MV-75 LRAA - Nomenclature
The U.S. Army on 27 May 2025 officially designated MV-75 as the mission design series for its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, a key modernization effort aimed at fielding the next generation of vertical lift tactical assault and utility aircraft for the Army and U.S. Special Operations Command.
The Rectification of Names (Zhèngmíng) is a fundamental concept in Confucian philosophy, primarily articulated in the Analects. It's a deceptively simple idea with profound political, ethical, and social implications. At its heart, the Rectification of Names is the principle that words and titles must correspond to reality. For society to function harmoniously, the language we use to describe relationships, roles, and responsibilities must be accurate and lived up to. If the title is empty, actions will lead to chaos, low morale, and poor performance. Confucius lived during the Zhou Dynasty's decline, a time of political chaos and social unrest known as the "Contending States Period." He observed that the old social order was crumbling because people in power were not acting according to the virtues implied by their titles (e.g., "ruler," "father," "son"). It's Not Just Semantics: This is crucial. Confucius is not saying we should simply change the words to match a bad reality. People must change the reality (behavior) to match the true meaning of the words. It is a call to action, not a linguistic game. Language is not neutral; it carries moral weight and demands corresponding action.
The designation "MV-75" is a Mission Design Series that stands for "Multi-mission Vertical takeoff" and uses "75" to honor the Army's founding year of 1775. The initial prototype would carry the designation YMV-75A. In line with military aircraft nomenclature, the “Y” prefix indicates a prototype, while the “A” denotes the initial model in the series.
The U.S. military's "V" designation series for vertical and short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft dates back to 1956. The most recent entry in this sequence was the Piasecki XV-25A ARES, an optionally-piloted vehicle, which received the designation on March 27, 2024. The next available number in line was V-26.
However, in a break from this sequence, the designation YMV-75A was assigned to the V-280 prototypes for the U.S. Army on November 24, 2024. The choice of the number 75 is historically significant, as it honors the year 1775, when the Continental Army was founded on June 14th. This practice of assigning meaningful numbers is a growing trend, recently exemplified by the Boeing F/A-47 for the NGAD program, and is sometimes seen as a way to highlight a program's importance and facilitate funding.
For standard U.S. Army transport and utility aircraft, the prefixes "C" (as in the CH-47 Chinook) or "U" (as in the UH-60 Black Hawk) are typical. The "M" in MV-75 signifies "multi-mission." While this prefix has traditionally been linked to aircraft for U.S. Special Operations Command, its meaning can vary. For instance, on the Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey, the "M" is said to represent "Marines," the primary operator of that variant, whereas the Air Force Special Operations Command flies the CV-22.
A common legacy name for the aircraft like Black Hawk, Chinook or Apache was under consideration. Common helicopter nicknames include the general terms "chopper" and "whirlybird," while military aircraft have their own specific names like the "Huey" (UH-1 Iroquois) and "Jolly Green Giant" (HH-3E). Other popular military nicknames are "helo" (slang) and model-specific names such as "Hook" for the Chinook, "Crashhawk" for the Black Hawk, and "Slick" or "Snake" for different versions of the Huey.
With production names for the MV-75 yet to be assigned, and considering that names like Cheyenne and Mohawk have already been used for other aircraft, there is a clear opportunity to select a powerful, unused, and phonetically clear name. The ideal candidate should be easy to pronounce, carry significant historical weight, and remain available for use.
The U.S. Army’s practice of bestowing its helicopters with the names of Native American tribes is a tradition with deep roots, formally codified in 1969 by Army Regulation 70-28. This directive was championed by leaders like General Hamilton Howze, who believed the attributes of historic Native American warriors—agility, fieldcraft, and a formidable fighting spirit—were the very qualities that should define Army aviation. The policy was established as a gesture of honor, intended to create a symbolic link between the legacy of America's first warriors and its most advanced aerial technology, framing these machines as the spiritual successors to a long heritage of martial excellence.
This stands in stark contrast to the naming conventions of other services, particularly the U.S. Air Force, which has been known to perniciously recycle names like "Lightning" and "Globemaster." The Army has wisely avoided this practice, maintaining a strict rule that once a name is assigned to a specific airframe, it is retired from use, ensuring that each name remains a unique and enduring identifier for that particular system.
This long-standing policy has generated a distinctive and powerful lexicon over the decades generating a storied list of helicopter names that read like a roll call of Native nations. Iconic examples include the AH-64 Apache, the UH-60 Black Hawk, the OH-58 Kiowa, and the CH-47 Chinook. More recent additions continue the tradition, such as the RA-70 Sioux, the ARH-70 Arapaho, and the future UH-60V, which will bear the name "Winnipeg" in honor of the Winnebago people.
An alphabetical inventory reveals the breadth of this tradition, including names such as Apache, Arapaho, Black Hawk, Cayuse, Chickasaw, Chinook, Choctaw, Comanche, Creek, Huron, Iroquois, Kiowa, Lakota, Navajo, Osage, Pueblo, Sauk, Seminole, Seneca, Shawnee, and Sioux. The name "Tuskegee" also appears as a notable exception, honoring the African American Tuskegee Airmen while still perfectly capturing the core "warrior ethos" the tradition aims to embody.
This naming tradition exists alongside a heated national debate concerning the use of Indigenous imagery, particularly in sports. While many view the Army's practice as a form of tribute, others criticize it as a form of cultural appropriation. Critics argue that such usage reduces complex and diverse cultures to stereotypes and mascots, which is widely considered disrespectful and harmful. In recent years, this has led several major professional and collegiate sports teams, most notably the Washington Commanders (formerly Redskins) and Cleveland Guardians (formerly Indians), to change their names. The controversy over sports mascots has heightened public sensitivity to the use of Indigenous culture in all contexts.
The re-election of President Donald Trump has introduced a significant new political dimension to this conversation. President Trump, who is famously not politically correct and has established himself as a fierce foe of what he terms the "woke" agendas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), would almost certainly champion the continuation of the Army's naming tradition. His administration would likely frame any opposition to the practice as an unnecessary and divisive political correctness, actively supporting the tradition as a vital part of the Army's heritage and a tribute to the American warrior spirit. This political backing solidifies the tradition's place for the foreseeable future, making the selection of a name for the new MV-75 a decision of particular significance.
Given the Army's steadfast rule against reusing names, finding a powerful, unused, and appropriate name for the V-280-derived aircraft is a critical task. The most suitable candidates must be drawn from the many tribes that have not yet been honored with an aircraft, ensuring the name is both easy to pronounce and carries significant historical weight. Excellent choices that fulfill these criteria could include the "Paiute," honoring the skilled warriors and hunters of the Great Basin known for their resilience; the "Arikara," or "Ree," a Plains tribe renowned for their agricultural prowess and martial alliances; or the "Tonkawa," a people from the Texas region with a formidable warrior tradition. Selecting a name like one of these would continue the tradition with the respect and uniqueness it demands, providing the future fleet of transformative aircraft with an identity that is both historically resonant and entirely its own.
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