NATO Phonetic Alphabet Information

You can see the alphabet by clicking here. Unlike phonetic alphabet systems such as the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) the NATO system designates every letter in the English alphabet a code word. They are chosen by using a word whose opening sound represents the particular letter.

It is derived from the International Code of Signals (INTERCO) an older system that used audio signals such as bells, whistles and horns as well as visual like lights or flags.

The system is used for a variety of purposes world wide including amateur radio, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Identical words are used by all, the one exception being numbers. Two sets of numeric codes exist. The first is the usual English numeric words i.e. One, Two, Three etc. The second set uses compound numeric terms Unaone, Bissotwo, Errathree etc.

If you are looking for the International Phonetic Alphabet, please the Internation Phonetic Alphabet site for IPA charts, keyboards and lots of other information.