United States Department of Defense aerospace vehicle designation A United States Department of Defense aerospace vehicle designation is determined by a detailed protocol which identifies all aircraft , helicopter s , rocket s , missile s , spacecraft , and other aerial vehicles in military use by the United States Armed Forces . Overview . The current United States Department of Defense system for naming and designating aircraft aims to provide a unified system across all services that applies to all military aerial and space craft . There are two basic components to a craft ' s identity : its designation , and its common name . A vehicle designation is sometimes referred to as a Mission Design Series ( MDS ) , referring to the three main parts of the designation , that combine to form a unique profile for each vehicle . The first series of letters ( up to four ) determine the type of craft and designed mission . A series number identifies major types which are of the same type and mission , and finally a series of variant and block identifiers clarify the exact configuration of the vehicle . The name is a matter of less specific construction , but is aimed at providing an official common name which eases identification and communication regarding the vehicle . The common name is not used in internal publications ( an official internal report would refer to the " F - 16 " and " AIM - 9 " but not mention the names " Fighting Falcon " or " Sidewinder " ) . Pilots often have their own nicknames for their aircraft which may bear only coincidental resemblance ( if that ) to the official common name , although some pilot nicknames are similar or even derived from the official common name ( such as " Bug " and " Super Bug " for the F / A - 18 Hornet and F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet ) . The current regulations and procedures relating to employing this system are laid out in DoD and branch documents , including Air Force Joint Instruction 16 - 401 , and are not classified . These regulations replaced the previous regulations which were originally introduced in 1962 ( See 1962 United States Tri - Service aircraft designation system ) . Components . There are 10 potential components of a system ' s designation , comprising the three basic parts of the designation . Status prefix . Status prefix is an optional prefix not often used for vehicles in regular service . If used , it is the first letter in the MDS . Authorized current status prefixes are : Modified mission symbols . Many craft have been designed for more specific missions than their basic mission symbol would indicate , and many design series have been designed for different missions than the original design , and may or may not still maintain capability for the original mission . The modified mission symbol provides the services the ability to accurately indicate a craft ' s mission without losing commonality with the basic design MDS . If utilized , the modified mission symbol is placed directly in front of the basic mission symbol . Modified mission symbols are not used for rockets and missiles . Currently authorized modified mission symbols are : Basic mission symbol . The basic mission symbol is the heart of the mission part of the designation . No designation is without it , and some designations consist of only a basic mission symbol for the mission part , such as the F - 14 or C - 130 . The following are the officially authorized basic mission symbols : Vehicle type symbols . For non - standard vehicle types ( vehicles other than piloted , fixed - wing and self - propelled aircraft which are wholly supported by aerodynamic lift from liftoff to touchdown ) , a final symbol is added after the basic mission symbol to identify the vehicle type . Current applicable symbols are as follow : Rockets / missiles . Rocket / missile launch environment . All rockets and missiles contain a symbol to indicate the launch method , be it from the air , ground , sea , etc . The following are the currently authorized symbols for launch environments . These are not used for other aerospace vehicles . Rocket / missile mission symbol . Rockets and missiles are assigned a single mission symbol , which usually denotes the intended target type of the missile . For most types of missile , the combination of launch environment and mission symbols form a from - to combination ( surface - to - air , ship - to - submarine ) that gives one a good idea of the potential uses for the missile . Vehicle type symbol . For rockets and missiles , the vehicle type symbol identifies the basic vehicle type and will be the final symbol in the mission part of the MDS .