Weapon System was a United States Armed Forces military designation scheme for experimental weapons (e.g., WS-220) 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.Donald 2003, pp. 68–69 This was "the real beginning of the weapon system approach [and the] 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".Grant Historical Study No. 126 p. 53
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 [whereby] 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 (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).
List of Weapon Systems
+ Key for numeric designations Abbreviation Meaning CL Lockheed Corporation D Douglas Aircraft Company NA North American Aviation WS Weapon System +List of weapon system programs for US military systems Number ProjectSM-64 NavahoSM-65 AtlasWS-110North American XB-70 ValkyrieWS-117L (GOR.80)Advanced Reconnaissance System (originally Project 1115); recoverable capsule - Pied Piper/Sentry/SAMOS; television transmission - unfeasible; Subsystem G: MiDASWS-119B (USAF 7795)Bold Orion ASATWS-119LProject Moby Dick (originally Project Genetrix)WS-120ABGM-75 AICBMWS-124A WS-124A Flying Cloud ProjectWS-125 (B-72)WS-133AAN/DRC-8 Emergency Rocket Communications System (Program 494L) LGM-30 Minuteman Anti-satellite weapon Bold Orion High Virgo Alpha Draco 1954 interceptorWS-224APhase I: BMEWS, Phase II: Wizard missile systemNORAD Historical Summary 1958 January–June, p. 106 Republic F-105 Thunderchief (misidentified as WS-3061) WS315A PGM-17 Thor missileGeneral Dynamics F-111
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