[2] When the system was introduced in the 1950s, reporting names also implicitly designated potentially hostile aircraft.
However, since the end of the Cold War, some NATO air forces have operated various aircraft types with reporting names (e.g. the "Fulcrum" Mikoyan MiG-29).
The United States Department of Defense (DOD) expands on the NATO reporting names in some cases.
The Soviet Union did not always assign official "popular names" to its aircraft, but unofficial nicknames were common as in any air force.
Generally, Soviet pilots did not use the NATO names, preferring a native Russian nickname.
"Frogfoot", the reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-25, references the aircraft's close air support role.