In military aviation and air traffic control, a bandit is an air contact confirmed to be an opposing force. Crucially, the label does not automatically grant pilots the authority to fire. The target must be declared hostile before a pilot is cleared to engage, meaning a bandit is tracked but not immediately shot down.
Heard on the job
Radar shows a bandit at your three o'clock, angels twenty, closing fast.
Do not mix it up with
- Bogey: A bogey is an unidentified radar contact, whereas a bandit is confirmed as an enemy.