NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names were code names for Soviet and Chinese equipment. These were created to facilitate communications between military units speaking different languages. Also, in most cases the actual Soviet names for these items were not known or did not exist, and in many cases were not known for many years. NATO maintained lists of these names. Much of that equipment can still be found in use around the world, and NATO reporting names are still used to refer to that equipment.
The initial letter of the name indicated something about the use of that equipment; for example, fighter airplanes were assigned names beginning with the letter "F," bomber airplanes with "B," helicopters' with "H," surface-to-surface missiles' names with "S," and surface-to-air missiles' names with "G." For airplanes, names with one syllable are used for propeller engines while two syllable names indicate jet engines. Perhaps the most famous reporting name refers to the SS-1 ballistic missile, the "Scud."
The United States Department of Defense expands on the NATO reporting names in some cases. For example, whereas NATO refers to surface-to-air missile systems mounted on ships or submarines with the same names as the corresponding land-based systems, despite some minor differences (and in one case, lack of corresponding systems at all, although this was not realized for some time), the US DoD assigns a different series of numbers with a different prefix (SA-N vs. SA) for these systems. The names, however, are kept the same as the land-based system as a convenience. In the case where there is no corresponding system, a new name is devised. Some US DoD nomenclature is included in the following pages and is noted as such.
The Soviet Union did not assign official "popular names" to its aircraft, although unofficial nicknames were common as in any air force. Most (though not all) of the time the Soviet pilots didn't use NATO names (or the translations of them), usually because they weren't known for a long time and by later on a different Russian nickname had come into being. Many of the names were not particularly flattering, though it is a matter of opinion. For many there was no real overall meaning, others hinted at clever double meanings, and some others have become memorable and feared names. Literally hundreds of different names had to be thought up and chosen, so the names covered a wide variety of subjects. One format that was followed, such as for aircraft types, was that names of a particular role had the first letter of there name start with a certain letter that related to a types name (e.g. F was the first letter in the names of fighters). Since there is only so many words that start with certain letters, many aircraft (and other equipment as well) had very unique names.
For example e.g. 'Backfire' to the layman sounds like a reference to when a plan 'backfires', however in aeronautical terms the most immediate reference is a dangerous explosion of fuel out the back of a running jet engine (something that must be watched out and can be deadly to ground crews). The bombers had names starting with the letter 'b' and names like badger and bear were also used. The 'Frogfoot' references the aircrafts close air support role. Transports had names starting with 'C', which resulted in names like 'Careless' as they progressed through the alphabet.
Missiles
- Air-to-Air Missiles
- Air-to-Surface Missiles
- Anti-Tank Missiles
- Surface-to-Air Missiles (including ship- and submarine-launched)
- Surface-to-Surface Missiles (including ship- and submarine-launched)
Aircraft
- Bombers (Names start with the letter B)
- Fighters (Names start with the letter F)
- Helicopters (Names start with the lette H)
- Transports (Names start with the letter C)
- Miscellaneous (Names start with the letter M)
Submarines
Categories: NATO