Tacan

British

/ ˈtækən /

noun

an electronic ultrahigh-frequency navigation system for aircraft which gives a continuous indication of bearing and distance from a transmitting station

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Tacan

C20: tac ( tical ) a ( ir ) n ( avigation )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The park’s owner is planning to expand the campground, but archivists and Vince Tacan, chief of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, oppose it.

From Washington Post

Last week the House Commerce Committee, after reviewing the controversy and the still-secret development of Tacan, turned up a shocking note: since 1948 the Navy and Air Force have spent $176 million to develop Tacan, but they candidly admit that it is still full of bugs.

From Time Magazine Archive

Omni-DME is slightly more accurate for distance; Tacan is slightly better on direction.

From Time Magazine Archive

By 1952 word leaked�out that the Navy-inspired Tacan would make Omni-DME obsolete.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Air Force, which found the Navy system less sensitive to rough terrain than Omni-DME, backed Tacan.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023