Aircraft which follows another aircraft in order to observe it up close during flight
"Chase aircraft" redirects here. For the United States aircraft manufacturer, see Chase Aircraft.
Two chase aircraft, a Learjet 23 and a Cessna T-37, in formation with a NASA Boeing 747 905 as part of a wing vortex experiment.
A chase plane is an aircraft that "chases" a "subject" aircraft, spacecraft or rocket, for the purposes of making real-time observations and taking air-to-air photographs and video of the subject vehicle during flight.[1]