In 1963, the U.S. Department of Defense established a designation system for rockets and guided missiles jointly used by all the United States armed services.^[1] It superseded the separate designation systems the Air Force and Navy had for designating US guided missiles and drones, but also a short-lived interim USAF system for guided missiles and rockets.^[2]

On 11 December 1962, the U.S. Department of Defense issued Directive 4000.20 “Designating, Redesignating, and Naming Military Rockets and Guided Missiles” which called for a joint designation system for rockets and missiles which was to be used by all armed forces services. The directive was implemented via Air Force Regulation (AFR) 66-20, Army Regulation (AR) 705-36, Bureau of Weapons Instruction (BUWEPSINST) 8800.2 on 27 June 1963.^[3][4][5] A subsequent directive, DoD Directive 4120.15 "Designating and Naming Military Aircraft, Rockets, and Guided Missiles", was issued on 24 November 1971 and implemented via Air Force Regulation (AFR) 82-1/Army Regulation (AR) 70-50/Naval Material Command Instruction (NAVMATINST) 8800.4A on 27 March 1974. Within AFR 82-1/AR 70-50/NAVMATINST 8800.4A, the 1963 rocket and guided missile designation system was presented alongside the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system and the two systems have been concurrently presented and maintained in joint publications since.^[6][7][8]

The current version of the rocket and missile designation system was mandated by Joint Regulation 4120.15E Designating and Naming Military Aerospace Vehicles^{[9][Note 1]} and was implemented^{[10][Note 2]} via Air Force Instruction (AFI) 16-401, Army Regulation (AR) 70-50, Naval Air Systems Command Instruction (NAVAIRINST) 13100.16 on 3 November 2020.^[11] The list of military rockets and guided missiles was maintained via 4120.15-L Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles until its transition to data.af.mil on 31 August 2018.^[11][12]

The basic designation of every rocket and guided missile is based in a set of letters called the Mission Design Sequence.^[1] The sequence indicates the following:

• The environment from which the weapon is launched
• The primary mission of the weapon
• The type of weapon

Examples of guided missile designators are as follows:

• AGM – (A) Air-launched (G) Surface-attack (M) Guided missile
• AIM – (A) Air-launched (I) Intercept-aerial (M) Guided missile
• ATM – (A) Air-launched (T) Training (M) Guided missile
• RIM – (R) Ship-launched (I) Intercept-aerial (M) Guided missile
• LGM – (L) Silo-launched (G) Surface-attack (M) Guided missile

The design or project number follows the basic designator. In turn, the number may be followed by consecutive letters, representing modifications.

Example:

RGM-84D means:

• R – The weapon is ship-launched;
• G – The weapon is designed to surface-attack;
• M – The weapon is a guided missile;
• 84 – eighty-fourth missile design;
• D – fourth modification;

In addition, most guided missiles have names, such as Harpoon, Tomahawk, Seasparrow, etc. These names are retained regardless of subsequent modifications to the missile.

An X preceding the first letter indicates an experimental weapon, a Y preceding the first letter means the weapon is a prototype, and a Z preceding the first letter indicates a design in the planning phase.

• List of missiles
• 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system
• United States military aircraft designation systems