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Originally Posted by drgondog
Intellectually I also agree the original Thud was certainly a different airplane from the F-84A-G variants.. but didn't the 262 outer wing sweep back about 15 degrees making the jump to 35 less of a series distinction rather than new airframe designation altogether?
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It is all politics. A good example is Hawker Tornado, which when equipped with a new engine, was renamed Typhoon. It was followed by Tempest (which I think was initially called Typhoon II) but here various engine installations were noted only by Mark designations. This is only a sample of such practice, another aircraft being Halifax II/III, Spitfire/Victor, etc.
It depends on ordering side. If they want to buy a new aircraft, the name is changed. If they are allowed to acquire only old types, th name is retained. This was the case of eg. Airacobra.
Best regards