Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of defensive mission for fighter aircraft, in which they guard a designated site, either a fixed site on land, ships at sea, or less commonly support aircraft such as aerial tankers. A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft, sometimes with multiple decks. ...

It typically entails fighters flying some sort of pattern around the defended object, while looking for incoming attackers. Effective CAP patterns may include aircraft positioned at both high and low altitudes, so as to shorten response times when the attack is detected.

CAP is especially characteristic of aircraft carrier operations, where the CAP is flown to protect the carrier battle group. There are also BARCAP and TARCAP missions: An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ... The Abraham Lincoln battle group during the 2000 RIMPAC exercises The carrier battle group (CVBG or CARBATGRU) or carrier strike group (CVSG) is a fleet of ships in support of an aircraft carrier. ...

• A BARrier Combat Air Patrol (BARCAP) is flown between the battle group and the direction from which it is most likely that enemy attack will come.
• A TARget Combat Air Patrol (TARCAP) is flown over or near a strike target in order to protect specialised attack aircraft such as the AC-130 from harassment by enemy fighters.
• A High Asset Value Combat Air Patrol (HAVCAP) is flown to protect a high-value asset (such as a tanker or an AWACS) during a specific "time on station".

The real-life activity inspired the computer game Combat Air Patrol, a flight simulator published by Psygnosis in 1995. AC-130 deploying flares The AC-130 Gunship is an armed variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Interior Cockpit of a modern Flight Simulator A flight simulator is a system that tries to replicate, or simulate, the experience of flying an airplane as closely and realistically as possible. ... Psygnosis was a British company that published moody computer games boasting psychedelic cover art by Yes artist Roger Dean. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Reference

Griffith, Paddy (1991). The Ultimate Weaponry. Sidgwick & Jackson.