Prefixes are mostly political in purpose and don't strictly describe the aircraft mission. The F-22 was the F/A-22 for a while, the F-117 was a bomber, the X-35

Prefixes are mostly political in purpose and don't strictly describe the aircraft mission. The F-22 was the F/A-22 for a while, the F-117 was a bomber, the X-35 was a prototype for the F-35 and thus should have been the YF-35, and the SR-71 was designated RS-71 until a flubbed presidential announcement. Everyone knows what these aircraft really do though.