What it tracks

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 · vessels

Combat 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 · vessels

Maritime 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 · vessels

Border-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 · vessels

State 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

LIFEvessels

The 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

HEMSaircraft

Helicopter emergency medical services — charity, hospital and contractor-operated air ambulances.

  • "HEMS helicopter — H135, H145, AW169, EC135Helicopter

Air ambulance

AMBUaircraft

Fixed-wing patient transfer and repatriation aircraft, kept distinct from rotary HEMS.

  • 5Fixed-wing air ambulance — King Air, PC-12, Citation, LearjetFixed-wing

Police

POLaircraft · vessels

Police 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 · vessels

Aerial 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 · vessels

Government 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 · vessels

Head-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 · vessels

Multi-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 · overlay

Military 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.

Install OpenTAC How classification works →