NATO

Phonetic alphabet, which uses words to spell out the letters - ie. Alpha, Beta, Charlie, etc. In marine circles, this is referred to as the NATO Alphabet (named by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) - and in aviation circles, the ICAO Alphabet for pilots (after the International Civil Aviation Organisation). You may also hear it referred to as the 'International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet'.

This alphabet is not to be confused with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) - which uses sound to spell out the letters.