Weapon System is a United States military term that designated, along with a weapon system number (e.g., WS-110), military experimental (MX) systems prior to official naming (e.g., under a military aircraft designation system. Preceded by the first Skunk Works program (MX-813 (Convair XF-92) in 1946), the earliest "WS" designation was the 1954 WS-117L. Circa 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 development of a weapon "system" required development of support equipment as well as the actual hardware itself."
US weapon programs often were initiated by 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).1
The term also made its way into UK use and by 1959 was causing some confusion as to its origins and meaning.
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| Number | Link to Wikipage |
|---|---|
| 3Project 3 | TCP for technical intelligence collection systems |
| 101 !Program 101, 102 (GOR-170) | Samos (satellite) |
| 104 !WS-104A | SM-64 Navaho |
| 107A !WS-107A | SM-65 Atlas |
| WS-110 (GOR.82) | |
| WS-110A | |
| WS-110L | supersonic reconnaissance aircraft |
| 121 !Article 121 | Lockheed A-12 |
| WS-125A (GOR.81) | XB-70 Valkyrie |
| WS-117L (GOR.80) | Advanced Reconnaissance System (originally Project 1115); recoverable capsule - Pied Piper/Sentry/SAMOS; television transmission - unfeasible; Subsystem G: MiDAS |
| WS-119B (USAF 7795) | Bold Orion ASAT |
| WS-119L | Project Moby Dick (originally Project Genetrix) |
| 148 !GOR 148 | AGM-28 Hound Dog |
| 199 !WS-199 | Anti-satellite weapon |
| 199B !WS-199B | Bold Orion |
| 199C !WS-199C | High Virgo |
| 199D !WS-199D | Alpha Draco |
| 201A !WS-201A | 1954 interceptor |
| 212 !NA-211 | interceptor design similar to fighter-bomber design that would become North American F-107 |
| 212 !NA-212 | North American F-107 |
| CL-282 | Lockheed U-2 |
| 306A !WS-306A | F-105 Thunderchief |
| WS315A | PGM-17 Thor missile |
| 324 !MX-324 | Northrop XP-79 |
| 324A !WS-324A | General Dynamics F-111 |
| 400 !CL-400 | Lockheed CL-400 Suntan |
| Program 437 (ADO-40) | "nonorbital collision course satellite interceptor" using modified Thor |
| Program 437 X (AP) | Alternate payload (AP) for satellite inspection ("a heritage of SAINT") |
| Program 437 Y | second development plan for Program 437 (later renamed Program 922) |
| Program 505 | MUDFLAP ASAT |
| 544 !MX-544 | US copy of V-1 flying bomb (Republic-Ford JB-2 "Loon") |
| 558 !D-558 | Douglas Skystreak, Skyraider |
| 609A !Air Force System 609A | Blue Scout |
| Air Force System 621B | GPS |
| DSP-647 | Defense Support Program |
| 653 !MX-653 | Bell X-1 |
| 770 !MX-770 | SM-64 Navaho |
| 774 !MX-774 | feasibility designs for subsonic and supersonic surface-to-surface missiles (three WSPG launches July–December 1948) leading to SM-65 Atlas |
| 776A !MX-776A | RTV-A-4 Shrike |
| 776B !MX-776B | GAM-63 RASCAL |
| 813 !MX-813 | Convair XF-92 |
| Program 893 | ICBM ASAT |
| 904 !MX-904 | GAR-1 Falcon missile |
| Program 922 | rename of Program 437 Y |
| 1554 !Project MX-1554 | F-102 Delta Dagger |
| 1589 !MX-1589 | nuclear-powered Convair B-36 |
| 1626 !MX-1626 (FZP-110) | initial Convair proposal for eventual B-58 Hustler award |
| 1712 !MX-1712 | Boeing Generalized Bomber Study (GEBO II) proposal]] (competitor against winning Convair MX-1712 design for B-58 Hustler) |
| 1964MX-1964 | Convair B-58 Hustler (previously MX-1626) |
| 1965 !MX-1965 | Boeing XB-59 |
| 3061 !WS-3061 | F-105 Thunderchief |
Read more about Weapon System: Notes and References
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