This list of military aircraft of the United States includes prototype, pre-production, and operational types. For aircraft in service, see the list of active United States military aircraft. Prototypes are normally prefixed with "X" and are often unnamed (note that these are not the same as the experimental X-planes, which are not generally expected to go into production), while pre-production models are usually prefixed with "Y".
The United States military employs a designation and naming system to provide identifications to all aircraft types. Until 1962, the United States Army, United States Air Force (formerly Army Air Force), and United States Navy all maintained separate systems. In September 1962, these were unified into a single system heavily reflecting the Air Force method. For more complete information on the workings of this system, refer to United States Department of Defense Aerospace Vehicle Designations.
This list does not include early aircraft used by the U.S. military during time periods when no numerical designation system was in effect, nor aircraft that did not receive designations for other reasons, such as foreign military aircraft borrowed for testing or civil aircraft impressed into military service during wartime. For these aircraft, see List of undesignated military aircraft of the United States. It also does not include aircraft designated under pre-1962 United States Navy designation systems. For these aircraft, see List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962).
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