The Minimum Viable Drone-on-Map
One UDP packet. That's all it takes to put your drone on TAK.
# ═══ MINIMUM CoT EVENT — PUT A DRONE ON THE MAP ═══
# This XML is the entire message. Send it over UDP.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<event version="2.0"
uid="drone-01"
type="a-f-A-M-H-Q"
how="m-g"
time="2026-03-20T18:30:00Z"
start="2026-03-20T18:30:00Z"
stale="2026-03-20T18:31:00Z">
<point lat="44.9778" lon="-93.2650" hae="300" ce="10" le="15"/>
</event>
# uid: Unique ID — same uid = same icon moves on map
# type: a-f-A-M-H-Q = friendly, air, military, helicopter
# how: m-g = machine GPS
# stale: Remove from map after this time (set 30-60s for moving drone)
# hae: Height above ellipsoid (meters, WGS84)
# ce/le: Circular/linear error (meters, 90% confidence)CoT XML
# ═══ SEND CoT VIA PYTHON — WORKS ON ANY COMPANION COMPUTER ═══
# pip install pytak (or just use raw sockets)
import socket, time, datetime
def send_cot(lat, lon, alt, uid="drone-01", dest="239.2.3.1", port=6969):
now = datetime.datetime.utcnow().strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
stale = (datetime.datetime.utcnow() + datetime.timedelta(seconds=60)).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
cot = f'''<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<event version="2.0" uid="{uid}" type="a-f-A-M-H-Q" how="m-g"
time="{now}" start="{now}" stale="{stale}">
<point lat="{lat}" lon="{lon}" hae="{alt}" ce="10" le="15"/>
</event>'''
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
sock.sendto(cot.encode(), (dest, port))
sock.close()
# Call in a loop with MAVROS position data:
# while True:
# pos = get_position_from_mavros()
# send_cot(pos.lat, pos.lon, pos.alt)
# time.sleep(1) # 1 Hz position updatesPython
That's it. Run this on your companion computer, open ATAK on your phone (connected to the same network), and your drone appears as a blue helicopter icon. Every 1-second update moves the icon in real time.
MAVROS → TAK Bridge (ROS Node)
# ═══ ROS NODE: SUBSCRIBE TO MAVROS, PUBLISH CoT ═══
# Install: pip install rospy pytak
# This node reads position from MAVROS and sends CoT to TAK
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import rospy, socket, datetime
from sensor_msgs.msg import NavSatFix
from geometry_msgs.msg import TwistStamped
TAK_DEST = "239.2.3.1"
# Multicast (or TAK Server IP)
TAK_PORT = 6969
DRONE_UID = "wingman-01"
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
def gps_callback(msg):
now = datetime.datetime.utcnow().strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
stale = (datetime.datetime.utcnow() +
datetime.timedelta(seconds=30)).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
cot = f'<event version="2.0" uid="{DRONE_UID}" '
cot += f'type="a-f-A-M-H-Q" how="m-g" '
cot += f'time="{now}" start="{now}" stale="{stale}">'
cot += f'<point lat="{msg.latitude}" lon="{msg.longitude}" '
cot += f'hae="{msg.altitude}" ce="10" le="15"/>'
cot += '</event>'
sock.sendto(cot.encode(), (TAK_DEST, TAK_PORT))
rospy.init_node('tak_bridge')
rospy.Subscriber('/mavros/global_position/global', NavSatFix, gps_callback)
rospy.spin()
ROS Node
Video Feed to ATAK
# ═══ STREAM VIDEO TO ATAK VIA RTSP ═══
# On companion computer — create RTSP server with GStreamer:
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! \
video/x-raw,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1 ! \
x264enc tune=zerolatency bitrate=1500 speed-preset=ultrafast ! \
rtph264pay ! \
udpsink host=239.2.3.1 port=5600
# In ATAK → Video → Add → Network → UDP
# Address: 239.2.3.1 Port: 5600
# The video feed appears as a layer on the map
# For TAK Server routing, use RTSP instead:
# Install mediamtx (lightweight RTSP server)
# Stream to: rtsp://companion-ip:8554/drone1
# ATAK connects to the RTSP URL directlyVideo
TAK Server (Optional)
Without a server, CoT only works on local network (multicast). A TAK Server lets devices across different networks see each other.
# ═══ FREE TAK SERVER (FreeTAKServer) ═══
# Runs on any Linux box, Raspberry Pi, or cloud VM
pip install FreeTAKServer
# Start:
python3 -m FreeTAKServer.controllers.services.FTS
# Default ports:
# TCP 8087 — CoT input (devices connect here)
# TCP 8443 — REST API
# TCP 19023 — Federation
# In ATAK: Settings → Network → TAK Server
# Address: your-server-ip
# Port: 8087
# Protocol: TCP
# For your drone's CoT bridge, change dest to unicast:
# TAK_DEST = "your-server-ip"
# TAK_PORT = 8087
# Use TCP socket instead of UDPTAK Server
Official TAK Server: Available from
tak.gov (requires .mil/.gov email or TAK Product Center account). More robust than FreeTAKServer, supports certs, federation, and enterprise features.