Military products like the KC-46 or the F/A-18 may seem like alphabet soup, but the lettered acronyms for these products have specific meanings and help the military identify several aspects including the missions of different vehicles.
Known as the Mission-Design-Series (MDS) designation system, every military vehicle receives an abbreviation that must at least designate its basic mission, design number, and series letter. Other abbreviations for modified missions and vehicle type may also be part of the designation.
Below are a few examples:
