We’ll be honest with you: You’d probably perish of boredom if we went into details about the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Mission Design Series (MDS), the system they use to give aircraft designations like F-15, F-16, F-35a, etc. So, we’ll stick to the broad strokes.
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First off, even though jets might be the first thing that come to mind regarding MDS, the system covers aircraft of all types. This includes helicopters like the HH-60G Pave Hawk, bombers like the BB-52H Stratofortress, support craft like the A-10C Thunderbolt II, tankers like the KC-46A Pegasus, recon craft like U-2S/TU-2S Dragon Lady, as well as experimental craft, drones, training craft, weather recon craft, transport craft, AWACS (command craft), and more. In other words, we’re talking about an extensive, sprawling, all-encompassing naming system that is vastly more detailed than you might realize. Even missiles, probes, and satellites get their own designations, like AGM-84N (an anti-ship missile). Also: “Stratofortress” wins the prize for best (and most ridiculous) popular name, although “Dragon Lady” is up there.
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Looking at alphanumeric naming, we’ve got four basic aircraft designation letters: status prefix, modified mission, basic mission, and vehicle type. In order, examples include X (experimental), L (cold weather), E (special electronic installation), and D (UAV control segment, where UAV means unmanned aerial vehicle, aka, drone). F, for example, is a modified and basic mission designation meaning “fighter” (like the F-15) which makes sense. Rules for numbers are more opaque and not fully listed, but relate to the aircraft’s manufacturing line and design.
