Naval aviation

Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.

In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role, under the command of non-naval forces such as an air force (e.g., the former RAF Coastal Command) or a coast guard. An exception to this is the United States Coast Guard, which is considered part of U.S. naval aviation. In addition, in that the United States Marine Corps is part of the United States Department of the Navy and one of its naval services, that force's aircraft and aviation personnel are also considered part of U.S. naval aviation, whether based afloat or ashore.

Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based aircraft must be sturdy enough to withstand demanding carrier operations. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy and flexible enough to come to a sudden stop on a pitching flight deck; they typically have robust folding mechanisms that allow higher numbers of them to be stored in below-decks hangars and small spaces on flight decks. These aircraft are designed for many purposes, including air-to-air combat, surface attack, submarine attack, search and rescue, materiel transport, weather observation, reconnaissance and wide area command and control duties.

United States Naval Aviator

A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a pilot in the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps or United States Coast Guard.

Naming conventions

In the U.S. Navy, most naval aviators are unrestricted line officers (URL), eligible for command at sea; however, a small number of line limited duty officers and chief warrant officers in the aviation operations technician specialty are also trained as naval aviators and naval flight officers.

A small number of URL officers trained as naval aviators and naval flight officers who hold technical degrees at the undergraduate and/or postgraduate level may also opt to laterally transfer to the restricted line (RL) as aerospace engineering duty officers (AEDO). AEDOs are frequently test pilot school graduates and retain their flying status, with most of their billets being in the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM).

An even smaller number of naval aviators are in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, primarily as flight surgeons. These are either former URL officers previously designated as naval aviators who later attend medical school and transfer to the Medical Corps, or an even smaller percentage of "dual designator" naval flight surgeons who are selected to be student naval aviators as Medical Corps officers. The vast majority of naval flight surgeons, although they are on flight status, are not dual designated and are not naval aviators.