Introduction

::: Before 1962 each branch of the United States Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard) had their own system of designating an aircraft. The now famous Phantom II was called F4H1 by the US Navy (USN), but the Airforce (USAF) decided to name a similar version F-110A. Having a uniform designation system for all aircraft in service would make a vast improvement in logistics. After 1962 the Phantom II was designated F-4B by the US Navy and F-4C by the USAF.

Mission, Design and Series system

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::: The new system of designation (=naming) an aircraft introduced by the Department of Defence (DoD) as a standard for military aircraft was called the Mission, Design and Series system (MDS). At the same time they decided to use the system also for guided missiles, rockets and electronic equipment. The new system was build with (max) 4 letters, a dash, (max)3 numbers and a letter like:

XXXX-###X

(X indicates a letter, and # indicates a number)

::: Note: Not all letters and numbers are used at all times. This makes it sometimes hard to tell which letter means what.

• The first letter left of the dash is the Vehicle Type Designation.
• The second letter left of the dash is the Basic Mission Designation.
• The third letter left of the dash is the Modified Mission Designation.
• The fourth letter left of the dash is the Status Prefix.
• After the dash is the Design Number (max 3 numbers).
• At the end is a Series Indicator.

::: The above mentioned designations system can be followed by a dash, two numbers, an other  dash and two letters in a -XX-## fromat.

• The two numbers are the Block Number.
• The two letters are the Manufacturer Identification Code.

::: A total designator that looks something like this XXXX-###X-##-XX. Below you can find some explanations of the letters and numbers used. Links open pop-up windows that show more detailed information and provide more examples and exceptions. We start just left of the dash and move from there further to the left.

Vehicle Type Designation:

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::: This indicates the type of vehicle like helicopter, glider etc. The Vehicle Type
designator is not used for normal aircraft. (‘Normal’ aircraft are manned, powered, fixed-wing, non-VTOL, non-spacecraft aircraft.) Vehicle Type designator letters are:

[Examples]

Basic Mission Designation:

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::: This indicates the primary design task of the aircraft and is always used to designate a 'normal' aircraft. The Basic Mission designator is probably the most important part of a designation as it tells you the primary function of an aircraft. Basic Mission designator letters are:

[Examples]

Modified Mission Designation:

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::: This explains that the aircraft has been modified from its basic mission for a special mission. This letter always precedes the basic mission letter. Modified Mission designator letters are:

[Examples]

Status Prefix Designation:

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::: This is an indication that the vehicle is not standard due to experiments, tests or other special circumstances. Status Prefix designator letters are:

[Examples]

::: The Basic Mission Designator is always present in a MDS designation. The vehicle type, modified mission - and Status Prefix designators may be used separately from each other. After the (max) 4 letters and the first dash we encounter (from left to right):

Design Number:

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::: This sequential number (with a maximal 4 numbers) indicates the model aircraft
within the Basic Mission category. For example, F-14, F-15, F-16, F-17, F-18 etc. The number given within the basic Mission category is not always sequential. Where is the F-19 or how did the came up with the designation F-117.

[Examples]

Series:

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::: This letter indicates the major modifications to the original design in alphabetical order and starting with a ‘A’. To avoid confusion with the numbers ‘1’ and ‘0’, the letters ‘I’ and ‘O’ are not used. Exception on this rule is the Strike Eagle version for the Israeli Airforce called F-15I.

[Examples]

Block Number:

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::: Another addition to the above mentioned designation system is the block number and the manufacturer identification code. These are not used very often and are only occasional used on aircraft ID plates and in technical manuals.
on the aircraft.

 

::: After the previous mentioned Series letter you can find a dash followed by a Block Number. This indicates the block of identical aircraft to which the aircraft belongs (also known as Batch number).

 

Manufacturer Identification Code:

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::: This is a two letter code that indicates the manufacturer. Each manufacturer has its own two letter code. Some (not all) Manufacturer Identification Code letters are:

[Examples]

A matrix with a number of possible MDS combinations can be found here.

A matrix with a non-standard (wrong) DoD designations can be found here.