That question may sound oddly specific, but why is every new plane introduced called the Zero?
スーパーソニックゼロ (Sūpāsonikkuzero; Supersonic Zero in English but English words are commonly used in Japan, read in Katakana) or 超音速の零戦 (Chō onsoku no reisen; supersonic Zero in Japanese language)
(Notice: the words on above are not exact)
I’ve seen the T-2/F-1 described as the Supersonic Zero online, but not many results come back (perhaps my finding was too specific on wording).
But there is no denying the existence of associating the Zero with unrelated planes, for example, the F-2 is nicknamed the バイパーゼロ (Baipāzero; viper zero in katakana)
Here, we see a photographer describing a F-2 (?) as “The Supersonic Zero Fighter”.
Why does every new tank in Germany is named after a big cat?
Because people go insane over it. IT’S A BIG FELINE JUST LIKE IN THE OLD TIMES!!!
Basically naming your thing after something old and well known gives you:
1)Free advertisement from the press
2)Higher approval rating
And via combining those two we get:
3)You’re more likely to get more funding
It’s not an official name. “Viper Zero”, “Heisei Zero” and “Supersonic Zero” are just nicknames enthusiasts came up with to reference the Mitsubishi A6M.
The A6M was called “Zero” because the Imperial Japanese aircraft naming system reached Type 99 ( 九九式) with the Aichi D3A, and rather than try an incorporate Type 100 series names*, they reset back to Type 0 (零式) for their new naval fighter.
So in that sense, the Zero represented a new start for Japanese domestic combat aircraft and proved to be a somewhat revolutionary design for their industry that incorporated the latest manufacturing and aerodynamic concepts, as well as being a formidable combatant for its time. So naturally, some people felt the F-2A represented a similar spirit in terms of Japan developing an advanced domestic combat aircraft that was somewhat revolutionary for its time, and aesthetically pleasing like the original Zero.
*Type 99 reads as Type nine-nine (九九式) rather than Type ninety-nine (九十九式), so the decision on proceeding past “Type 99” as Type one-hundred (百式), Type one-zero-zero (一〇〇式), Type ten-zero (十〇式), Type ten-one (十一式 - can read the same as Type 11), or even Type nine-ten (九十式 - can read the same as Type 90) creates some complications in how it’s written and read in Japanese numerals.
