Wingman
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- This article is about the term in military aviation. For the term as used in social interaction, see Wingman (social).
A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot who supports another in a potentially dangerous flying environment.
"Wingman" was originally a term referring to the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation.
The idea behind the Wingman is to add the element of mutual support to aerial combat. A wingman makes the flight both offensively and defensively more capable by increasing fire power, situational awareness (hopefully), attacking an enemy threatening a comrade, and most importantly the ability to employ more dynamic tactics.
Wingman also is the name of a series of books by Mack Maloney.
Erich Hartmann, the Flying Ace with the most kills in history, was famous for never losing a wingman.
The USAF extends the Wingman concept to include Wingman Culture. Wingman Culture generalizes the concept of a Wingman to include Airmen helping Airmen. The wingman culture concept has great potential for Verbification of Wingman. Example: that Airman should be wingmanned.
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