NATO Naval Reporting Names

[Hood]

Although not strictly speaking aircraft manufacturing related, as a non-project designation listing this probably belongs in this forum.

As a sideline of other research I have been doing I thought it useful to list some of the placeholder reporting names assigned to new ship classes linked to their geographical location of construction when they were first discovered by intelligence sources. Their introduction after 1973 parallels the famous location reporting names (RAM-L etc.) used by the AISC/ASCC. The Baltic names covered the products of the USSR, Poland and East Germany. All of these went on to receive proper NATO reporting names (surprisingly some of these were well-known but others quickly faded from use) . I won't list these or the phonetic alphabet submarine reporting names because I think these should be very well known.


Baltic Combatant (Balcom)
Balcom-1: Project 1144 Orlan, later assigned NATO code Kirov

Balcom-2: Project 956 Sarych, later assigned NATO code Sovremenny

Balcom-3: Project 1155 Fregat, later assigned NATO code Udaloy

Balcom-4: Project 133.1, later assigned NATO code Parchim II

Balcom-5 - Project 1143.7 Ulyanovsk, later assigned NATO code Ulyanovsk [see Blackom-5]

Balcom-6: Project 620 Kaszub

Balcom-7: Project 12660 Rubin, later assigned NATO code Gorya

Balcom-8: Project 11540 Yastreb, later assigned NATO code Neustrashimy

Balcom-9: ?

Balcom-10: Project 151, later assigned NATO code Sassnitz

Balcom-11: Project 767 Brzegówka, later assigned NATO code Lublin

Balcom-12: Project 11551 Fregat-M, later assigned NATO code Udaloy II

Black Sea Combatant (Black-com)
Blackcom-1: Project 1164 Atlant, later assigned NATO code Krasina then assigned Slava after ship name discovered

Blackcom-2: Project 11435, later assigned NATO code Kremlin (Brezhnev also used for a time), then assigned Tbilisi and finally Kuznetsov

Blackcom-5: Project 1143.7 Ulyanovsk, later assigned NATO code Ulyanovsk

Baltic Submarine (Balsub)
Balsub-1: Project 1840, later assigned NATO code Lima

Black Sea Submarine (Blacksub)
Were any assigned?

Baltic Auxiliary (Balaux)
Balaux-1: ?
Balaux-2: Project 1941 Titan, later assigned NATO code Kapusta

Black Sea Auxiliary (Blackaux)
Were any assigned?

Northern Submarine (Norsub)
Norsub-5: Project 1851.1 Halibut, later assigned NATO code Paltus

 

[AM]

NOR-SUB-5 = PALTUS Class
BAL-COM-5 = ULYANOVSK Class

 

[Disclosure]

BAL-SUB-1 - LIMA Class (http://www.inlichtingendiensten.nl/militair/pir1980-02.pdf)

 

[Disclosure]

BAL-COM-5 cannot be the ULYANOVSK, as the ship was built but not completed at the Nikolayev shipyard 444 in the Black Sea.

 

[greenmartian2017]

I have a question that is related to NATO code names used for Naval ships and other ocean-going vessels. When do NATO code names get affixed to other countries' equipment? When it is first discovered (US satellites or SOSUS data)? When it is determined that something is being tested on the high seas? When a program actually goes operational (when the Navy in question accepts the vessel for routine operations)?

If anyone knows, please post your thoughts on this.

Thanks.

 

[Archamus33]

AFAIK the requirements dictating application of proper NATO codenames to OPFOR equipment vary. For ships, you'll usually see them publicly announced once the first example of a new class if christened by its operating country. For sub-systems like radars or launchers, there may be more of a delay. Understand that these codenames are used in both the classified and unclassified realms, and will likely have codenames attached long before the public becomes aware of them.