Military Time · Zulu · NATO Timezones

Military Time

Live clocks · Zulu to any timezone · 12-hour converter · NATO zone letters

Military time is the 24-hour clock written without a colon — 0000 to 2359. Zulu time (a Z suffix, e.g. 1500Z) is military time fixed to UTC, so every unit worldwide shares one unambiguous clock.

Live Clocks

Zulu (UTC+0)
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Local Time
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Zulu to Local Converter

Zulu (UTC):
LOCAL TIME
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MILITARY
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OFFSET
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12-Hour to Military

1330
Say: "Thirteen Thirty Hours"

Military to 12-Hour

2:30 PM
Military: 1430 Hours

World Zones

Quick Reference

NATO Timezone Letters

How to Read Military Time

Format: 4-digit 24-hour clock (HHMM). No AM/PM, no colon.

Pronunciation: "0830" = "Zero Eight Thirty Hours" · "1545" = "Fifteen Forty-Five Hours" · "0000" = "Zero Hundred Hours"

Why no AM/PM? A supply drop at "3:00" in combat — 0300 or 1500? Military time eliminates all ambiguity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Z in 1500Z mean?

Z stands for Zulu, the NATO timezone letter for UTC (zero offset). 1500Z is 3:00 PM UTC regardless of where the sender is — militaries use it so orders carry one unambiguous time.

Is midnight 0000 or 2400?

Both are valid: 0000 marks the start of a day and 2400 marks the end of the previous day. 0000 is the standard choice; 2400 appears mainly on schedules to show a closing time.

How do I convert PM time to military time?

Add 12 to the hour: 3:30 PM becomes 1530, 11:00 PM becomes 2300. AM times keep their hour with a leading zero — 7:15 AM is 0715. Noon is 1200 and midnight is 0000.

What is 1700 in normal time?

1700 (seventeen hundred) is 5:00 PM. Common conversions: 1300 = 1 PM, 1500 = 3 PM, 1800 = 6 PM, 2000 = 8 PM, 2200 = 10 PM. Subtract 12 from any hour above 12 to get the PM time.

Why does the military use 24-hour time?

Because 0700 with no AM/PM cannot be misread across radio, written orders and logs — a wrong AM/PM guess moves an operation by 12 hours. It also pairs with Zulu (UTC) so units in different zones share one clock.

What are the NATO time zone letters?

Each letter A–Z except J marks a UTC offset: Z (Zulu) = UTC, A (Alpha) = UTC+1, N (November) = UTC−1, M (Mike) = UTC+12. J (Juliett) means the observer's local time.