The ICAO spelling alphabet, also called the NATO
phonetic alphabet or the international radiotelephony
spelling alphabet, is the most widely used spelling alphabet.
Though often called "phonetic alphabets", spelling alphabets have
no connection to phonetic transcription systems like the
International Phonetic Alphabet. Instead, the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) alphabet assigns code words to the
letters of the English alphabet acrophonically (Alfa for A,
Bravo for B, etc.) so that critical combinations of letters
(and numbers) can be pronounced and understood by those who
transmit and receive voice messages by radio or telephone
regardless of their native language, especially when the safety of
navigation or persons is essential. The paramount reason is to
ensure intelligibility of voice signals over radio links.
Source: Wikipedia
