NATO uses a system of code names , called reporting names , to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states , former Warsaw Pact countries, China , and other countries. The system assists military communications by providing short, one or two-syllable names, as alternatives to the precise proper names , which may be easily confused under operational conditions or are unknown in the Western world .
26-619: The Vympel R-27 ( NATO reporting name AA-10 Alamo ) is a family of air-to-air missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the late Cold War -era. It remains in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces , air forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States and air forces of many other countries as the standard medium-range air-to-air missile despite the development of the more advanced R-77 . The R-27
52-468: A F-15. Rebels later released footage showing an aircraft wreck, however serial numbers on the wreckage suggested that the downed aircraft was a Panavia Tornado , also operated by Saudi forces. On January 8, the Saudi Press Agency admitted the loss of an aircraft over Yemen, though it did not clarify whether it was a Tornado or an F-15, blaming the crash to 'a technical issue' and reporting that
78-520: A R-27T on 16 July 2014. Russian officials denied any involvement. The R-27 was used by both sides during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . During the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Houthis have used R-27T missiles modified to serve as surface to air missiles. A video released on January 7, 2018, also shows a modified R-27T hitting a Saudi led coalition fighter on a Forward looking infrared camera. Houthi sources claim to have downed
104-466: A different series of numbers with a different suffix (i.e., SA-N- versus SA-) for these systems. The names are kept the same as a convenience. Where there is no corresponding system, a new name is devised. The Soviet Union did not always assign official "popular names" to its aircraft, but unofficial nicknames were common as in any air force . Generally, Soviet pilots did not use the NATO names, preferring
130-522: A native Russian nickname. An exception was that Soviet airmen appreciated the MiG-29 's codename "Fulcrum", as an indication of its pivotal role in Soviet air defence. To reduce the risk of confusion, unusual or made-up names are allocated, the idea being that the names chosen are unlikely to occur in normal conversation and are easier to memorise. For fixed-wing aircraft, the number of syllables indicates
156-451: Is allowed to redesignate targets during flight, and can share target illumination with other aircraft. R-27T and ET variants can be used out of cloudiness, at least 15 degrees away from the bearing of sun, and 4 degrees away from the bearing of moon and ground-based heat-contrasting conditions. In cases of maximum head-on range launches where lock-command cannot be utilized, missile can not be fired. Seeker must acquire target before launch. On
182-712: Is manufactured in infrared-homing (R-27T, R-27ET), semi-active radar homing (R-27R, R-27ER), and active-radar homing (R-27EA) versions. R-27 family missiles are produced by both Russian and Ukrainian manufacturers. The R-27 missile is carried by the Mikoyan MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-27 family fighters. The R-27 missile is also license-produced in China, though the production license was bought from Ukraine instead of Russia. R-27R and ER variants can be used in any meteorological conditions. Launch can made at less than 5 g overload and less than 50 deg/s roll rate. It
208-456: Is not made for helicopters. Before the 1980s, reporting names for submarines were taken from the NATO spelling alphabet . Modifications of existing designs were given descriptive terms, such as " Whiskey Long Bin ". From the 1980s, new designs were given names derived from Russian words, such as " Akula ", or "shark". These names did not correspond to the Soviet names. Coincidentally, "Akula", which
234-863: The Antonov An-124 or "Candid" for the Ilyushin Il-76 . The initial letter of the name indicates the use of that equipment. The alphanumeric designations (eg AA-2) are assigned by the Department of Defense . The first letter indicates the type of aircraft, e.g., "Bear" for a bomber aircraft refers to the Tupolev Tu-95 , or "Fulcrum" for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 fighter aircraft. For fixed-wing aircraft, one-syllable names are used for propeller aircraft and two-syllable names for aircraft with jet engines. This distinction
260-468: The " Five Eyes " countries, Australia , Canada , New Zealand , the United Kingdom and United States . The organisation is responsible for enhancing Air Force interoperability amongst member nations' Air Forces. The use of the term " Five Eyes " stems from the informal name for the intelligence sharing network consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States. It
286-780: The " Five Eyes Air Force Interoperability Council " (AFIC). The "Five Eyes" AFIC identifies and resolves current and future air force interoperability challenges by leveraging collective expertise. In a nutshell, AFIC enhances "Five Eyes" air power by delivering improved air force interoperability. AFIC does this by facilitating working groups to address identified interoperability friction in "Five Eyes" air operations. These working groups seek to generate mutually agreed " Air Standards " (AIRSTDS) which can be applied to "Five Eyes" Air Forces' operations and incorporated into National air publications and doctrine. Additionally, AFIC shares information on "Five Eyes" tactics, training and procedures (TTPs) through " Information Publications "; facilitates
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#1732797354584312-593: The 1999 Eritrean-Ethiopian War , Eritrean MiG-29s fought Ethiopian Su-27s both piloted by Russian mercenaries. Only one R-27 fired by an Ethiopian Su-27 at an Eritrean MiG-29 proximity-fuzed near enough to the MiG that the damaged aircraft eventually crashed on landing. During the war in Donbas , the Ukrainian Air Force claimed that one of its Su-25 was shot down by a Russian Aerospace Forces MiG-29 using
338-649: The Air Standardization Coordinating Committee (ASCC), which is separate from NATO . Based in Washington DC, AFIC comprises representatives from the militaries of three NATO members (Canada, the United Kingdom and United States) and two non-NATO countries (Australia and New Zealand). When the system was introduced in the 1950s, reporting names also implicitly designated potentially hostile aircraft. However, since
364-512: The WG, in addition to various " Subject Matter Experts " (SMEs) who help to tackle the specific interoperability issues that have been identified. Finally, each nation has a " National Program Manager " (NPM) who is responsible to their respective ND for their own national AFIC program, and coordinating their HoD and SME support to the Working Groups. They also provide administrative support to
390-730: The capability for aircraft to be cross-serviced. In 1951, ASCC was expanded to include the US Navy , the Royal Australian Air Force joined in 1964 and the Royal New Zealand Air Force followed in 1965. Perhaps the most prominent role of ASCC/AFIC has been the creation and maintenance of the reporting names for aircraft from the Soviet Union / Russia , other Warsaw Pact countries and the People's Republic of China . These reporting names are used by
416-456: The combat operations section of the Su-27 manual, this is especially recommended for head-on usage for passive attacks at targets with 0 degrees approach angle (i.e. another fighter moving to intercept), leaving target unalerted to the incoming missile. Launch can be made at 0 to 7 g , but limited to 6 g if roll induced slip is more than 2× diameter of the ball. Other variants: In
442-517: The end of the Cold War, some NATO air forces have operated various aircraft types with reporting names (e.g. the "Fulcrum" Mikoyan MiG-29 ). The United States Department of Defense (DOD) expands on the NATO reporting names in some cases. NATO refers to surface-to-air missile systems mounted on ships or submarines with the same names as the corresponding land-based systems, but the US DOD assigns
468-515: The hit, while saying the jet safely landed at a Saudi base. Saudi official sources confirmed the incident reporting that it happened at 3:48 pm local time after a surface-to-air defense missile was launched at the fighter jet from inside Saada airport. NATO reporting name The assignment of reporting names is managed by the Five Eyes Air Force Interoperability Council (AFIC), previously known as
494-419: The loaning of equipment and materiel between nations for test and evaluation purposes; and, provides a management architecture to orchestrate stakeholder participation and deliver organisational outcomes. The AFIC management structure consists of a four-tiered system. " National Directors " (ND) are appointed at the 1 or 2-star officer level from each member nation. These NDs provide the strategic direction to
520-712: The militaries of NATO and other members of the broader western alliance . An external review of ASCC was undertaken in 2004 to examine the organisational processes and structures. As a result of this review, in 2005, ASCC was restructured, downsized and renamed the "Air and Space Interoperability Council" (ASIC). In 2016 the Air Chiefs of the "Five Eyes" nations recommended that in order to increase ASIC’s operational relevance, it should refresh its principles, refocus its activities, and consider updating its name. Following this review, in 2017, ASIC realigned itself to concentrate on Air Force interoperability and changed its name to
546-533: The organisation and authorise the annual tasking and lines of operation for the Council. Additionally, these NDs will serve for 1-year as Chairperson, which rotates annually amongst the member nations. A Pentagon -based " Management Committee " (MC) oversees the day-to-day operation and performs the AFIC's management functions by implementing the mutually agreed strategic direction, chairing working groups and acting as
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#1732797354584572-512: The pilots ejected and were recovered by friendly forces. On 21 March 2018, Houthi rebels released a video where they hit and possibly shot down a Saudi F-15 in Saada province . In the video a R-27T air to air missile adapted for surface to air use was launched, appearing to have successfully hit a jet. As in the video of the previous similar hit recorded on 8 January, the target, while clearly hit, did not appear to be downed. Saudi forces confirmed
598-499: The primary conduit between the Council's operational tiers. The MC is typically established at the O-5 (OF4) level by representatives from each member nation, usually on a 3-year assignment. " Working Groups " (WGs) are established across warfighting and supporting functional areas to provide an operator-level approach to improve "Five Eyes" interoperability. Nations appoint a " Head of Delegation " (HoD) who represents their interests within
624-588: The type of the aircraft's engine. Single-syllable code names denote reciprocating engine or turboprop , while two-syllable code names denote jet engine . Bombers have names starting with the letter "B", and names like "Badger" ( Tupolev Tu-16 ), "Blackjack" ( Tupolev Tu-160 ) and "Bear" ( Tupolev Tu-95 ) have been used. "Frogfoot", the reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-25 , references the aircraft's close air support role. Transports have names starting with "C" (for "cargo"), resulting in names like "Condor" for
650-407: Was assigned to an attack submarine by NATO, was the actual Soviet name for the ballistic missile submarine NATO named " Typhoon-class ". The NATO names for submarines of the People's Republic of China are taken from Chinese dynasties . Five Eyes Air Force Interoperability Council The Five Eyes Air Force Interoperability Council (AFIC) is a formal military organisation, consisting of
676-845: Was previously known as the Air and Space Interoperability Council (ASIC) and the Air Standardization Coordinating Committee (ASCC). In 1948, following the end of World War II , the Air Standards Coordination Committee (ASCC) was formed by the Air Force Chiefs of Staff of Canada , the United Kingdom and the United States to further those nations' capabilities to conduct combined air operations and to provide each other with certain essential services, namely
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