Air forces of most of the countries use ranking system simular to Armies. However the RAF, and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries, or those formerly under a British influence use a different set of ranks loosely based on naval equivalents; Lieutenant, Commander, Captain and Commodore are prefixed for air force use with Flight, Wing, Group and Air (the first three being the units that they used to command).

Contents

1 NATO Rank Codes 2 Generals/Marshals/Air Officers 3 Other officers 4 See Also

NATO Rank Codes

To assist in the comparison of ranks in the armed forces of different countries, established NATO rank codes are used. These are established codes for determining the seniority of officer and other ranks in NATO countries for a particular joint task group or command structure, although specific appointments designate a higher level of seniority over other equivalent rank codes in a given situation. Officer ranks go from OF-1 (applying to all subaltern officers below captain) up to OF-10; OF(D) being a special category for trainee officers awaiting a commission. Other Ranks (those considered enlisted men in the United States forces) are classified from OR-1 to OR-9. Warrant Officers in the United States forces are a special case as single track career specialists between the enlisted and officer ranks in terms of seniority, and have no NATO rank code. The system should not be confused with the pay grades used in the US military. While countries outside the NATO command structure (including some NATO member courtiers such as France) do not strictly fall into this classification structure and there may be incidences of overlap (particularly in OR ranks between countries) the codes still provide a useful gauge in determining what ranks are broadly equivalent

Generals/Marshals/Air Officers

These are the highest ranks. Promotion to a rank above OF-9 is now rare and usually reserved for wartime. General of the Air Force is an example of such a rank.

Country	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6
Albania		Gjeneral	Gjenerallejtnant	Gjeneralmajor	Gjeneralbrigad
Austria		General	Generalleutnant	Generalmajor	Brigadier
Belarus		General-polkovnik	General-leytenant	General-mayor
Germany		General	Generalleutnant	Generalmajor	Brigadegeneral
Israel			Rav-aluf	Aluf	Tat-aluf
Latvia			Ğenerãlleitnants	Ğenerãlmajors	Brigādes ģenerãlis
Russia	General armii	General-polkovnik	General-leytenant	General-mayor
Spain	Capitán General	General de Ejercito	Teniente General	General de División	General de Brigada
United Kingdom	Marshal of the Royal Air Force	Air Chief Marshal	Air Marshal	Air Vice-Marshal	Air Commodore
United States	General of the Air Force	General	Lieutenant General	Major General	Brigadier General

Other officers

Country	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1
Albania	Kolonel	Nënkolonel	Major	Kapiten	Toger	Nëntoger
Belarus	Polkovnik	Podpolkovnik	Mayor	Kapitan	Starshiy leytenant (Senior Lieutenant)	Leytenant	Mladshiy Leytenant (Junior Lieutenant)
Germany	Oberst	Oberstleutnant	Major	Stabshauptmann Hauptmann	Oberleutnant	Leutnant
Israel	Aluf mishne	Sgan aluf	Rav seren	Seren	Segen	Segen mishne
Latvia	Pulkvedis	Pulkvežleitnants	Majors	Kapteinis	Virslietnants	Lietnants
Russia	Polkovnik	Podpolkovnik	Mayor	Kapitan	Starshiy leytenant (Senior Lieutenant)	Leytenant	Mladshiy leytenant (Junior Lieutenant)
Spain	Coronel	Teniente Coronel	Comandante	Capitan	Teniente	Alferez
United Kingdom	Group Captain	Wing Commander	Squadron Leader	Flight Lieutenant	Flying Officer	Pilot Officer
United States	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	1st Lieutenant	2nd Lieutenant

See Also

Naval officer ranks
Army officer ranks
Comparative military ranks