Every category, in one hierarchy.
OpenTAC places every asset in a single taxonomy — major category → subcategory → platform class, then make / model / variant. The major category is a filter chip and a marker colour; the subcategory drives the marker glyph. Aircraft are auto-classified from their broadcast ICAO type, vessels from their AIS ship type, and both are refined by the curated watchlist. Commercial traffic is never tracked.
Military
MILaircraft · vesselsCombat and combat-support aviation, the airlift and tanker fleets, ISR platforms, and the surface navy and its auxiliaries. Auto-discovered from the keyless military ADS-B feed and refined to platform by broadcast type.
- ZMilitary fixed-wing — combat, transport, tanker, ISR/AWACS/SIGINT, trainingFixed-wing
- "Military helicopter — utility, attack, heavy-lift, navalHelicopter
- JMilitary UAV — reconnaissance / armed dronesUAV
- 2Command & coordination — airborne command posts, special missionFixed-wing
- DWarship — combatant surface, submarine, amphibious, mine warfareVessel
- GCarrier — aircraft carriers / flat-topsVessel
- KRiverine / patrol craft — fast attack & littoral patrolVessel
- OAuxiliary / support vessel — replenishment, hospital, survey, intelligenceVessel
Coast guard
COASTaircraft · vesselsMaritime patrol aviation and the cutter fleet — USCG, HM Coastguard, JCG and equivalents worldwide, including icebreakers, buoy tenders, and fisheries enforcement.
- MCoast guard fixed-wing — maritime patrol & surveillanceFixed-wing
- "Coast guard helicopterHelicopter
- BCoast guard vessel — cutters, icebreakers, buoy tendersVessel
- KFisheries enforcement vesselVessel
Border & customs
BORDERaircraft · vesselsBorder-force and customs patrol aviation and interception craft, kept distinct from police where the service is its own agency.
- (Border patrol fixed-wing — surveillance & interception aircraftFixed-wing
- KInterceptor vessel — fast launches, patrol boats, cuttersVessel
Search & rescue
SARaircraft · vesselsState and contracted SAR aviation and dedicated rescue craft, with first-class launch and search-pattern detection for maritime and mountain rescue.
- "SAR helicopter — state, contracted, mountain rescueHelicopter
- (SAR fixed-wing — wide-area search & coordinationFixed-wing
- 'SAR vessel — rescue & fast rescue craftVessel
Lifeboat
LIFEvesselsThe volunteer lifeboat services — RNLI, DGzRS, KNRM, SNSM, NSRI and peers — both class-level and station-level records.
- (All-weather lifeboat — Shannon, Severn, Tamar, Trent, MerseyVessel
- 'Inshore lifeboat — B/D/E-class, Atlantic 85Vessel
HEMS
HEMSaircraftHelicopter emergency medical services — charity, hospital and contractor-operated air ambulances.
- "HEMS helicopter — H135, H145, AW169, EC135Helicopter
Air ambulance
AMBUaircraftFixed-wing patient transfer and repatriation aircraft, kept distinct from rotary HEMS.
- 5Fixed-wing air ambulance — King Air, PC-12, Citation, LearjetFixed-wing
Police
POLaircraft · vesselsPolice air support and marine units — national and regional fleets, gendarmerie and federal aviation, harbour and river patrol.
- "Police helicopter — NPAS, state police aviationHelicopter
- qPolice fixed-wing — surveillance & liaisonFixed-wing
- VPolice marine unit — fast patrol boats, RIBs, launchesVessel
Fire & rescue
FIREaircraft · vesselsAerial firefighting and waterfront response — air tankers, scoopers, lead planes, helitack, and fireboats.
- "Fire helicopter — water-drop & aerial supportHelicopter
- (Fire fixed-wing — air tankers, scoopers, lead planesFixed-wing
- KFireboat — harbour & multi-role emergency vesselsVessel
State research
RESaircraft · vesselsGovernment science and survey fleets — oceanographic, hydrographic and polar vessels, plus anti-pollution craft. NERC, NOAA, Polarstern and peers.
- gResearch vessel — oceanographic / scientificVessel
- gSurvey vessel — hydrographic / mappingVessel
- EAnti-pollution vessel — state environmental responseVessel
- bResearch aircraft — atmospheric / survey (also under Government)Fixed-wing
Government
GOVaircraft · vesselsHead-of-state and cabinet transport, diplomatic couriers, flight-calibration and state-research aircraft, and state yachts.
- &Government VIP aircraft — head-of-state, cabinet, diplomaticFixed-wing
- bResearch aircraft — hurricane hunters, polar & atmosphericFixed-wing
- =Government utility aircraft — flight calibration / liaisonFixed-wing
- OState yachtVessel
Emergency services
ESVCaircraft · vesselsMulti-role platforms whose mission spans SAR, medevac, policing and coordination — a catch-all for assets that don't sit in a single service.
- "Multi-role helicopterHelicopter
- 'Multi-role vessel — fast rescue / command boatsVessel
- 2Command & coordination assetAircraft / vessel
Satellites
SATorbital · overlayMilitary and state satellites, propagated from public CelesTrak orbital elements. An overlay, off by default; every position is an explicit prediction with its element epoch and age on screen.
- ◇Reconnaissance — optical & radar imagingSatellite
- ◇SIGINT & comms — signals intelligence, military communicationsSatellite
- ◇Early warning — missile-warning constellationsSatellite
- ◇Navigation — GNSS (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou)Satellite
- ◇Weather & research — government weather / scienceSatellite
- ◇Space station / debris watchSatellite
Commercial cargo, tanker, passenger and private traffic is filtered out at ingest — OpenTAC tracks the state, not the shipping lane.
See the taxonomy live.
The filter chips, marker colours and glyphs on the console map one-to-one to this hierarchy.