Editing Code name (section)

=== Aircraft recognition reporting names ===
{{See also|World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft}}
Although German and Italian aircraft were not given code names by their Allied opponents, in 1942, Captain Frank T. McCoy, an intelligence officer of the [[USAAF]], invented a system for the identification of Japanese military aircraft. Initially using short, "[[hillbilly]]" boys' names such as "[[Mitsubishi F1M|Pete]]", "[[Aichi E13A|Jake]]", and "[[Nakajima A6M2-N|Rufe]]", the system was later extended to include girls' names and names of trees and birds, and became widely used by the Allies throughout the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific theater]] of war. This type of naming scheme differs from the other use of code names in that it does not have to be kept secret, but is a means of identification where the official nomenclature is unknown or uncertain.

The policy of recognition reporting names was continued into the [[Cold War]] for Soviet, other [[Warsaw Pact]], and Communist Chinese aircraft. Although this was started by the Air Standards Co-ordinating Committee (ASCC) formed by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, it was extended throughout [[NATO]] as the [[NATO reporting name]] for aircraft, rockets and missiles. These names were considered by the Soviets as being like a nickname given to one's unit by the opponents in a battle. The Soviets did not like the [[Sukhoi Su-25]] getting the code name "[[Sukhoi Su-25|Frogfoot]]". {{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} However, some names were appropriate, such as "Condor" for the [[Antonov An-124]], or, most famously, "Fulcrum" for the [[Mikoyan MiG-29]], which had a "pivotal" role in Soviet air-strategy.

Code names were adopted by the following process. Aerial or space reconnaissance would note a new aircraft at a [[Warsaw Pact]] airbase. The intelligence units would then assign it a code name consisting of the official abbreviation of the base, then a letter, for example, "Ram-A", signifying an aircraft sighted at [[Ramenskoye Airport]]. Missiles were given designations like "TT-5", for the fifth rocket seen at [[Baikonur|Tyura-Tam]]. When more information resulted in knowing a bit about what a missile was used for, it would be given a designation like "SS-6", for the sixth surface-to-surface missile design reported. Finally, when either an aircraft or a missile was able to be photographed with a hand-held camera, instead of a reconnaissance aircraft, it was given a name like "[[Sukhoi Su-27|Flanker]]" or "[[Scud]]"{{snd}} always an English word, as international pilots worldwide are required to learn English. The Soviet manufacturer or designation – which may be mistakenly inferred by NATO – has nothing to do with it.

Jet-powered aircraft received two-syllable names like [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25|Foxbat]], while propeller aircraft were designated with short names like [[Tupolev Tu-4|Bull]]. Fighter names began with an "F", bombers with a "B", cargo aircraft with a "C". Training aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft were grouped under the word "miscellaneous", and received "M". The same convention applies to missiles, with air-launched ground attack missiles beginning with the letter "K" and surface-to-surface missiles (ranging from [[ICBM|intercontinental ballistic missiles]] to [[antitank]] rockets) with the letter "S", air-to-air missiles "A", and surface-to-air missiles "G".