Parasite aircraft
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A parasite aircraft is a component of a composite aircraft which is carried aloft and air launched by a larger carrier aircraft or mother ship to support the primary mission of the carrier. The carrier craft may or may not be able to later recover the parasite during flight.
An F-84 Thunderjet hooked on a FICON trapeze beneath its mother ship
Bristol Scout on Porte Baby
A Sopwith 2F.1 Camel secured under the British HM Airship 23r
A Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk attached by a "skyhook" to USS Macon.
Mother ship
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A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft.
The NASA X-43 being dropped from under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress
Orbital Sciences Stargazer, a converted Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 500 carrying a Pegasus XL rocket
A Sparrowhawk fighter attached to the "trapeze" apparatus of Macon, 1933
A Japanese Mitsubishi G4M2e Betty launching an Ohka