Plain English Meaning
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.
Full 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.
Context Anchor
Seen on aeronautical charts, instrument procedures, and information when a tunes or identifies a ground-based navigation station.