hard deck

noun

In air combat training, the minimum allowed altitude below which the aircraft is considered destroyed by ground impact.

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Meanings

nounhard deck (uncountable)
  1. uncountableaeronauticsIn air combat training, the minimum allowed altitude below which the aircraft is considered destroyed by ground impact.

    Get your butts above the hard deck. Return to base immediately.

    1986, Top Gun
Cite this entry
APA

hard deck. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard%20deck

MLA

“hard deck.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard%20deck. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hard deck,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard%20deck.

Source: hard deck on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.