This specialized aircraft relies on a larger carrier vehicle to transport it to a specific altitude or location before release. The configuration extends the range of the smaller craft, allowing it to bypass ground takeoff and climb phases. Once deployed, the parasite conducts its mission independently, though some historical designs allowed for mid-air recovery back into the mother ship.
Heard on the job
The test flight will verify the release mechanism before we drop the parasite at forty thousand feet.
Also heard as
- parasite aircraft
- parasite fighter