Definition
A ground-based navigation facility that combines a VOR (which provides magnetic bearing information to civil aircraft) with a TACAN (which provides bearing and distance information to military aircraft). Civil pilots use the VOR portion for bearing and the DME portion of the TACAN for distance. The two systems share the same site and are tuned together as a single facility on a VHF frequency.
Plain English
A single ground station that gives pilots both their direction to or from the station and their distance from it. Civil aircraft get direction from the VOR side and distance from the TACAN side, all by tuning one frequency.
Context Anchor
Seen on aeronautical charts, instrument procedures, and navigation radio information when a pilot tunes or identifies a ground-based navigation station.
Derivation
The name is a blend of VOR and TACAN. VOR stands for VHF Omnidirectional Range, a civil navigation system. TACAN stands for Tactical Air Navigation, a military system that provides both bearing and distance. Combining them into one site gave both communities a single shared facility — hence VOR + TAC = VORTAC.
Why Pilots Care
VORTACs give pilots reliable azimuth and distance information for position fixing and navigation when GPS is unavailable or as a backup.
Intuition Check
Do not read VORTAC as just another name for a VOR. A VORTAC is a combined station: it includes VOR service and TACAN-based distance capability at the same location.
Example Sentence 1
We tracked inbound on the 270 radial of the Dauphin Island VORTAC and used the DME readout to identify the final approach fix.
Example Sentence 2
While flying the airway, the aircraft used the VORTAC for both radial tracking and distance updates.