What it means
Before a mission, crews work out how much fuel they need to get back to base or a tanker, with a margin. That number is bingo. When a pilot calls “bingo,” everyone knows that aircraft is leaving: the brevity code defines it as the “prebriefed fuel state needed for recovery.”
Joker: the warning first
Joker is a fuel state set above bingo, the point where a pilot should start wrapping up: the official definition is “fuel state above BINGO at which separation, BUGOUT, or event termination should begin.” Joker means “soon”; bingo means “now.”
Why you might see it
Fighters on a training mission often meet a tanker mid-flight to stay out longer. Watch a group of military jets on Bogey break off together and head home, and someone has probably called bingo. Tankers are worth a look too: see tankers and radar planes.
