This is an inconsistency that has been repeatedly employed by the
U.S. Air Force with several of its attack aircraft since the late 1950s, including the
Republic F-105 Thunderchief and
General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark. A televised documentary quoted project manager Alan Brown as saying that
Robert J. Dixon, a four-star Air Force general who was the head of
Tactical Air Command felt that the top-notch USAF fighter pilots required to fly the new aircraft were more easily attracted to an aircraft with an "F" designation for fighter, as opposed to a bomber ("B") or attack ("A") designation.[33][34