Ever wonder why some military hardware has these funny names?

It’s a electronics designation system designed by the Army/Navy during WWII called JETDS (Joint Electronics Type Designation System).

Each JETDS device has a three letter code designating its use, prefixed with A/N and ending with the series/model number. Some examples:

A/N PAS-13
Army/Navy, Human Portable, Invisible Light, Detecting – Search, Model 13

A/N PEQ-2
Army/Navy, Human Portable, Laser, Combination Purposes, Model 2

A/N TVS-5
Army/Navy, Ground Transportable, Visual/Visible Light, Detecting – Search, Model 5

A/N PRC-77
Army/Navy, Human Portable, Radio, Communications (two way), Model 77

Intuitive, right? ;-)

Full documentation is here:

http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r105_19.pdf

http://www.milspec.ca/radcodes/ancodes.html

http://www.tpub.com/content/neets/14191/css/14191_108.htm

http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/electronics.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army-Navy_Equipment_Code_Designators

http://www.usmc.mil/directiv.nsf/82001916d226893285256d12004936dd/3b2c29d4e8b9301d85256770004ee451/$FILE/MCO%2010550.8.pdf