DOD 4120.15-L - Addendum
MDS Designators allocated after 19 August 1998 (until December 2007)

HTML formatting Copyright © 2002-2008 Andreas Parsch

This file lists all MDS designations allocated between 19 August 1998, the "deadline" for the October 1998 release of DOD 4120.15-L (DOD's official list of aircraft and missile designations), and December 2007. The data was acquired by the author from official DOD sources. All designations are presented here in the same format as in DOD 4120.15-L, and are ordered in their "canonical" sequence (sorted by primary mission/vehicle type letter, design number and series letter).

After October 1998, DOD did not publish an updated 4120.15-L file for almost six years (instead of the usual 2-3 year interval). To provide a public reference for new MDS allocations since 1998, new assignments were requested from DOD via the Freedom Of Information Act. The first FOIA request (in early 2002) yielded a list of 72 designations in total, apparently ordered roughly by date of allocation. The index of the entry in this list is shown in parentheses in the "Date/(Index)" column. Follow-up requests yielded more designations, including a small (intended) overlap with the previous set (4 entries). For these designations the date of allocation was also provided, and that is quoted in the first column in place of the simple sequential index for the earlier designations.

Some designations, including all newly assigned design numbers, are further identified in end notes.

This list will be retained although the new 2004 edition of DOD 4120.15-L is now available online (and also includes the new allocations up to early 2004). However, the official document doesn't show the date of allocation for each MDS, has some flaws in the way the data is presented, and of course does not provide explanative notes. Also, this file will be continually updated semi-annually (as long as the FOIA requests are being answered, of course) while DOD 4120.15-L will be updated in the future only once every 2-3 years at best.

Note: At the time of this writing, no official data on MDS designations assigned after December 2007 is available. Newer designations (as well as older ones which for unknown reasons are missing in DOD 4120.15-L), which are confirmed by reasonably reliable sources as being official DOD designations (or soon to be so), are shown in blue entries. Of course, all data in these lines is not official DOD wording. A few designations, which have been used by the military or the industry, but which are not confirmed as official allocations, are shown in light gray.

Notes:

1. [NEA-18G] Other than DOD's description indicates, the NEA-18G designation does not refer to modified EA-18Gs, but to two FA-18F airframes (F134 and F135), which were heavily modified as prototypes for the EA-18G.


2. [C-41A] The C-41A is the CASA C-212 Series 200.


3. [KC-45A] The KC-45A will be either the Boeing "KC-767" (767-based tanker) or the EADS/Northrop Grumman "KC-30" (Airbus A330-based tanker), depending on the outcome of the KC-X competition. The numbers C-42 to C-44 were not allocated (for details, see article about Missing USAF/DOD Aircraft Designations).


4. [C-130J/CC-130J] The designation CC-130J was assigned on 7 Feb 2002 to the stretched C-130J variant originally designated as C-130J-30. The "CC" prefix of the new designation was a non-standard designator. However, on 5 Jan 2004, the CC-130J designation was changed to a plain C-130J in the DOD's official MDS table.


5. [C-143A] The C-143A is a single Challenger 604 aircraft, which was acquired by the Coast Guard in December 2005 as its new Medium Range Command and Control Aircraft (MRC2A). The number 143 was selected to continue the "old" (pre-1962) USAF C-series, where the last actually allocated number was 142. Unofficial information indicates that there has been some DOD-internal confusion if C-42 (the nominal next number in the post-1962 C-series) was really available for allocation. The result was the continuation of the older C-series, because the C-143 slot was definitely available.


6. [HC-144A] The HC-144A is the EADS-CASA CN-235-300CG, which was selected by the U.S. Coast Guard for its MRS MPA (Medium Range Surveillance Maritime Patrol Aircraft) program.


7. [KC-767A] The designation KC-767A was allocated to the Boeing 767 tankers which were to be leased by the U.S. Air Force. The out-of-sequence design number was allocated against the recommendation of the USAF Nomenclature Office. The correct designation would have been KC-42A (see article about Non-Standard DOD Aircraft Designations for some background information).


8. [E-2D] The designation E-2D refers to the so-called "Advanced Hawkeye" (AHE) configuration.


9. [E-3G] The designation E-3G will be allocated to all E-3 AWACS aircraft, which receive the Block 40 and 45 upgrade.


10. [E-10A] The designation E-10A was assigned to the U.S. Air Force's planned Multisensor Command and Control Aircraft (MC2A) system. The E-10 has since been cancelled.


11. [F-22A] When the USAF changed the F/A-22A MDS of the Raptor fighter back to the original F-22A, the designations FA-22A and FB-22A (which were both irregular in the first place) were cancelled.


12. [F-35] The designations F-35A, F-35B and F-35C were assigned to the three production variants of the Lockheed Martin JSF (Joint Strike Fighter). The number 35 is out-of-sequence and the correct designations would have been F-24A/B/C (see article about Non-Standard DOD Aircraft Designations for some background information).


13. [TG-10] The TG-10 designations were allocated to gliders of the LET "Blanik" family used by the Air Force Academy. TG-10B is the "L-13 Super Blanik", TG-10C is the "L-13AC Blanik", and TG-10D is the "Blanik L-33 Solo".


14. [TG-12A] The designation TG-12A was allocated to a Caproni-Vizzola "A21 Calif" sailplane used by the USAF Test Pilot School.


15. [TG-14A] The designation TG-14A was allocated to the Grupo Aeromot AMT-200S Super Ximango two-seat motorgliders used by the Air Force Academy.


16. [TG-15] For photos and specifications of the "Duo Discus" and "Discus 2b" sailplanes, see the Schempp-Hirth Website.


17. [MH-68A] The MH-68A is the Agusta A109E in U.S. Coast Guard service (see MH-68A at GlobalSecurity.org). It was originally called Enforcer, then Mako, and has now been officially named Sting Ray.


18. [YRH-70A] The YRH-70A is the prototype for the Army's new ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter), based on the Bell Model 407 (see Bell Helicopter ARH).


19. [VH-71A] The VH-71A is the winner of the VXX (Presidential Helicopter) competition (see Lockheed Martin US101). The design numbers H-69 and H-70 have been skipped for the VXX. For details on H-69, see article about Missing USAF/DOD Aircraft Designations. The designation H-70 has not been used, because the VXX Program Office argued that the helicopter number "70" is already widely associated with the Sikorsky S-70 family (designated H-60 in the U.S. military). The request for VH-71A was accepted by USAF/XPPE, apparently without much discussion, because "VH-71" had already been used by the VXX Program Office before the MDS had been officially assigned. The H-70 slot was later used for the Bell ARH.


20. [UH-72A] The UH-72A is the UH-145 variant (see UH-145 Light Helicopter) of the EADS/Eurocopter EC145, and was selected by the U.S. Army as the winner of the LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) competition.


21. [MGM-164A] The designation MGM-164A was allocated to the ATAMCS (Army Tactical Missile System) Block II missile in the new "ATACMS 2000" configuration (see MGM-164 ATACMS Block II).


22. [RGM-165A] The RGM-165A is the LASM (Land Attack STANDARD Missile), sometimes referred to as SM-4 (Standard Missile 4) (see RGM-165 Land Attack STANDARD Missile).


23. [MGM-165A] This entry is identical to the later one for MGM-166A. It seems that MGM-165A was assigned erroneously, and later corrected to -166A when it was realized that missile number -165 had already been allocated as RGM-165A.


24. [MGM-166A] This is the KEM (Kinetic Energy Missile) of the LOSAT (Line-Of-Sight Anti-Tank) system (see MGM-166 LOSAT/KEM).


25. [BQM-167A] The BQM-167A is the CEI Skeeter, which was selected for the AFSAT (Air Force Subscale Aerial Target) program (see BQM-167 Skeeter).


26. [MGM-168A] The MGM-168A is the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) Block IA Unitary missile in the "ATACMS 2000" (T2K) configuration (see MGM-168 ATACMS Block IA Unitary).


27. [AGM-169A] The YAGM-169A is the prototype of the JCM (Joint Common Missile) (see AGM-169 JCM).


28. [MQM-170/171] MQM-170A and YMQM-171A are derivatives of the Griffon Aerospace Outlaw UAV (see MQM-170/171 Outlaw).


29. [FGM-172] The FGM-172 is the Lockheed Martin SRAW (Short-Range Assault Weapon) missile (see FGM-172 SRAW).


30. [P-8A] The P-8A program is known as the MMA (Multimission Maritime Aircraft) program.


31. [YMQ-1C] The YMQ-1C is the prototype of the Army's Warrior ERMP UAV. The designation YMQ-12A was requested for this vehicle, but not approved.


32. [RQ-5A] The RQ-5A is the Hunter UAV, previously designated BQM-155A (see BQM-155/RQ-5 Hunter).


33. [RQ-6A] The RQ-6A is the Outrider UAV (see RQ-6 Outrider).


34. [RQ-7A] The RQ-7A is the Shadow 200 UAV (see RQ-7 Shadow 200).


35. [RQ-8A] The RQ-8A is the Fire Scout VTUAV (Vertical Take-Off UAV) (see RQ-8 Fire Scout).


36. [MQ-9A] The MQ-9A is the turboprop-powered variant of the Predator B UAV (see MQ-9 Predator B).


37. [CQ-10A] The CQ-10A designation refers to MMIST's SnowGoose UAV (see CQ-10 SnowGoose).


38. [RQ-11A] The RQ-11A designation refers to the Raven UAV (see RQ-11 Raven).


39. [RQ-14A] The RQ-14A designation refers to the Dragon Eye UAV (see RQ-14 Dragon Eye). Q-12 is unassigned, because the Army's request for MQ-12A was disapproved (YMQ-1C was allocated instead), and Q-13 has been skipped.


40. [RQ-15A] The RQ-15A designation refers to the Neptune UAV (see RQ-15 Neptune).


41. [YRQ-16A] The YRQ-16A designation was allocated to a Micro Air Vehicle, which Honeywell is developing for the U.S. Army.


42. [XMQ-17A] The XMQ-17A designation was allocated to the SpyHawk UAV, which is evaluated under the Marine Corps' "Tier II" UAS requirement.


43. [MS-1A] The MS-1A was apparently the planned and not very well-defined end product of USAF space manoeuvering vehicle research, which also included the X-37, X-40, and X-41 (CAV).


44. [ES-14A] The ES-14A designation most likely refers to the Wideband Global SATCOM program. The design numbers S-11 through S-13 in the S-for-Satellite series have been skipped (S-11/12 to avoid confusion with the as yet unofficial XSS-11/12 project designations, and S-13 because of the usual triskaidekaphobia).


45. [T-48A] The T-48A is to replace the T-39. It is procured under the Undergraduate Military Flight Officer (UMFO) Multi-Place Aircraft Training System (MPATS) program (see here).


46. [CT-49A] The CT-49A is the NATO Trainer Cargo Aircraft, based on the Boeing 707-320B.


47. [T-50A] The T-50A designation has been set aside for the Lockheed Martin/KAI Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer, which is marketed under the company designation T-50. The U.S. military has currently no plans to procure this aircraft. Obviously, the official T-50A MDS designator was reserved for the Golden Eagle so that it wouldn't be inadvertently assigned to another aircraft model (leading to confusion between two different "T-50" trainers).


48. [T-51A] The T-51A designation refers to the three Cessna 150 (1x Model 150L, 2x Model 150M) aircraft used by the USAF Academy Flying Team.


49. [U-28A] The U-28A is the Pilatus PC-12 (see PC-12 at Pilatus Aircraft Website), six of which are used by the USAF's 319th SOS (Special Operations Squadron).


50. [X-44A] For X-44A MANTA (Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft), see X-44 MANTA at GlobalSecurity.org.


51. [X-45A] The X-45A is Boeing's UCAV (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle) demonstrator for the USAF (see X-45 / X-46).


52. [X-46A] The X-46A was Boeing's entry in the Navy's UCAV-N (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle - Naval) competition. It has been cancelled, and its technology merged into the X-45C program (see X-45 / X-46).


53. [X-47A] The X-47A Pegasus is Northrop Grumman's entry in the Navy's UCAV-N (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle - Naval) and DARPA's UCAS competitions.


54. [X-48A] The X-48A is a small unmanned BWB (Blended Wing-Body) demonstrator (see X-48).


55. [X-49A] The X-49A VDTP is the "Vectored Thrust Ducted Propeller" compound helicopter testbed (a Sikorsky YSH-60F modified by Piasecki).


56. [X-50A] The X-50A Dragonfly is a CRW (Canard Rotor/Wing) demonstrator. The X-49 designator had been skipped at that time, because DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) explicitly requested the X-50A designation for the CRW demonstrator. DARPA wanted the number 50, because "this will be the first true 50/50 marriage of helicopters and high speed fixed wing aircraft" [DARPA quote]. However, the X-49 designation was not permanently skipped, and was actually assigned when the next X-designator was requested.


57. [X-51A] The X-51A designation was allocated to the flight test vehicle of the Air Force Research Lab's SED-WR (Scramjet Engine Demonstrator - Waverider) program. The X-51A is an unmanned expendable vehicle, which will be air-launched from a B-52, and boosted to scramjet ignition speed by a solid-propellant rocket booster. First flight is planned for FY 2009 (see X-51).


58. [X-53A] The X-53A designation was assigned to an FA-18A modified for AAW (Active Aeroeleastic Wing) research, which was tested in a joint AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory)/NASA program. X-52 was skipped to avoid confusion with B-52.


59. [MZ-3A] The MZ-3A is an American Blimp Corporation SPECTOR™50 airship (commercial model A-170, see ABC Website), which was purchased by the U.S. Navy in 2006.

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