familiar. Federal documents also appear in English and French, and a supplier working on NATO-related material should expect each abbreviation to have a French counterpart.

NATOTerm, the official source for NATO terminology

NATO identifies NATOTerm as its official terminology database. It contains non-classified military and non-military terminology relevant to NATO. When a document uses an abbreviation you do not recognize, NATOTerm is the place to confirm what NATO means by it.

The glossary entry is the direct source for AAF1. NATOTerm is the broader reference for the wider vocabulary around it, including related terms for air forces, commands and operations.

Allied Air Command and the air component of NATO operations

An Allied air force is an air force operating as part of the Alliance. NATO's own air organization is Allied Air Command (AIRCOM), which is headquartered at Ramstein, Germany. According to NATO's description of Allied Command Operations, Allied Air Command does two things:

• It plans and directs the air component of Alliance operations and missions.
• It executes Alliance air and missile-defence operations and missions.

AIRCOM is a command, and AAF1 is a glossary term for an Allied air force. The two are related by subject matter, but they are separate entries in NATO's vocabulary and should not be treated as interchangeable.

AAF1 is not A.E.A.F.

A Canadian government historical publication, hosted on canada.ca, uses the abbreviation A.E.A.F. for "Allied Expeditionary Air Force". That is a different abbreviation with a different expansion. AAF1 means Allied air force, and A.E.A.F. refers to a specific historical formation. Bid teams should keep the two apart when reading older material alongside current NATO terminology.

What AAF1 means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

AAF1 is a NATO glossary abbreviation. If it appears in a document you are reviewing, read it as "Allied air force" and confirm the usage against the NATO glossary or NATOTerm. Where a solicitation defines its own terms, the definitions in that solicitation govern your response. Questions about how a term applies to a specific requirement belong with the contracting authority named in the tender documents.