flareship

plural flareships

1. A military aircraft that drops illumination flares.

   The Rangers held on tenaciously throughout the night supported by gunships and flareships.

   2024 October 13, Wikipedia contributors, “Dennis Fujii”, in English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation

   2 more examples

   Once the flareship reached the range, an orbit would be established to take the aircraft across the drop zone every 2 minutes 45 seconds. Depending on the type of ordnance to be delivered by the F-100 students, between two and four flares would be dropped on each pass.

   1968 January, Lou Stalsworth, “Night Owl”, in The Airman, volume XII, number 1, page 10

   Originally, the phrase Blind Bat was just the call sign for C-130s on forward air controller/flareship duty over southern Laos.

   1989 july, Sam McGowan, “Blind Bat”, in AIR FORCE Magazine, volume 72, page 82