Western (NATO / U.S. DOD) Designations of Soviet/Russian, Chinese and Other Adversaries' Military Aircraft and Missiles

Copyright © 2001-2026 Andreas Parsch
Original article and tables provided in 2001 by Aleksey V. Martynov
Soviet/Russian missile tables updated in 2004-2006 based on research by Sean O'Connor (used with permission)
Updates since 2026 by Andreas Parsch

1 Designation Systems

2 List of Names and Designations for Soviet/Russian Rockets and Missiles

3 List of Names and Designations for Chinese Missiles

4 List of Names and Designations for Iranian Missiles

5 List of Names and Designations for North Korean Missiles

6 List of Names for Soviet/Russian and Chinese Aircraft

7 Other DOD Designations for Aircraft and Missiles

8 Main Sources (for Missile Designations)

1 Designation Systems

1.1 NATO Reporting Names for Aircraft and Missiles

The NATO uses so-called "Reporting Names" when referring to aircraft and missiles of FSU (Former Soviet Union) states and the People's Republic of China. Reporting names for aircraft are selected by the ASIC (Air and Space Interoperability Council; renamed in 2005 from ASCC, Air Standardization Coordinating Committee - member states are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA and UK), but names for missiles (and other systems like radars etc.) are created by other organizations. However, all reporting names are eventually forwarded to NATO in a single list.

Fixed-wing aircraft are designated by reporting names beginning with code letters designating the aircraft's mission. Propeller-driven planes are designated by single-syllabic words (e.g. "Bear"), and jets by multi-syllabic words (e.g. "Backfire"). Helicopters and guided missiles are designated similarly, except that the length of a word is not relevant.

Code letters:

• A - Air-to-Air Missile
• B - Bomber
• C - Cargo
• F - Fighter
• G - Surface-to-Air Missile (including Anti-Ballistic Missiles)
• H - Helicopter
• K - Air-to-Surface Missile
• M - Miscellaneous (all aircraft not included in other categories)
• S - Surface-to-Surface Missile

Variants of aircraft and missiles are designated by suffix letters, for example "Bear-A" ("I" and "O" are not used). Small updates are designated "Mod." and Roman numeral suffixes, for example "Bear-F Mod.IV". Sometimes a variant is designated by adding the word "Modified", but only two examples are known: "Badger-C Modified" and "Badger-G Modified". More recently, subtypes of a variant are sometimes designated by adding numerical suffixes, like in "Fulcrum-A2" or "Foxbat-B5". Yet another method to designate subtypes is the suffix "variant n", where n starts from 1. An example is "Flanker-E variant 1" and "Flanker-E variant 2".

The code naming system was originally used for Soviet/Russian types only, but was later extended to Chinese aircraft and missiles.

1.2 DOD Designations for Missiles

The U.S. Department of Defense allocates alphanumeric designations to Soviet (and later Russian) missiles since the 1950s. The designations consist of code letters for the missile's role, and a sequential model number.

Code letters:

• AA - Air-to-Air Missile
• ABM - Anti-Ballistic Missile
• AS - Air-to-Surface Missile
• AT - Anti-Tank Missile
• DR - Drone
• FRAS - Unguided ASW Rocket ("Free Rocket Anti-Submarine")
• FROG - Unguided Artillery Rocket ("Free Rocket Over Ground")
• SA - Surface-to-Air Missile
• SA-N - Naval Surface-to-Air Missile
• SL - Space Booster ("Space Launcher")
• SS - Surface-to-Surface Missile
• SSC - Surface-to-Surface Cruise Missile
• SS-N - Naval Surface-to-Surface Missile
• SUW-N - Naval Surface-to-Underwater Missile

Notes:

• Since 1962, the letter "X" is inserted before the number in the designations of experimental missiles, e.g. "SS-X-10" or "SS-NX-28". The "X" is dropped when the missile is presumed to be in operational service.
• The categories DR, FRAS, FROG and SUW-N are probably outdated and no longer used.
• The actual assignment of the designations is coordinated by an entity named Weapon and Space Systems Intelligence Committee (WSSIC).

Extension to other countries of origin

When originally devised, the system covered only Soviet missiles. When it was later extended to Chinese missiles, designations for the latter were prefixed with a "C", e.g. "CSS-5", "CSS-NX-5". Soviet/Russian and Chinese missiles are designated in separate numerical series.

At some unknown time, probably in the late 1990s, the way to designate the country of origin of a missile system was changed to cover more potential adversary countries. The designations are now prefixed with a two-letter country code, followed by a dash. The code is not the ISO 3166 two-letter code, but a so-called Geopolitical Entity Code, maintained by the CIA (see e.g. this page). The relevant country codes in the context of missile designations are:

• CH - China
• IR - Iran
• KN - North Korea
• RS - Russia

Therefore, Chinese missiles are nowadays often referred to as CH-AA-xx, CH-SS-xx, etc. instead of using the older CAA-xx, CSS-xx etc. nomenclature. For Russian missiles, the RS- prefix is usually omitted, but not always.

1.3 Sheldon Designations for Space Launchers

The Western designation system for Soviet boosters was devised in the early 1960s by Charles Sheldon of the U.S. Library of Congress. It is based on allocation of letters to families of launchers, and variants are designated by suffix numbers and letters. For example "Family A" included the boosters for Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, Vostok and Soyuz, and Sputnik 1/2 were designated "A", Vostok was "A-1", and Soyuz was "A-1-m". In addition, suffix letters are sometimes used to characterize a rocket:

• e - "escape velocity" (planetary probes)
• h - "high performance" (heavy loads and special purpose)
• m - "maneuverable" (Anti-Satellite weapons)
• r - "reentry" (reconnaissance and scientific capsules)
• s - "sustain" (for station keeping and nuclear reactor kick-up)

2 List of Names and Designations for Soviet/Russian Rockets and Missiles

Notes:

• There is often some confusion whether a certain Soviet/Russian designation or name refers to the missile itself or the whole missile system. Therefore it's possible that some data in the "Missile" column really should go into the "Missile System" column and vice versa.
• For surface-launched missiles, the DOD codes (SA-n, SS-n, ABM-n) often refer to the whole system (including radars etc.), while the NATO code names refer to the actual missiles.
• If applicable, variants of a missile are detailed immediately behind the "main" entry, in the field with smaller type and gray background.

2.1 AA - Air-to-Air Missiles

Notes:
1. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the AA-1 include AA-1A (for the RS-2U) and AA-1B (for the RS-2US).
2. Unconfirmed DOD/NATO designations for the AA-5 include AA-5A Ash-A (for the R-4R) and AA-5B Ash-B (for the R-4T).
3. Unconfirmed DOD/NATO designations for the AA-8 include AA-8A Aphid-A (for the R-60/60K/60T), AA-8B Aphid-B (for the R-60M) and AA-8C Aphid-C (for the R-60MK).
4. Both "Arrow" and "Axehead" have been quoted for the AA-13. A likely explanation is that "Arrow" refers to the basic R-37, while "Axehead" is the R-37M.

2.2 ABM - Anti-Ballistic Missiles

Notes:
1. "Gaffer" has also been reported as the name of the V-400 surface-to-air missile. One of the two name associations must be erroneous.
2. The designation ABM-X-2 was assigned to a projected upgrade of the A-35 ABM system, using GALOSH missiles and new radars. The ABM-X-2 system, probably identical to the cancelled "Avrora", was not proceeded with.
3. The designation ABM-X-3 probably referred to the S-225 system, but this is unconfirmed.
4. It's possible that the ABM-X-3A/B designations for the 5Ya26/5Ya27 missiles are reversed.
5. The 53T6 Gazelle missile is identified as ABM-3 in most sources, but this is doubtful if ABM-4 is indeed the designation for the whole A-135 system (of which the 53T6 is one component).
6. The 55T6 missile is a successor of the 51T6.

2.3 AS - Air-to-Surface Missiles

Notes:
1. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the AS-4 include AS-4A (for the basic Kh-22), AS-4B (for the Kh-22N) and AS-4C (for the ARM variants).
2. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the AS-5 include AS-5A (for the KSR-2) and AS-5B (for the KSR-11).
3. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the AS-6 include AS-6A (for the KSR-5) and AS-6B (for the KSR-5N).
4. AS-8 was the original designation of the AT-6. No NATO name was assigned before the DOD designation changed to AT-6.
5. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the AS-12 include AS-12A (for the Kh-25P), AS-12B (for the Kh-27PS), AS-12C (for the Kh-25MP) and AS-12D (for the Kh-25MPU).
6. There are a few sources, whichh mention the designation AS-22 for the Kh-555. This is either an error, or a preliminary identication which was later discarded.
7. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the AS-17 include AS-17A (for the Kh-31A), AS-17B (for the Kh-31AD), AS-17C (for the Kh-31P) and AS-17D (for the Kh-31PD).

2.4 AT - Anti-Tank Missiles

Notes:
1. Unconfirmed DOD/NATO designations for the AT-4 include AT-4A Spigot-A (for the 9M111), AT-4B Spigot-B (for the 9M111-2) and AT-4C Spigot-C (for the 9M111M).
2. Unconfirmed DOD/NATO designations for the AT-5 include AT-5A Spandrel-A (for the 9M113) and AT-5B Spandrel-B (for the 9M113M).
3. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the AT-6 include AT-6A (for the 9M114), AT-6B (for the 9M114M1) and AT-6C (for the 9M114M2).

2.5 SA - Surface-to-Air Missiles

Notes:
1. The following table details the versions of the S-25 system (SA-1 Guild):

2. The following table details the versions of the S-75 system (SA-2 Guideline):


3. "Gaffer" has also been reported as the name of the V-1000 anti-ballistic missile. One of the two name associations must be erroneous.
4. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the SA-4 include SA-4A (for the 9M8) and SA-4B (for the 9M8Mx).
5. The designation SA-5 for the "Dal" system was dropped, after "Dal" had been cancelled.
6. Unconfirmed DOD/NATO designations for the SA-6 include SA-6A (for the 9M9) and SA-6B Gainful Mod.1 (for the 9M9Mx).
7. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the SA-8 include SA-8A (for the 9M33) and SA-8B (for the 9M33Mx).
8. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the SA-9 include SA-9A (for the 9M31) and SA-9B (for the 9M31M).
9. The S-300V systems use two types of missiles (long and medium range). These missiles start from different launchers, and therefore NATO assigned different reporting names to them.
10. Unconfirmed DOD designations for the SA-15 include SA-15A (for the 9K330), SA-15B (for the 9K331M), SA-15C (for the 9K331M1) and SA-15D (for the 9K332).
11. The S-400 system (a.k.a. S-300PM-3) shares many components with the S-300PM-1/2 system, including the 48N6 and 9M96 series missiles.
12. The designation SA-26 for the Pechora-2M system is unconfirmed, and highly questionable.
13. Some sources assign SA-25 to the 9K333 Verba.

2.6 SA-N - Naval Surface-to-Air Missiles

Note: The DOD assigns separate designations to naval and land-based missiles, while NATO assigns the same code name. DOD designations for the land-based equivalents of the missiles are shown in blue.

Notes:
1. The designation SA-N-20 was apparently assigned out of sequence to match the number of the land-based variant.

2.7 SS - Surface-to-Surface Missiles

Notes:
1. The missile system designations are mostly those which usually appear in Soviet-American treaties.
2. I have no idea why the SS-1 designator was reused for the Scud.
3. Unconfirmed variant designations for Saddler include Saddler Mod.1 (for the R-16) and Saddler Mod.2 (for the R-16U).
4. The SS-22 was redesignated as SS-12B.
5. Unconfirmed variant designations for Savage include Savage Mod.1 (for the RT-2) and Savage Mod.2 (for the RT-2P).
6. SS-X-26 was originally allocated to the cancelled RSS-40 Kurier (small ICBM).
7. Some sources attribute the NATO names Stone-A and Stone-B to Iskander and Iskander-M, respectively.
8. SS-X-28 was apparently assigned to a variant of the RSD-10 Pioner system, but it is unclear which one. Some sources attribute the designation to Pioner-UTTKh, while others mention Pioner-3.
9. The SS-X-29 designation has been associated with both the RS-24 and RS-28 systems. It is unclear, which one, if any, is correct. Adding to the confusion is the fact that both systems are also mentioned with other SS numbers (SS-27 Mod.2 for RS-24, and SS-X-30 or -32 for RS-28).
10. The designation SS-X-32 has been associated with a cancelled missile named "Barzugin", and with the RS-28 Sarmat system. This gives RS-28 the dubious record of being mentioned with three unconfirmed DOD designators (SS-X-29, -30 and -32). All said, it is unclear to which, if any, missile system SS-X-32 was assigned.
11. Some sources quote SS-X-33 as an alternate designation for 9M730 Burevestnik, which is usually associated with the SSC-X-9 designation. Other sources connect SS-X-33 to 3K22 Tsirkon (probably a confusion with Tsirkon's SS-N-33 designation) or Iskander-1000, a development of 9K723 Iskander-M (SS-26). It is unclear to which, if any, missile system SS-X-33 was actually assigned.
12. The SS-X-34 designation for Oreshnik is questionable.

2.8 SSC - Surface-to-Surface Cruise Missiles

Notes:
1. SSC-X-5 was originally allocated to the 3M25N, which was later cancelled.

2.9 SS-N - Naval Surface-to-Surface Missiles

Notes:
1. The SS-N-1B designation is obviously a direct "navalization" of SS-1B.
2. SS-NX-10 was erroneously allocated to SS-N-14.
3. SS-N-11 was redesignated as SS-N-2C.
4. The D-5K was never operational, and therefore didn't receive a NATO name.
5. SS-N-25 is the surface-to-surface version of the AS-20 (Kh-35).

2.10 SUW-N - Naval Surface-to-Underwater Missiles

2.11 FRAS - Unguided ASW Rockets

Notes:
1. FRAS-1A is probably identical to SUW-N-1.

2.12 FROG - Unguided Artillery Rockets

Notes:
1. Some sources attribute the 3R9 rocket to FROG-3, and list FROG-4 as a research rocket derived from the 3R9.

2.13 SL - Space Launchers

Notes:
1. According to reliable first-hand sources, the "Sheldon" designations have been no longer assigned for quite some time. Therefore, the "L" and "M" designations are probably "inventions" by a third party.

2.14 DR - Drones

2.15 Other Designators

The designation CADS-N-1 is sometimes quoted for a naval close-in air-defense system, consisting of 30 mm Gatling guns and a 3K87 Kortik/Kashtan (SA-N-11) missile system (with 9M311 missiles).

3 List of Names and Designations for Chinese Missiles

Notes:

• The prefixes "C" and "CH-" are not used consistently in public sources. The tables below show each designation in the form which seems to be preferred by the majority of sources.
• For more information on older Chinese rockets and missiles (up to 2001), you may refer to Andreas Gehrs-Pahl's article on this site.
• The letters in the Chinese designations are abbreviations of the Pinyin versions of the Chinese names. They include:
  PL - 霹雳, Pī Lì ("Thunderbolt")
  YJ - 鹰击, Yīngjī ("Eagle strike")
  DF - 东风, Dōng Fēng ("East Wind")
  HQ - 红旗, Hóng Qí ("Red Banner")
  HN - 红缨, Hóng Yīng ("Red Tassel")
  QW - 前卫, Qián Wèi ("Vanguard")
  FN - 飞弩, Fēi Nú ("Flying Crossbow")
  HY - 海鹰, Hǎiyīng ("Sea Eagle")
  CJ - 长剑, Cháng Jiàn ("Long Sword")
  JL - 巨浪, Jù Làng ("Giant Wave")
  CZ - 长征, Cháng Zhēng ("Long March")
  

3.1 CAA/CH-AA - Air-to-Air Missiles

Notes:
1. The designation CH-AA-X-13 is sometimes attributed to the PL-16, but this is unconfirmed.

3.2 CAS/CH-AS - Air-to-Surface Missiles

Notes:
1. The designation CH-AS-5 is sometimes attributed to the CJ-20, but this is rather questionable.

3.3 CAT - Anti-Tank Missiles

Note:
There are many known Chinese anti-tank missiles, but no CAT-xx (or CH-AT-xx) numbers following CAT-1 have been made public.

3.4 CSA/CH-SA - Surface-to-Air Missiles

Notes:
1. CSA-1 is the Chinese version of the Russian SA-2 system.
2. CSA-4 is the Chinese version of the French "Crotale" system.
3. Some sources attribute CSA-7 to another HQ-7 variant.

3.5 CSA-N/CH-SA-N - Naval Surface-to-Air Missiles

Other than for Soviet/Russian surface-to-air missile systems, the DOD seems to align the numbers in the CH-SA-xx and CH-SA-N-xx designations for equivalent land- and ship-based systems.

3.6 CSS/CH-SS - Surface-to-Surface Missiles

Notes:
1. The designations CSS-9 and CSS-10 were originally assumed to apply to the DF-31 and DF-41, respectively.
2. There is only a single reference for the CH-SS-16 designation, so the entry might by bogus.

3.7 CSSC/CH-SSC - Surface-to-Surface Cruise Missiles

Notes:
1. (Assumed) production of the SSC-2B in China.

3.8 CSS-N/CH-SS-N - Naval Surface-to-Surface Missiles

Notes:
1. Some sources assign CSS-N-2 to the HY-1, and CSS-N-3 to the HY-2.
2. There are many sources, which attribute the designation CH-SS-N-8 to the YJ-83/C-802 missile. However, the sources for CH-SS-N-6 appear to be slightly more reliable.
3. There is only a single reference for the CH-SS-N-9 designation, so the entry might by bogus.

3.9 CSL - Space Launchers

Note:
China's CZ (Cháng Zhēng, "Long March") series of launch vehicles has reached CZ-12. But there is no evidence, that the U.S. DOD assigned CSL numbers for CZ-4 and up.

4 List of Names and Designations for Iranian Missiles

Note: Public sources for DOD designations for Iranian missiles are very rare. All designations presented here should be regarded as unconfirmed, and possibly bogus.

4.1 IR-SA - Surface-to-Air Missiles

4.2 IR-SS - Surface-to-Surface Missiles

5 List of Names and Designations for North Korean Missiles

Notes:

• Public sources for DOD designations for North Korean missiles are very rare. All designations presented here should be regarded as unconfirmed, and possibly bogus.
• When referring to North Korean missiles with "Western" designations, the preliminary KN-xx numbers seem to be used more often than the DOD's role-based designators listed below.

5.1 KN-SA - Surface-to-Air Missiles

5.2 KN-SS - Surface-to-Surface Missiles

5.3 KN-SSC - Surface-to-Surface Cruise Missiles

5.4 KN-SS-N - Naval Surface-to-Surface Missiles

5.5 KN-SL - Space Launchers

6 List of Names for Soviet/Russian and Chinese Aircraft

Note: NATO names in parentheses were originally assigned, but later replaced for various reasons.

6.1 B - Bombers

Notes:
1. Tu-22 and Tu-22M are completely different aircraft. Sometimes in the western literature the name Tu-26 is incorrectly assigned to the Tu-22M.

6.2 C - Transports

Notes:
1. The designation Il-18 was assigned to two different aircraft.

6.3 F - Fighters

Notes:
1. The Su-24 is incorrectly identified as a fighter, probably because of its external similarity with F-111. It is actually a tactical bomber.
2. The MR/MP suffixes for the Fencer-E/F might be reversed.
3. The Fishbed-E designator for the MiG-21F-13 was probably short-lived. Fishbed-E is often quoted as MiG-21S or -21PFS, but this is incorrect.
4. The Su-15TM with modified radome was incorrectly identified as "Su-21" in the West.
5. There are subvariant designations Foxbat-B2, Foxbat-B3, Foxbat-B4 and Foxbat-B5. Exact allocations are unknown, but aircraft include the MiG-25RBV and MiG-25RBT.
6. There are several sources, which list MiG-25RBK/RBT/RBF as Foxbat-D.
7. The Su-25 is incorrectly identified as a fighter for unknown reasons. It is actually a heavy ground attack aircraft (shturmovik).
8. The Tu-10 probably never existed.
9. There are subvariant designations Fulcrum-A Variant 1 through Variant 4, which differ in production details.

6.4 H - Helicopters

Notes:
1. "Haitun" is a Chinese name (meaning "Dolphin"; the Z-9 is a Eurocopter AS365N Dauphin built in China), which might double as a suitable reporting name.
2. Possibly known as "Izdeliye D". The Ka-20 designation might be fictitious.

6.5 M - Miscellaneous

Notes:
1. Originally training variants of combat aircraft were designated with a new name (e.g. MiG-21 "Fishbed", MiG-21U "Mongol"). This practice has been discontinued, and today training aircraft are designated as variants of the combat aircraft (e.g. MiG-29 "Fulcrum-A", MiG-29UB "Fulcrum-B").
2. Many sources quote the designation Il-87 for "Maxdome", but Il-80 is most likely the correct one.
3. This variant is sometimes labeled "Il-38M", which is probably incorrect.

7 Other DOD Designations for Soviet Aircraft and Missiles

7.1 "Type" Numbers (1947-1955)

A designation consisted of the word "Type" and a single number to indentify the type of aircraft, e.g. "Type 39" for the Tupolev Tu-16. Numbers were assigned in strict numerical sequence. The system was cancelled in 1955 because it was obviously impractical in the long run.

Notes:
1. Not all aircraft with a "Type" designation had ASCC/NATO names allocated.
2. These aircraft have nothing in common with later aircraft with the same designation (a Russian speciality!)
3. In essentially all published lists of "Type" numbers, the numbers 13, 17-20, 22, 24 and 38 are described as follows:

The corrected data, as presented here, has been provided by Mr. Helge Bergander, who obtained his information from detailed analysis of original Soviet documents of the time. In the original table, the entry #20 was suspected to erroneous anyway, because the MiG-17 was out of timeline. Numbers 18, 19, 21, 22 etc. were allocated to aircraft which were first seen around 1949, while the MiG-17 didn't fly before 1950 and didn't appear in public before 1954. The slot #38 is much more plausible for the MiG-17.

7.2 Codes for Temporary Aircraft Identification

The DOD assigned temporary codes to newly discovered Soviet or Chinese aircraft, which had not yet been identified. A designation consisted of a code for the place of identification, and a sequential letter.

List of codes for Soviet locations:

• ARSEN - Arsenyev
• CHECH - ? *
• CHUCK - ? *
• KASP - Kaspiysk
• KAZ - Kazan
• KIYEV - Kiyev (Antonov OKB)
• LUK - Lukhovitsy
• NOVO - GAZ-153 factory airfield (Novosibirsk)
• RAM - Ramenskoye (Moskow)
• SIB - SibNIA Research Facility (Novosibirsk)
• TAG - Taganrog (Black Sea)
• TOM - Tomilino (Mil OKB)
• VLAD - Vladimirovka (Akhtubinsk)

* It is unclear, to which actual locations the prefixes CHECH and CHUCK apply. Both have only been used to designate Wing-In-Ground-Effect (WIG) vehicles, called ekranoplan in Russia. These vehicles were initially regarded as aircraft, but in 1985, they were reclassed as ships, putting them outside the DOD/NATO nomenclature for aircraft.

List of codes for Chinese locations:

• HARB - Harbin
• NAN - Nanchang
• XIAN - Xian

List of codes for other locations:

• MIEL - Mielec airframe plant, Poland

ARSEN - Arsenyev

CHECH - ?

CHUCK - ?

KASP - Kaspiysk

Notes:
1. The A-90 Orlonyok was also identified as TAG-C.

KAZ - Kazan

KIYEV - Kiyev

LUK - Lukhovitsy

Notes:
1. The Su-25 was also identified as RAM-J.

NOVO - Novosibirsk

RAM - Ramenskoye

Notes:
1. The identity of RAM-B and the Yak-28-64 is unconfirmed.
2. There is an intelligence report from July 1967, which says RAM-E is identical to NOVO-B (Su-15 Flagon). However, RAM-E has also been attributed to the Sukhoi T6-1 (Su-24 predecessor).
3. RAM-H was reported as a "large delta-wing aircraft". The Sukhoi T-4 supersonic bomber prototype is by far the most likely identity.
4. The Su-25 was also identified as LUK-A.
5. RAM-R1 applied to the structural test article, RAM-R2 to the jet-powered aerodynamic test vehicle.
6. RAM-S is possibly related to the Yak-38 Forger.

SIB - SibNIA

TAG - Taganrog

Notes:
1. The A-90 Orlonyok was also identified as KASP-B.

TOM - Tomilino

VLAD - Vladimirovka

HARB - Harbin

NAN - Nanchang

XIAN - Xian

MIEL - Mielec

7.3 Codes for Temporary Missile Identification

This designation system is similar to the system used for the temporary identification of aircraft, but instead of sequential letters numerical sequences are used.

Codes for Soviet and Russian test ranges:

• BL - Barnaul (Air Force)
• EM - Emba (Air Defence)
• KY - Kapustin Yar
• NE - Nenoska (Navy)
• PL - Plesetsk
• SH - Sary Shagan
• TT - Tyuratam
• VA - Vladimirovska

Codes for Chinese test ranges:

• SC - Shuang Cheng Tzu Missile and Space Test Facility
• WU - Wuzhai Missile Test Center

Codes for North Korea:

• ND, TD - Nodong, Taepodong. Only briefly used, designations usually quoted without a dash (e.g. ND01), and superseded by KN.
• KN - Single prefix for all North Korean missiles

BL - Barnaul

EM - Emba

KY - Kapustin Yar

Notes:
Possible, but completely unconfirmed KY codes include: KY-01 = SS-1A (R-1/8K11); KY-02 = SS-1B (R-11/8K14) or SS-2 (R-2/8Zh38) or SS-3 (R-5); KY-04 = SS-4 (R-12/8K63); KY-05 = SS-5 (R-14/8K65); KY-06 = SS-12 (9M76); KY-07 = SS-X-14 (RT-15/8K96); KY-11 = SS-22 (9M76); KY-26 = SS-X-31 (RS-26/15Zh59 Rubezh)

NE - Nenoska

PL - Plesetsk

SH - Sary Shagan

Notes:
1. The SH-04 code may be in error. It's possible that the A350R was also given the SH-01 code of the A350Zh.

TT - Tyuratam

Notes:
1. The SS-X-26 code for the RSS-40 was later cancelled and reassigned to the 9M72 missile.

VA - Vladimirovska

SC - Shuang Cheng Tzu

WU - Wuzhai

KN - North Korea

Notes:
1. Two entry rows indicate conflicting reports by two equally (un?)reliable sources.
2. KN-27 and -28 have both been attributed to Hwasong-17, by different sources.

8 Main Sources (for Missile Designations)

[1] Sean O'Connor's data collection of Soviet/Russian Missiles (ZIP'ed XLS file), dated October 2006
[2] International Institute for Strategic Studies Website
[3] Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): Missile Threat Website
[4] National Committee on North Korea (NCNK): DPRK Missile Types

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Last Updated: 12 January 2026