NATO reporting name

To facilitate communications between military units speaking different languages, NATO maintained lists of code names for Soviet equipment. Much of that equipment can still be found in use around the world, and those names are still used to refer to it.

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," and surface-to-surface missiles' names began with "S." Perhaps the most famous reporting name refers the the SS-1 ballistic missile, the "Scud."

Missiles

• Air-to-Air Missiles
• Air-to-Surface Missiles
• Anti-Tank Missiles
• Surface-to-Air Missiles
• Surface-to-Surface Missiles

Aircraft

• Bombers
• Fighters
• Helicopters
• Transports
• Miscellaneous

Submarines

• Ballistic Missile Submarines
• Guided Missile Submarines
• Hunter-Killer and Experimental Submarines