A sortie represents one flight by one aircraft, starting from takeoff and ending upon landing, usually to accomplish a specific military or test objective. Planners use this metric to track fleet utilization, maintenance requirements, and pilot workload. A mission involving four jets flying together consists of four distinct sorties.
Heard on the job
We need to turn these two birds around quickly if we're going to generate another sortie before the weather closes in.
Insider tip
Maintenance crews track sorties closely because inspections and parts replacements are often scheduled based on the number of sorties flown rather than just flight hours.