Military time zones
The military divides the world into 25 time zones, each named with a letter of the NATO phonetic alphabet. Write the letter after the time: 1730R is 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, 2230Z is the same moment in UTC.
| Letter | Name | Offset | Time now | Example places |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y | Yankee | UTC−12 | ---- | Baker Island |
| X | X-ray | UTC−11 | ---- | American Samoa |
| W | Whiskey | UTC−10 | ---- | Hawaii |
| V | Victor | UTC−9 | ---- | Alaska (standard time) |
| U | Uniform | UTC−8 | ---- | U.S. Pacific standard time; Alaska daylight time |
| T | Tango | UTC−7 | ---- | U.S. Mountain standard time; Arizona; Pacific daylight time |
| S | Sierra | UTC−6 | ---- | U.S. Central standard time; Mountain daylight time |
| R | Romeo | UTC−5 | ---- | U.S. Eastern standard time; Central daylight time |
| Q | Quebec | UTC−4 | ---- | Atlantic standard time; U.S. Eastern daylight time |
| P | Papa | UTC−3 | ---- | Buenos Aires, São Paulo |
| O | Oscar | UTC−2 | ---- | South Georgia |
| N | November | UTC−1 | ---- | Azores, Cape Verde |
| Z | Zulu | UTC±0 | ---- | UTC; London and Lisbon in winter |
| A | Alpha | UTC+1 | ---- | Paris, Berlin, Rome (winter); London (summer) |
| B | Bravo | UTC+2 | ---- | Athens, Cairo, Johannesburg |
| C | Charlie | UTC+3 | ---- | Moscow, Nairobi, Riyadh |
| D | Delta | UTC+4 | ---- | Dubai, Baku |
| E | Echo | UTC+5 | ---- | Pakistan, Maldives |
| F | Foxtrot | UTC+6 | ---- | Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan |
| G | Golf | UTC+7 | ---- | Bangkok, Jakarta, Hanoi |
| H | Hotel | UTC+8 | ---- | Beijing, Singapore, Perth, Manila |
| I | India | UTC+9 | ---- | Tokyo, Seoul |
| K | Kilo | UTC+10 | ---- | Guam, Sydney (winter), Brisbane |
| L | Lima | UTC+11 | ---- | Solomon Islands, New Caledonia |
| M | Mike | UTC+12 | ---- | Fiji, Auckland (winter) |
| J | Juliet | Local | — | The observer’s local time |
U.S. time zones in military letters
| U.S. zone | Standard time | Daylight time |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern | R (Romeo), UTC−5 | Q (Quebec), UTC−4 |
| Central | S (Sierra), UTC−6 | R (Romeo), UTC−5 |
| Mountain | T (Tango), UTC−7 | S (Sierra), UTC−6 |
| Arizona | T (Tango), UTC−7 | T (no daylight time) |
| Pacific | U (Uniform), UTC−8 | T (Tango), UTC−7 |
| Alaska | V (Victor), UTC−9 | U (Uniform), UTC−8 |
| Hawaii | W (Whiskey), UTC−10 | W (no daylight time) |
See the current Zulu time (UTC) or convert a time.
Frequently asked questions
Why is UTC called Zulu time?
UTC has no offset, the "zero" zone, marked with the letter Z. In the NATO phonetic alphabet Z is "Zulu", so 1400Z is read "fourteen hundred Zulu".
Why is there no J time zone?
J ("Juliet") is reserved for the observer’s local time. "0900J" means 9 AM wherever the person writing it is.
What military time zone is U.S. Eastern time?
Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5) is Romeo (R). During daylight saving time, Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) is Quebec (Q).
What about zones like India (UTC+5:30)?
Zones that are not a whole number of hours from UTC have no letter. They are written with the offset, or converted to Zulu time.