Weapon system
Weapon System was a United States Armed Forces military designation scheme for experimental weapons 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. This was "the real beginning of the weapon system approach 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".
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 development of a weapon "system" required development of support equipment as well as the actual hardware itself."
The first WS designation was WS-100A.
US weapon programs were often begun as numbered government specifications such as an Advanced Development Objective or a General Operational Requirement, although some programs were initially identified by contractor numbers.
| Number | Link to Wikipage |
| TCP for technical intelligence collection systems | |
| , 102 | Samos |
| SM-64 Navaho | |
| SM-65 Atlas | |
| WS-110 | XB-70 Valkyrie |
| WS-117L | Advanced Reconnaissance System ; recoverable capsule - Pied Piper/Sentry/SAMOS; television transmission - unfeasible; Subsystem G: MiDAS |
| WS-119B | Bold Orion ASAT |
| WS-119L | Project Moby Dick |
| WS-120A | BGM-75 AICBM |
| Lockheed A-12 | |
| WS-124A | Project Flying Cloud |
| WS-125 | |
| WS-133A | LGM-30 Minuteman |
| AGM-28 Hound Dog | |
| Anti-satellite weapon | |
| Bold Orion | |
| High Virgo | |
| Alpha Draco | |
| 1954 interceptor | |
| interceptor design similar to fighter-bomber design that would become North American F-107 | |
| North American F-107 | |
| WS-224A | Phase I: BMEWS, Phase II: Wizard missile system |
| CL-282 | Lockheed U-2 |
| Republic F-105 Thunderchief | |
| WS315A | PGM-17 Thor missile |
| Northrop XP-79 | |
| General Dynamics F-111 | |
| Lockheed CL-400 Suntan | |
| Program 437 | "nonorbital collision course satellite interceptor" using modified Thor |
| Program 437 X | Alternate payload for satellite inspection |
| Program 437 Y | second development plan for Program 437 |
| Program 505 | MUDFLAP ASAT |
| US copy of V-1 flying bomb | |
| Douglas Skystreak, Skyrocket | |
| Distant Early Warning Line | |
| cruise missile precursor to Bomarc | |
| Blue Scout | |
| Air Force System 621B | GPS |
| DSP-647 | Defense Support Program |
| Bell X-1 | |
| SM-64 Navaho | |
| Navy tactical cruise missile superseded by MX-773 | |
| SSM-N-8 Regulus | |
| feasibility designs for subsonic and supersonic surface-to-surface missiles leading to SM-65 Atlas | |
| RTV-A-4 Shrike | |
| GAM-63 RASCAL | |
| Convair XF-92 | |
| Program 893 | ICBM ASAT |
| GAR-1 Falcon missile | |
| Program 922 | rename of Program 437 Y |
| Western Electric RCDC for the Improved Nike Hercules Air Defense Guided Missile System | |
| 1954 Interceptor | |
| nuclear-powered Convair B-36 | |
| initial Convair proposal for eventual Convair B-58 Hustler award | |
| Boeing Generalized Bomber Study proposal | |
| CIM-10 Bomarc | |
| Convair B-58 Hustler | |
| Boeing XB-59 |