page_title: Ram air turbine
section_title: Military use
hierarchical_section_title: Ram air turbine / Military use
caption_attribution_description: English: Me 163 Komert at Canada Aviation Museum
context_page_description: A ram air turbine is a small wind turbine that is connected to a hydraulic pump, or electrical generator, installed in an aircraft and used as a power source. The RAT generates power from the airstream by ram pressure due to the speed of the aircraft.
context_section_description: RATs are common in military aircraft which must be capable of surviving sudden and complete loss of power. 
  In other military uses, pod-fitted systems such as the M61A1 Vulcan cannon or high-powered electronics such as the AN/ALQ-99 jamming system can be powered by a RAT in standard operation. This allows their installation on a standard hardpoint, without requiring a pod-specific power supply. Also, some free-fall nuclear weapons, such as the British Yellow Sun and Blue Danube, used RATs to power radar altimeters and firing circuits; these were a more reliable alternative to batteries.
caption: A Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet showing its nose-mount ram-air turbine
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