How do Russian Aircraft & Missiles Get Their Names? | Koala Explains: NATO Reporting Names

As of today, the 9K333 Verba SAM system has officially been given the reporting name "SA-29 Gizmo"

You just can’t deny that Havoc is the coolest name for an attack helicopter, like ever.

"Shipwreck" is an epic name for an anti-ship missile.

I never realized that there was an actual reason behind the name chosen by NATO for the USSR's planes. I had always laughed at the funny names but this was quite informative!

I give you permission to say the MiG-15's reporting name next time

Another reason not to rely on the original designations, aside from them not conveying as much information, would be that you might not even know it – especially back in Cold War times. E.g. a new aircraft or variant shows up in photos or does flybys at a Soviet parade or something: You can tell it's a Tu-22 variant, but you have no clue what the Soviets are calling it, and you don't know yet what it can do. Well, let's call it a Blinder-B for now so we know what aircraft we're talking about, and fill in the rest later. That probably also accounts for a couple cases where the NATO names are very similar and the original designations very different, and vice versa.

Looking forward to the Su-75 'Femboy' designation becoming official!

As a diehard Kojima fanboy, the NATO reporting name of "Hind" for the Mi-24 Helicopters will always be top dog in my mind.

Yep, there is some unofficial nicknames for some of the military vehicles. For example Mi-24 in Russia has a nickname “crocodile”. Ka-52 is “alligator”. Tu-160 has unofficial nickname “white swan”. Great video btw 👍

While I do like how cool the name ‘Felon’ sounds, I really wish the Su-57 was called the ‘Flapjack’

I feel like the naming method is pretty easy to underatand. F for fighter, B for bomber, etc. Especially for us, since the US uses the same letters. I put two and two together when I was a kid playing old Novalogic flight sims. Didn't know about the M designations though. Learned helicopter reporting names like Hind, Havoc, and Hokum from Comanche 4 back in the day. Also SAM designations like Gainful, Gecko, and Grisom. Best part about this is the names themselves though. From Fishbed to Mittens, from Fulcrum to Havoc, I love how they can either be a badass name which has become the most well known, or a joke with a funny story behind it.

In the Halo Universe a lot of the names for covenant vehicles and ships were given by the UNSC as like with NATO not knowing or learning the russian designations so did the UNSC

Having the AI in the back of the F14 in DCS call out the Mig15 hits something different in a Merge.

The naming scheme for Radars is often based on the appearance (would make satellite identification easier). Square Pair is literally two square-shaped antennas. Tombstone is shaped like a tombstone. Many like Big Bird don't seem to follow this, but they could also be named after other characteristics (like in ESM intercepts, the waveforms etc).

I really enjoyed your Air Combat Terminology video, and I am honestly glad to see some sort of follow up with the NATO names for enemy aircraft! Loads of information, but to what a simpleton civvie like myself can tell, its easy to understand and get through!

It's odd to me that the US has dedicated codes for Attacker Aircraft (A-10 Warthog, A-6 Intruder, F/A-18 Hornet), but decided not to give Russian/Chinese attackers names that start with A. I wonder why that is... Edit And you beat me to it.13:00. Made my comment too early it seems lol

I pray to the high heavens that the SU 75 be named the Femboy

This series is genuinely extremely helpful Can't wait to see any other videos you have planned for this series

I've missed Koala explains :). I hope to see more at some point. Military jargon and culture can sometimes be so esoteric, even for a milhis buff.

Russia: Names a submarine class to "I love nato <3" Nato: confusion