Overview#
A special operations team deploys to a remote valley. Half the element carries Android phones running ATAK; the forward element has WinTAK on ruggedised laptops; the command post monitors the whole picture through CloudTAK on a browser. Every member sees the same map, the same tracks, and the same alerts without voice confirmation after each position update. That is the TAK ecosystem in practice.
Team Awareness Kit originated as ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit) in the US military and has since expanded to Windows (WinTAK), iOS (iTAK), and web (CloudTAK/WebTAK) platforms, and to open-source server implementations including GoATAK and OpenTAKServer. All TAK devices exchange Cursor-on-Target (CoT) XML messages carrying position, speed, heading, and callsign information. Argus integrates with multiple components of the ecosystem: TAK servers, protocol gateways, federation hubs, and plugin frameworks, pulling CoT-based situational awareness into the platform alongside other intelligence layers.
Open Standards#
- Cursor-on-Target (CoT) 2.0: The primary message format used throughout; all TAK unit positions, callsigns, track data, and entity type codes are ingested, normalised, and re-exported as CoT 2.0 XML event envelopes per the MIL-STD-2525C schema.
- MIL-STD-2525C (NATO APP-6): CoT event type codes (a-f friendly, a-h hostile, a-n neutral, a-u unknown, t-x tasking) follow the symbology taxonomy defined by MIL-STD-2525C, which drives automatic entity classification on ingest.
- STANAG 4774 (Confidentiality Metadata Label): Every ingested CoT event passes through the STANAG 4774 label engine to derive a secrecy level, which is persisted with the unit record and used to gate clearance-filtered queries.
- WGS 84 (EPSG:4326): All positional data (latitude, longitude, height above ellipsoid) carried in CoT point elements is referenced to the WGS 84 datum, consistent with TAK ecosystem conventions.
- UDP Multicast (IETF RFC 1112): The relay layer binds to the standard TAK situational-awareness multicast address 239.2.3.1:6969 to receive CoT broadcasts from ATAK and WinTAK devices on the local network segment.
- TCP / TLS: FreeTAKServer and GoATAK server connections are maintained over persistent TCP streams (ports 8087 and 8089), with optional TLS for encrypted transport of CoT XML frames.
- GraphQL: All TAK ecosystem operations (plugin registration, federation sync, gateway configuration, CoT export) are exposed exclusively via a GraphQL API, with queries and mutations scoped to the authenticated organisation.
- OAuth 2.0 (Bearer Token): Outbound REST calls to GoATAK, OpenTAKServer, FreeTAKServer, and CoT broker APIs authenticate using OAuth 2.0 Bearer tokens, and all GraphQL operations require authentication via the platform token.
Last Reviewed: 2026-03-18 Last Updated: 2026-04-14
Key Features#
ATAK Plugin Management#
Register and manage ATAK Android plugin packages via the ATAK Plugin domain. Each plugin record captures the plugin UID, name, version, description, minimum SDK version, package name, and file size: the metadata required for operator provisioning and update tracking. The registerAtakPlugin mutation persists plugin records; the atakPlugins query returns the active plugin inventory for an organisation.
GoATAK Server Integration#
GoATAK is a high-performance Go-based TAK server compatible with the FreeTAKServer protocol. Argus registers GoATAK server connections and syncs CoT events delivered through the server. The syncGoatakEvents mutation pulls the latest CoT event stream from a registered GoATAK instance, normalises each CoT message into a structured Argus position and callsign record, and persists it to PostgreSQL. Server health status is tracked per connection.
FreeTAKServer Federation#
The TAK Federation domain manages FreeTAKServer federation hub connections: the point-to-point federation channel that allows multiple TAK server instances to share CoT events. Argus syncs federation connection state (active federations, connected endpoints, video feeds) from a FreeTAKServer instance using the TakFederationService, maintaining an inventory of all federated TAK nodes visible from the registered server. Video feed provisioning through FreeTAKServer is also tracked.
TAK Protocol Gateway#
The TAK Gateway domain manages protocol bridge configurations that translate between TAK's CoT format and other data formats (REST, WebSocket, NATS). Each gateway configuration specifies protocol type, port, and routing rules. Argus maintains gateway inventories per organisation, letting operators see which protocol translation services are active without accessing server infrastructure directly.
OpenTAKServer Integration#
OpenTAKServer is a pure-Python open-source TAK server implementation. Argus syncs client connection state and server status from OpenTAKServer instances via the syncOpentakserverState mutation. Connected client records include callsign, CoT type, battery level, last update time, and device platform, providing a roster view of all active TAK clients on a connected server.
Use Cases#
- Joint Force Common Operational Picture: Ingest CoT events from multiple TAK server types (GoATAK, FreeTAKServer, OpenTAKServer) into a unified position layer alongside Argus surveillance camera telemetry, geofencing alerts, and investigation data.
- ATAK Plugin Fleet Management: Maintain a versioned plugin repository for organisation ATAK deployments, tracking which versions are deployed, flagging outdated plugins, and distributing updates through the Argus admin interface.
- Multi-Agency Exercise Coordination: Use TAK federation to link TAK servers from different agencies, with Argus aggregating the combined CoT stream into a shared operational picture for commanders without a TAK device.
- EDF Tactical Edge Deployments: TAK integration supports disconnected forward-operating nodes that periodically reconnect and push queued CoT events. Argus ingests these batch updates maintaining historical track records even during disconnected operations.
Integration#
ATAK Plugin: atakPlugins, atakPluginStats (queries); registerAtakPlugin (mutation).
GoATAK: goatakConnections, goatakCotEvents, goatakStats (queries); registerGoatakServer, syncGoatakEvents (mutations).
TAK Federation: takFederations, takVideoFeeds, takFederationStats (queries); syncTakFederations, createTakFederation, syncTakVideoFeeds, createTakVideoFeed (mutations).
TAK Gateway: takGateways, takGatewayStats (queries); configureTakGateway (mutation).
OpenTAKServer: opentakserverConnections, opentakserverStats (queries); syncOpentakserverState (mutation).
All operations require authentication and organisation scoping. Compatible with CoT 2.0 format and FreeTAKServer/OpenTAKServer REST APIs.