NRA-3B Skywarrior aircraft equipped with electronic warfare (jammer) pods, with its wing folded up at the Pacific Missile Test Center.
This A-3B Skywarrior was produced with a stronger airframe, more powerful engines, and a slightly larger wing area than the "A" model. It was modified for photo-reconnaissance missions by the addition of camera package in its weapons bay. It was converted later to a permanent special testbed for Harpoon and cruise missile guidance systems with the addition of a large radome to its nose and wingtip jammer pods, earning it the nickname "Snoopy" and the designation NRA-3B.
U.S. Navy (K. Thornsley)

Cracking the Aircraft Designation Code

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
June 2019
Naval History Magazine

The aircraft designation system currently in use by all branches of the armed forces is called the “Mission Design Series” (MDS) and uses letter and number combinations to indicate certain basic facts about a given aircraft. When you first encounter “F/A-18E/F,” representing the Super Hornet, you can’t help but think this is something only for cryptanalysts—but the good news is that it is mostly logical and definitely decipherable.

The simplest way to begin is to remember this: One thing common to all aircraft designations is the dash. Whether the aircraft is a P-8A, or an EA-18G, or an F/A-18E/F, there is always a dash in the designation. If you use that as your starting point, you will have a consistent reference from which to begin cracking this code.

Type or Basic Mission 

The first letter to the left of the dash tells you one of two things: either the type or the basic mission of the aircraft. If the aircraft is a special type, such as a glider or a helicopter, the first letter to the left of the dash will be one from this list:

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NOTE: The current Tri-Service aircraft designation system has been in use only since 1962, so if you are reading about aircraft from World War II and before, for example, the designations will not be the same. Earlier designations will be covered in a forthcoming “Bluejacket’s Manual” column.

Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

LCDR Cutler is the Gordon England Chair of Professional Naval Literature at the U.S. Naval Institute. His many books include The Bluejacket’s Manual (Naval Institute Press), a copy of which every U.S. Navy enlistee receives.

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