The Italian Armed Forces aircraft designation system is a unified designation system introduced by the Italian Armed Forces in 2009 for all Italian

military aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equi ...

. The system is based on the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system.

Designation system

The designation system produces a ''Mission-Design-Series'' (MDS) designation of the form: :(Status Prefix)(Modified Mission)(''Basic Mission'')(Vehicle Type)-(''Design Number'')(''Series Letter'') Of these components, only the ''Basic Mission'', ''Design Number'' and ''Series Letter'' are mandatory. In the case of special vehicles a ''Vehicle Type'' symbol must also be included.

List of assigned aircraft designations

A - Attack

;AV-8 -

McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...

*AV-8B *TAV-8B ;A-11 -

AMX International AMX The AMX International AMX is a ground-attack aircraft jointly developed by Brazil and Italy. The AMX is designated A-11 Ghibli by the Italian Air Force and A-1 by the Brazilian Air Force. The Italian name, "Ghibli", is taken from the hot dry w ...

*A-11A - AMX *TA-11A - AMX-T *A-11B - AMX ACOL *TA-11B - AMX-T ACOL ;A-200 -

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ( in ...

*A-200A - Tornado IDS *TA-200A - Tornado IDS (trainer) *EA-200B - Tornado ECR *A-200C - Tornado post-MLU *TA-200C - Tornado post-MLU (trainer)

C - Transport

;C-27 - Alenia C-27J Spartan *C-27J *YEC-27J JEDI ;C-42 - ATR 42 *C-42C - ATR 42-500 ;C-50 -

Dassault Falcon 50 The Dassault Falcon 50 is a French super-midsize, long-range business jet, featuring a trijet layout with an S-duct air intake for the central engine. It has the same fuselage cross-section and similar capacity as the earlier twin-engined Falcon ...

*VC-50A ;C-130 -

Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is the newest v ...

*C-130J *C-130J-30 ;C-180 -

Piaggio P.180 Avanti The Piaggio P.180 Avanti is an Italian executive transport aircraft with twin turboprop engines mounted in pusher configuration. It seats up to nine people in a pressurized cabin and may be flown by one or two pilots. The design is of three-su ...

*VC-180A - P180 Avanti *VC-180B - P180 Avanti II ;C-222 - Aeritalia G.222 *C-222A - G.222TCM1 *C-222B - G.222TCM2 *RC-222 - G.222RM *EC-222 - G.222VS ;C-228 -

Dornier 228 The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. Two hundred and forty-five were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 19 ...

*UC-228 - Dornier 228 ;C-319 -

Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final assem ...

*VC-319A - A319CJ ;C-900 -

Dassault Falcon 900 The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation. Development The Falcon 900 is a development of the Falcon 50, itself a development of the earlier Falcon 20. The ...

*VC-900A - Falcon 900EX *VC-900B - Falcon 900EASY

E - Electronics

;E-550 -

Gulfstream G550 CAEW The Gulfstream G550 is a business jet aircraft produced by General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace unit in Savannah, Georgia, US. The certification designation is GV-SP. A version with reduced fuel capacity was marketed as the G500. Gulfstream ...

*E-550A

F - Fighter

;F-16 -

Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

*F-16A *F-16B ;F-35 -

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather Stealth aircraft, stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and attack ...

*F-35A - CTOL *F-35B - STOVL ;F-2000 -

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

*F-2000A - Typhoon *TF-2000A - Typhoon (trainer)

G - Glider

;G-2 - Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2 *G-2B - Ventus 2B ;G-4 -

Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 is a family of high-performance FAI Open Class gliders designed by Klaus Holighaus and manufactured by Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH in Kirchheim, Germany. The Nimbus-4 first flew in 1990. Design and development T ...

*G-4D - Nimbus-4D *G-4DM - Nimbus-4DM ;G-17 -

LAK-17 The LAK-17 is a Lithuanian single-seat sailplane that was designed at the Lithuanian Aero Club ( lt, Lietuviškos aviacinės konstrukcijos or LAK), and is manufactured by Sportinė Aviacija. Design and development The LAK-17 is designed to me ...

*UG-17A - LAK-17 ;G-21 -

Caproni Vizzola Calif __NOTOC__ The Caproni Vizzola Calif was a family of Italian glider (sailplane), sailplanes , the first example flew in 1969, with production continuing into the 1970s and 1980s. Of typical sailplane configuration with T-tails, they featured dist ...

*G-21S - A-21S Calif ;G-103 -

Grob G103 Twin Astir The Grob G 103 Twin Astir is a glass-reinforced plastic two-seat sailplane that was developed in Germany in the 1970s by Grob Aircraft AG as a counterpart to the single-seat G 102 Astir then in production. Construction throughout is similar, ...

*G-103 - G 103 Twin Astir

H - Helicopter

;H-3 -

Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft en ...

*VH-3D - SH-3D *SH-3D - SH-3D ASW *UH-3D - SH-3D ASH *HH-3F - HH-3F Pelican ;H-47 - Boeing CH-47 Chinook *CH-47C - CH-47C *CH-47F - CH-47F Chinook ;H-90 - NHIndustries NH90 *UH-90A - NH 90 TTF *SH-90A - NH 90 NFH ;H-101 -

AgustaWestland AW101 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requireme ...

*SH-101A - AW101 Maritime Patrol *EH-101A - AW101 AEW *UH-101A - AW101 Anti-Submarine Helicopter *HH-101A - AW101 CSAR ;H-109 -

Agusta A109 The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to ...

*CH-109A - A109A *CH-109B - A109A II *CH-109D - A109C *CH-109E - A109F *MRH-109A - A109T *MCH-109A - A109N ;H-129 -

Agusta A129 Mangusta The Agusta A129 Mangusta ( en, Mongoose) is an attack helicopter originally designed and produced by Italian company Agusta. It is the first attack helicopter to be designed and produced wholly in Europe. It has continued to be developed by Agus ...

*AH-129A - A129 *AH-129C - A129C *AH-129D - A129D ;H-139 -

AgustaWestland AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...

*HH-139A - AW139 Air Force SAR *PH-139A - AW139 Coast Guard SAR *UH-139A *VH-139A - AW139 Air Force VIP *HH-139B - AW139 Air Force SAR *PH-139B - AW139 Coast Guard SAR *UH-139B *UH-139C ;H-169 -

AgustaWestland AW169 The AgustaWestland AW169 is a twin-engine, 10-seat, 4.8t helicopter developed and manufactured by the helicopter division of Leonardo (formerly AgustaWestland, merged into Finmeccanica since 2016). It was designed to share similarities with the ...

*UH-169A - AW169M ;H-205 - Agusta-Bell AB 205 *UH-205A - AB 205 ;H-206 - Agusta-Bell AB 206 *RH-206A - AB 206A1 *RH-206B - AB 206B1 *RH-206C - AB 206C1 ;H-212 - Agusta-Bell AB 212 *UH-212 - AB 212 *HH-212A - AB 212 (AMI-SAR) *UH-212A - AB 212 (AWTI) *UH-212B - AB 212ASH *SH-212B - AB 212ASW ;H-249 - Leonardo Helicopters AW249 *AH-249A - AW249 ;H-412 - Agusta-Bell AB 412 *HH-412A - AB 412 *HH-412B - AB 412EP *HH-412C - AB 412HP *HH-412D - AB 412SP ;H-500 - Breda Nardi NH-500E *TH-500B - NH-500E *OH-500A - NH-500 MC *OH-500B - NH 500 MD

KC - Tanker

;KC-707 - Boeing 707T/T *KC-707A - 707T/T Tanker/Transport ;KC-767 -

Boeing KC-767 The Boeing KC-767 is a military aerial refueling and strategic transport aircraft developed from the Boeing 767-200ER. The tanker received the designation KC-767A, after being selected by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) initially to replace older ...

*KC-767A

P - Patrol

;P-42 - ATR 42 *P-42A - ATR42MP-400 *P-42B - ATR42MP-500 ;P-72 -

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

*P-72A - ATR72 ;P-1150 -

Breguet Atlantic Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

*P-1150A - Br.1150 Atlantic

Q - UAV

;Q-1 - General Atomics MQ-1 Predator *RQ-1B - Predator A *MQ-1C - Predator A+ ;Q-7 -

AAI RQ-7 Shadow The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment ...

*RQ-7C - Shadow 200 ;Q-9 - General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper *MQ-9A - Predator B ;Q-10 - APR Strix C *RQ-10C - Strix C *RQ-10D - Strix D ;Q-11 - AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven *RQ-11B - Raven B *RQ-11C - Raven DDL ;Q-12 - APR Sixton *RQ-12A ;Q-24 - APR Asio-B *RQ-24A ;Q-25 - APR Spyball-B *RQ-25A ;Q-26 - APR Crex-B *RQ-26A ;Q-27 -

Boeing Insitu ScanEagle The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance. The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu based on the Insitu SeaScan, a co ...

*RQ-27A - ScanEagle ;Q-28 - IA-3 Colibrì quadcopterIDS Ingegneria Dei Sistemi IA-3 Colibrì
/ref> *RQ-28A - IA-3 Colibrì

T - Trainer

;T-260 - SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 *T-260A - SF.260AM *T-260B - SF.260EA ;T-339 -

Aermacchi MB-339 The Aermacchi MB-339 is a military jet trainer and light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Italian aviation company Aermacchi. The MB-339 was developed during the 1970s in response to an Italian Air Force requirement that sought a re ...

*T-339A - MB-339A *FT-339B - MB-339CD1 *FT-339C - MB-339CD2 *AT-339A - MB-339PAN ;T-345 -

Aermacchi M-345 The Aermacchi M-345 is a turbofan-powered military trainer aircraft. It is a development of the SIAI-Marchetti S.211. Development Origins During 1997, Italian aircraft manufacturer Aermacchi acquired SIAI-Marchetti; this purchase included the ri ...

*T-345A - M-345 HET ;T-346 -

Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master The Aermacchi M-346 Master is a family of military twin-engine transonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft. Originally co-developed with Yakovlev as the Yak/AEM-130, the partnership was dissolved in 2000 and then Alenia Aermacch ...

*T-346A - M-346 Master ;T-2006 -

Tecnam P2006T The Tecnam P2006T is an Italian high-winged twin-engined all-metal light aircraft, built by Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam based in Capua, Italy, near Naples. The P2006T received airworthiness certification in the European Union by EASA under C ...

*T-2006A- T2006A

U - Utility

;U-166 -

Piaggio P.166 The Piaggio P.166 is an Italian twin-engine pusher-type utility aircraft developed by Piaggio Aero. The aircraft model name was Portofino, and is also known as Albatross in South African military service. Design and development The basic P.16 ...

*U-166A - P.166M *U-166B - P.166DL3 *U-166C - P.166DP1 ;U-208 - SIAI-Marchetti S.208 *U-208A - S.208

References

External links

Italian Ministry of Defence Categories page
{{Italian military aircraft Italian military aircraft

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...