Definition
A ground-based navigation facility that combines a VOR (which provides magnetic bearing information to civil aircraft) and a TACAN (which provides bearing and distance information to military aircraft) at a single co-located site. Civil aircraft use the VOR portion for bearing and the distance-measuring component of the TACAN for DME range information, giving them both bearing and distance from one station.
Plain English
A single navigation station on the ground that gives pilots both their direction to or from the station and their distance from it. It serves civil and military aircraft from the same site.
Context Anchor
Seen on instrument approach charts, en route charts, and approach procedures that use a VORTAC as the navigation source or as a point along the procedure.
Derivation
The name is a blend: VOR (Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range) plus TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation, a military system). Combining them into one facility avoids building two separate stations to serve civil and military traffic.
Why Pilots Care
Supplies reliable bearing and distance data that supports precise navigation and instrument approaches in controlled airspace.
Intuition Check
Do not think of a VORTAC as a cockpit instrument. It is the ground station your aircraft navigation equipment receives signals from.
Example Sentence 1
The approach begins at the VORTAC, where the pilot tracks the published radial inbound while monitoring distance on the DME.
Example Sentence 2
With DME locked on the VORTAC, the crew could confirm distance to the missed approach point.