Aircraft
by Nation
United States
Military since 1962
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Basic Classifications: In 1962, the U.S. Air
Force and U.S. Navy designations were unified into a single system as then
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided to simplify the procurement
of military aircraft. The unification was achieved by re-designating
existing Navy aircraft to conform to the existing Air Force system with
the exception of resurrecting the "A" for Attack
designation. The specific model number within the mission
designation (for example, the "101" in "F-101") was
restarted at one as the model numbers of fighter and cargo aircraft were
well into the hundreds in 1962.
Prefixes: Modification to the basic mission of an
aircraft continued to be noted by a mission prefix. For example the
RF-4 Phantom was a reconnaissance version of the F-4 Phantom fighter
aircraft.
