Plain English Meaning
A single ground station that gives pilots two pieces of information: which direction they are from the station, and how far away they are. It serves both civilian and military aircraft from the same location.
Full Definition
A ground-based navigation facility that combines a VOR (Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range) station and the distance-measuring portion of a TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) station at a single site. Civil aircraft use the VOR component to determine bearing from the station and the TACAN's DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) component to determine slant-range distance. Military aircraft use the full TACAN signal for both bearing and distance.
Context Anchor
Seen on instrument charts and in preferred descriptions, where a may be used as a named that helps define the route.