Weapon System

Weapon System was a United States Armed Forces military designation scheme for experimental weapons ^[2] (e.g., WS-220) before they received an official name ? e.g., under a military aircraft designation system . The new designator reflected the increasing complexity of weapons that required separate development of auxiliary systems or components.

In November 1949, the Air Force decided to build the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger around a fire-control system . ^[3] This was "the real beginning of the weapon system approach [and the] aircraft would be integrated into the weapon system "as a whole from the beginning, so the characteristics of each component were compatible with the others". ^[4]

Around February 1950, an Air Research and Development Command "study prepared by Maj Gen Gordon P. Saville ...recommended that a 'systems approach' to new weapons be adopted [whereby] development of a weapon "system" required development of support equipment as well as the actual hardware itself." ^[5]

The first WS designation was WS-100A. ^[6]

US weapon programs were often begun as numbered government specifications such as an Advanced Development Objective (e.g., ADO-40) or a General Operational Requirement (e.g., GOR.80), although some programs were initially identified by contractor numbers (e.g., CL-282). ^[a]

List of Weapon Systems [ edit ]

List of weapon system programs for US military systems
Number	Project
WS-104A ^[1]	SM-64 Navaho
WS-107A	SM-65 Atlas
WS-110	North American XB-70 Valkyrie
WS-117L (GOR.80) ^[7]	Advanced Reconnaissance System (originally Project 1115); ^[8] recoverable capsule - Pied Piper/Sentry/ SAMOS ; television transmission - unfeasible; ^[9] Subsystem G: MiDAS
WS-119B (USAF 7795) ^[10]	Bold Orion ASAT
WS-119L	Project Moby Dick (originally Project Genetrix) ^[11]
WS-120A	BGM-75 AICBM
WS-124A	WS-124A Flying Cloud Project ^[12]
WS-125	(B-72)
WS-133A	AN/DRC-8 Emergency Rocket Communications System (Program 494L) LGM-30 Minuteman
WS-199	Anti-satellite weapon
WS-199B	Bold Orion
WS-199C	High Virgo
WS-199D	Alpha Draco
WS-201A	1954 interceptor
WS-224A	Phase I: BMEWS , Phase II: Wizard missile system ^[13]
WS-306A	Republic F-105 Thunderchief (misidentified as WS-3061 ^[14])
WS315A	PGM-17 Thor missile ^[15]
WS-324A ^[16]	General Dynamics F-111

Notes [ edit ]

^ When a government program number is not available, a contractor number (if available) is used in the table, e.g., Lockheed CL-282 for the U-2.

References [ edit ]

^ ^a ^b "North American SM-64 Navaho" . www.designation-systems.net .
^ "MX - Military and Government" . www.acronymfinder.com .
^ Donald 2003, pp. 68?69
^ Grant Historical Study No. 126 p. 53
^ Daso 1997 , p. 166.
^ Parsch, Andreas. "Designations Of U.S. Air Force Projects" . Retrieved 2020-01-18 .
^ Burroughs 1998 , p. 80?87.
^ Stares 1985 , p. 30.
^ Burroughs 1998 , p. 87.
^ Burroughs 1998 , p. 139.
^ Stares 1985 , p. 31?32.
^ Parsch, Andreas (21 March 2006). "WS-124A Flying Cloud" . Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4: Undesignated Vehicles . Designation-Systems . Retrieved 2017-12-10 .
^ NORAD Historical Summary 1958 January?June, p. 106
^ "Research Report - Index to Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-16 . Retrieved 2023-10-29 .
^ "Correspondence: Weapon System" . Flight . 6 February 1959 . Retrieved 2011-09-13 – via Flightglobal Archive.
^ "F-111 Aadvark" . Archived from the original on 2012-03-03 . Retrieved 2023-10-29 .

Burroughs, William E. (1988) [1986]. Deep Black (paperback ed.). New York: Berkley Publishing Group. ISBN 0-425-10879-1 .
Daso, Dik (Major, USAF) (September 1997). Architects of American Air Supremacy: General Hap Arnold and Dr Theodore von Karman . Air University Press . pp. 76, 166. {{ cite book }}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link )
Stares, Paul B. (1985), The Militarization of Space , Ithaca: Cornell University Press

[7] When a government program number is not available, a contractor number (if available) is used in the table, e.g., Lockheed CL-282 for the U-2.

[auto-1] "North American SM-64 Navaho" . www.designation-systems.net .

[2] "MX - Military and Government" . www.acronymfinder.com .

[3] Donald 2003, pp. 68?69

[4] Grant Historical Study No. 126 p. 53

[FOOTNOTEDaso1997166-5] Daso 1997 , p. 166.

[Parsch-6] Parsch, Andreas. "Designations Of U.S. Air Force Projects" . Retrieved 2020-01-18 .

[FOOTNOTEBurroughs199880–87-8] Burroughs 1998 , p. 80?87.

[FOOTNOTEStares198530-9] Stares 1985 , p. 30.

[FOOTNOTEBurroughs199887-10] Burroughs 1998 , p. 87.

[FOOTNOTEBurroughs1998139-11] Burroughs 1998 , p. 139.

[FOOTNOTEStares198531–32-12] Stares 1985 , p. 31?32.

[13] Parsch, Andreas (21 March 2006). "WS-124A Flying Cloud" . Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4: Undesignated Vehicles . Designation-Systems . Retrieved 2017-12-10 .

[14] NORAD Historical Summary 1958 January?June, p. 106

[15] "Research Report - Index to Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-16 . Retrieved 2023-10-29 .

[Flight1959-16] "Correspondence: Weapon System" . Flight . 6 February 1959 . Retrieved 2011-09-13 – via Flightglobal Archive.

[17] "F-111 Aadvark" . Archived from the original on 2012-03-03 . Retrieved 2023-10-29 .

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v t e United States Air Force system numbers
100?199	100 101 P 102 103 104 105 106 ¹ 107 A-1 A-2 108 ¹ 109 ¹ 110 111 ¹ 112 113 ¹ 114 ¹ 115 ¹ 116 ¹ 117 L M 118 A L P 119 C/F E L T Y 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 ¹ 128 129 130 131 132 A B 133 134 ¹ 135 136 ¹ 137 ¹ 138 139 140 141 ¹ 142 143?197 ¹ 198 199 B C D Y
200?299	200 201 A/L B/W E 202 203 ¹ 204 205 206 207 ¹ 208 209 ¹ 210 211 ¹ 212 213 214 215 ¹ 216 217 218 219 ¹ 220 221 222 A G 223 ¹ 224 225 ¹ 226 227?238 ¹ 239 240?278 ¹ 279 280?298 ¹ 299
300?399	300 301 ¹ 302 303 304 ¹ 305 ¹ 306 A/L B 307 308 309 310 ¹ 311 ¹ 312 ¹ 313 ¹ 314 315 A-1 A-2 316 317 318 ¹ 319 320 ¹ 321 322 ¹ 323 324 L M/N 325 326 327 E 328 E 329 F 330 ¹ 331 ¹ 332 ¹ 333 ¹ 334 ¹ 335 336 337 338?379 ¹ 380 A/B/E/F/N P 381?397 ¹ 398 399 A B
400?499	400 B/C/N E G/H M 401 402 403 ¹ 404 405 B C D 406 ¹ 407 408 ¹ 409 ¹ 410 E L 411 E L 412 413 414 L M 415 416 L M (I) M (II) P Q 417 418 L M 419 ¹ 420 L/W 421 ¹ 422 423 424 425 426 L M 427 L M 428 A L 429 430 431 G (I) G (II) 432 433 434 435 A L 436 437 438 439 440 441 A D L 442 443 444 ¹ 445 L M 446 447 448 ¹ 449 ¹ 450 451 D L 452 453 454 ¹ 455 456 457 ¹ 458 459 460 L 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 L (I) L (II) 472 473 474 L N 475 ¹ 476 E 477 478 A T 479 ¹ 480 481 L 482 E L M/Z 483 484 L M N 485 L Z 486 487 488 489 490 L M 491 ¹ 492 493 494 495 L (I) L (II) 496 497 A L (I) L 498 A C D E L 499 A C D
500?599	500 501?519 ¹ 520 521?529 ¹ 530 531?541 ¹ 542 543?549 ¹ 550 A E 551?559 ¹ 560 A F 561?569 ¹ 570 571?579 ¹ 580 A E 581?589 ¹ 590 591 592 593?599 ¹
600?699	600 601 A L 602 A L 603 A L 604 605 606 607 608 ¹ 609 610 ¹ 611 ¹ 612 ¹ 613 ¹ 614 615 ¹ 616 617 ¹ 618 619 ¹ 620 621 A/B (I) B (II) 622 623 624 625 626 ¹ 627 628 ¹ 629 ¹ 630 ¹ 631 ¹ 632 633 634 A B 635 636 ¹ 637 ¹ 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 ¹ 645 ¹ 646 ¹ 647 ¹ 648 A D P 649 A B C D E F L P 650 651 652 653 ¹ 654 ¹ 655 A (I) A (II) P 656 657 ¹ 658 ¹ 659 ¹ 660 661 662 ¹ 663 ¹ 664 665 A (I) A (II) 666 A C/P 667 668 669 ¹ 670 671 ¹ 672 A M/P 673 ¹ 674 675 676 ¹ 677 ¹ 678 ¹ 679 680 681 D E 682 ¹ 683 A J V 684 ¹ 685 686 687 J P 688 ¹ 689 ¹ 690 691 C X Z 692 ¹ 693 694 ¹ 695 A B C L N P Q R S (I) S (II) 696 ¹ 697 ¹ 698 ¹ 699 ¹
700?799	700?735 ¹ 736 737 ¹ 738 ¹ 739 ¹ 740 ¹ 741 742 743 744 ¹ 745 746?753 ¹ 754 755?799 ¹
800?899	800 ¹ 801 ¹ 802 L (I) L (II) 803 ¹ 804 ¹ 805 ¹ 806 807 808?816 ¹ 817 818 ¹ 819 ¹ 820 ¹ 821 ¹ 822 ¹ 823 824?831 ¹ 832 833 ¹ 834 835?845 ¹ 846 847?899 ¹
900?999	900?951 ¹ 952 853 ¹ 854 ¹ 855 ¹ 956 957?967 ¹ 968
¹ Unknown or not assigned