Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) is an Android smartphone geospatial infrastructure and military
situation awareness
Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...
app. It allows for precision targeting, surrounding land formation intelligence, situational awareness, navigation, and data sharing. This Android app is a part of the larger TAK family of products. ATAK has a plugin architecture which allows developers to add functionality. This extensible plugin architecture that allows enhanced capabilities for specific mission sets (Direct Action, Combat Advising, Law Enforcement, Protection Operations, Border Security, Disaster Response, Off-grid Communications, Precision Mapping and Geotagging).
It enables users to navigate using GPS and geospatial map data overlayed with real-time situational awareness of ongoing events. The ATAK software represents the surrounding area using the military standard MIL-STD-2525B symbology, and customized symbols such as icons from
Google Earth
Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...
and
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
for iconography and the Cursor on Target data format standard for communication.
Initially created in 2010 by the
Air Force Research Laboratory
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...
, and based on the
NASA WorldWind
NASA WorldWind is an open-source (released under the NOSA license and the Apache 2.0 license) virtual globe. According to the website (https://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/), "WorldWind is an open source virtual globe API. WorldWind allow ...
Mobile codebase its development and deployment grew slowly, then rapidly since 2016.
As of 2020, ATAK has a growing base of 250,000 military and civilian users across numerous public safety agencies and US partner nations, and has seen the addition of 15
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
programs.
Development and usage
ATAK began in August 2010 and was originally based on
NASA WorldWind
NASA WorldWind is an open-source (released under the NOSA license and the Apache 2.0 license) virtual globe. According to the website (https://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/), "WorldWind is an open source virtual globe API. WorldWind allow ...
Mobile. The goal was to demonstrate robust information sharing in a mobile format.
In 2013, officials at
Draper Laboratory
Draper Laboratory is an American non-profit research and development organization, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts; its official name is The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc (sometimes abbreviated as CSDL). The laboratory specialize ...
said that the system would be compatible with Android
mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on ...
s and could be used for navigation,
spatial awareness
Spatial contextual awareness consociates contextual information such as an individual's or sensor's location, activity, the time of day, and proximity to other people or objects and devices.Chen, Guanling, and David Kotz. 2000. A Survey of Context- ...
, and controlling drones.
On October 14, 2014, U.S.
Army Geospatial Center
The Army Geospatial Center (AGC) (formerly Topographic Engineering Center (TEC)) is a Major Subordinate Command of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. It is located in Alexandria, Virginia, within the Humphreys Engineering Center adjacen ...
recommended
AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...
's Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK), over the world-leader Esri's Commercial Joint Mapping Tool Kit (CJMTK), NASA's World Wind, and the Army's Globe Engine (AGE) for map engine driving the Nett Warrior End User Device. ATAK was selected due to similar capabilities with CJMTK, similar risk, and less than one-third of the total cost.
According to a January 2016 article in National Defense Magazine, " TAKhas already been fielded to AFSOC units".
In September 2015,
DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
Originally known as the Adv ...
reported that ATAK was used in a successful demonstration of the
Persistent Close Air Support
Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) is a DARPA program that seeks to demonstrate dramatic improvements in close air support (CAS) capabilities by developing a system to allow continuous CAS availability and lethality to Joint Terminal Attack Cont ...
Program, and is in use by thousands of users.
Polaris integrated its Ground Guidance software into an ATAK Plugin to allow on and off-road routing for mounted and dismounted soldiers, accounting for terrain, weather, enemy activity and equipment load.
In 2018,
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
Security Forces deployed ATAK at Eglin AFB, Florida.
The Android Team Awareness Kit or TAK is currently used by thousands of
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
personnel, along with other members of the Homeland Security Enterprise including state and local public safety personnel. It is in various stages of transition across DHS components and is the emerging DHS-wide solution for tactical awareness.
TAK has supported the rescue of over 2,000 people during disaster response for seven major hurricanes (Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence, Lane, Michael, and Dorian). The capability is also regularly used during daily public safety operations and national security special events like United Nations General Assembly meetings and the Super Bowl.
ATAK Versions
ATAK has various end-user versions:
* ATAK - Civilian (ATAK-CIV) - A distribution controlled but fully-releasable version of the TAK Product line for First Responders, Licensed Commercial Developers. Distribution for ATAK-CIV is through Approved, Government Hosted Sites, Direct Commercial Sales (DCS). This version has no
ITAR
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is a United States regulatory regime to restrict and control the export of defense and military related technologies to safeguard U.S. national security and further U.S. foreign policy objectiv ...
capabilities.
* ATAK - Government (ATAK-GOV) - ITAR restricted version of the TAK Product line for USG entities and Foreign Government. Distribution for ATAK-GOV are through Approved, Government Hosted Sites; Direct Commercial Sales (DCS). This version of ATAK has no military (MIL) sensitive capabilities.
* ATAK - Military (ATAK-MIL) - Military Sensitive version of the TAK Product line for US and Foreign Military end-users. Similar to ATAK-GOV, distribution is through Approved, Government Hosted Sites. However, is not available through Direct Commercial Sales (DCS).
* ATAK - Public Release (ATAK-PR) - (Discontinued) Was made available for download on takmaps.com in April 2020. ATAK-PR is publicly releasable version of the TAK Product line for public individuals for public uses. This version of ATAK is not plugin capable. And is only compatible with arm64 based systems due to file size restrictions. End users with armeabi-v7a or x86 devices are to use ATAK-CIV.
* ATAK - FVEY "
Five Eyes
The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in sig ...
" (ATAK-FVEY)
ATAK-CIV
On September 1, 2020 - the TAK Product Center released ATAK-CIV (Android Team Awareness Kit - Civil Use) - Version 4.1.1.0 on
Google Play Store
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sys ...
.
Other Versions
In addition to the Android version, there is also a
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
version (WinTAK), an
Apple iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
version under development (iTAK), and finally a Virginia-based military tech firm’s (LucyTAK). WinTAK is an application developed for the Microsoft Windows Operating System which uses maps to allow for precise targeting, intelligence on surrounding land formations, navigation, and generalized situational awareness. It was developed in conjunction with ATAK to provide similar functionality on a Windows platform.
Commercial Licensing
In January 2015, AFRL began licensing ATAK through TechLink to U.S. companies, for commercial use to support state/local government uses as well as civilian uses. As of January 2020, one hundred companies have licensed ATAK for commercial uses. Corona Fire Department is one example of a local public safety agency using ATAK. Corona uses PAR Government's Team Connect platform to leverage ATAK. In civilian use, ATAK is often referred to as Android Team Awareness Kit.
Federal Government release
As of March 31, 2020, the civilian version of ATAK, referred to as CivTAK has been approved for "Public Release" by Army Night Vision and is available for download on takmaps.com And subsequently named Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) - Civilian.
License Grant
Upon running ATAK-PR 4.0.0.1, the application splash screen shows a statement; ''"Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited."''. The license conditions are detailed in the ATAK Software License Agreement found in the Support menu of ATAK.
Open Source
On August 19, 2020 - The source code for the Android Tactical Assault Kit for Civilian Use (ATAK-CIV), the official geospatial-temporal and situational awareness tool used by the US Government, has been released on
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
- Defense Digital Service GitHub repository. ATAK-CIV is managed by the Tactical Assault Kit Configuration Steering Board (TAK CSB) and is designed for used by (US) federal employees.
It is made available to the open source community with the hope that community contributions will improve functionality, add features, and mature this work.
Users
Americas
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**Military
***
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...
***
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
****
United States Army Special Operations Command
The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( )) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, it is the larges ...
***
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
***
United States National Guard
The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.
***
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
(primarily use APASS and KILSWITCH but instances of ATAK use seen as of 2021)
***
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
**Law Enforcement and Emergency Services
***
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...
***
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
***
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
***
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
***
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
***
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
*
**
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
***
Emergency Response Team
An incident response team (IRT) or emergency response team (ERT) is a group of people who prepare for and respond to an emergency, such as a natural disaster or an interruption of business operations. Incident response teams are common in public s ...
Europe
*
**
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...