What Is ARTAK? The Augmented Reality Team Awareness Kit, Explained
ARTAK is Eolian's patented mixed-reality command-and-control platform: a 3D common operating picture that runs on headsets, tablets, and laptops, works air-gapped at the edge, and federates with the TAK ecosystem. Here's what it is, who uses it, and how to buy it.
Ask ten people in the defense technology community what ARTAK is and you will get ten different answers: a headset thing, a TAK plugin, a training simulator, a mapping tool. None of those are right, and the confusion costs real programs real time.
So here is the direct answer, and then the detail behind it.
ARTAK, the Augmented Reality Team Awareness Kit, is EolianVR's patented command-and-control platform that renders a live, shared, three-dimensional operating picture across mixed-reality headsets, tablets, phones, and laptops. It is used for mission planning, rehearsal, and real-time situational awareness. It runs at the edge without a network, federates with the TAK family and other C2 systems, and has been fielded across most components of U.S. Special Operations Command since 2022.
The rest of this page answers the questions we actually get asked, by operators, by program managers, and by the contracting officers who have to write the order.
The problem ARTAK solves
Every staff section plans in a flat world. Maps, imagery, slide decks, and a taped-off rock drill on a motor pool floor. Then the force steps into terrain that is three-dimensional, vertical, subterranean, and interior, and the plan has to be re-derived on the fly by whoever happens to be standing there.
ARTAK collapses that gap. The planning environment is the terrain: accurate 3D geometry with building interiors, multi-floor structures, and subterranean networks, shared simultaneously across every participant's device. A squad leader in a headset, a fires planner on a laptop, and a coalition liaison on a tablet all manipulate the same objects in the same space. When the plan changes, it changes for everyone at once.
That is the difference between a visualization tool and a command-and-control platform. ARTAK is the second one.
How ARTAK fits the TAK ecosystem
ARTAK is not a competitor to ATAK, WinTAK, or iTAK. It is the three-dimensional, multi-user layer above them.
The TAK family solved the two-dimensional shared map on the device an operator already carries. ARTAK federates with TAK Server and the broader TAK ecosystem and extends the same picture into volumetric space, where terrain masking, weapons envelopes, building interiors, and vertical maneuver actually live. Units keep the TAK infrastructure they have already accredited, trained on, and budgeted for. ARTAK plugs into it.
The same is true beyond TAK. ARTAK federates today with Anduril's Lattice, ArduPilot, and ADS-B, and ingests live JADC2 data streams. Data comes in through a low-code Python SDK or a no-code UI, so a mission systems team can wire a new sensor or feed without a software release from us.
The architecture underneath
ARTAK is built on the Eolian Simulation Platform (ESP), protected by U.S. Patent 11,297,164 B2 and International Patent WO 2019/217437 A2.
ESP is a Modular Open System Architecture design, per the MOSA mandate at 10 U.S.C. 4401: containerized microservices orchestrated on Kubernetes and MicroK8s, with container images signed and scanned using Trivy and Cosign, and approved containers available through Iron Bank and Platform One. It has been tested across edge, on-premises, and DoD cloud environments, with an IL-5 path in progress.
Two consequences matter commercially. First, modules can be upgraded, replaced, or competed independently; you are not buying a monolith that has to be re-procured whole. Second, the Image Generation Service performs distributed server-side rendering and streams media to clients inside and outside the system boundary, which is how ARTAK puts a high-fidelity 3D picture in front of a user whose device could never render it locally.
Where ARTAK is fielded
ARTAK has been fielded across most components of USSOCOM since 2022 and has supported U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, NATO SOF, and partner-force users. Eolian has attracted roughly $18M in total Department of Defense funding to date, including a USSOCOM prototype OTA and a Defense Innovation Unit 5G Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations effort.
That matters for one reason: ARTAK is not a prototype looking for a first user. It is a fielded capability looking for its next one.
What changed in Block 3
Block 1 put a high-quality 3D map in an operator's hands at the edge. Block 2 let units build those maps themselves, without a network. Block 3 turns the map into a staff planning environment.
The headline feature is the Weapon Inventory: 200+ U.S. weapon systems, each carrying its real range, engagement envelope, and blast radius, and enforced. You cannot drag a weapon farther than it can actually shoot. Coverage gaps show up as gaps, and a fires plan that does not close is obvious to everyone standing in the terrain before it is ever briefed.
Block 3 also adds thousands of icons, nodes, symbols, maneuvers, and control measures built to MIL-STD-2525E; render-through so graphics never disappear behind a ridgeline; an improved Immersion Mode for eye-level walkthroughs of interiors and subterranean spaces; six new base maps; and multi-user HMD synchronization so every headset in the room holds the same picture at the same moment.
Buying it
ARTAK is available as a software license on hardware you already own, as an enterprise subscription, or as a pre-configured kit. Eolian is registered in SAM.gov (UEI HHN2E2LNBSV5, CAGE 7RLL6) as a small business, and has delivered under SBIR, OTA, and direct award. Most single-unit kit purchases fall under the simplified acquisition threshold, which is why a unit with available O&M funds can often move in weeks rather than quarters.
The Common Questions below cover the specifics: contents, cost, funding, and the actual step-by-step.
For background on the company that builds ARTAK, its small-business and nontraditional defense contractor status, and its contract vehicles, see Who Is EolianVR?.
Common Questions
- What is ARTAK?
- ARTAK is EolianVR's patented command-and-control platform that renders a live, shared 3D operating picture across mixed-reality headsets, tablets, phones, and laptops. Teams use it for mission planning, rehearsal, and real-time situational awareness. ARTAK runs at the edge without a network connection, federates with the TAK ecosystem and other C2 systems, and has been fielded across most components of U.S. Special Operations Command since 2022.
- What does ARTAK stand for?
- ARTAK stands for Augmented Reality Team Awareness Kit. The name signals its relationship to the TAK (Team Awareness Kit) family of situational-awareness tools used across the Department of Defense. ARTAK extends that shared-picture concept into three dimensions and mixed reality.
- How is ARTAK different from ATAK, WinTAK, and iTAK?
- ATAK, WinTAK, and iTAK deliver a shared two-dimensional map on a phone, tablet, or Windows machine. ARTAK is the three-dimensional, multi-user layer above them. ARTAK federates with TAK Server rather than replacing it, so units keep the TAK infrastructure they have already accredited and trained on. ARTAK adds value on volumetric problems a 2D map cannot represent: terrain masking, weapons envelopes, building interiors, multi-floor structures, subterranean networks, and vertical maneuver.
- What hardware does ARTAK run on?
- ARTAK is device-agnostic. ARTAK runs on mixed-reality headsets, Android and iOS tablets and phones, laptops, and desktop PCs, and users on different device classes can share the same session simultaneously. Because the Image Generation Service performs server-side rendering and streams the result to the client, ARTAK can present a high-fidelity 3D picture on devices that could not render it locally. Units can deploy ARTAK on hardware they already own or purchase a pre-configured Eolian kit.
- Does ARTAK work without a network connection?
- Yes. ARTAK runs fully air-gapped at the tactical edge on a local edge server, with no reliance on a reach-back connection or cloud service. Adaptive level-of-detail and dynamic rendering profiles let ARTAK continue operating in DDIL conditions: degraded, denied, intermittent, and limited-bandwidth environments. Beginning with Block 2, units can also generate their own 3D maps locally rather than waiting on a networked mapping pipeline.
- What systems does ARTAK integrate with?
- ARTAK federates today with the TAK family (TAK Server, ATAK, WinTAK, iTAK), Anduril's Lattice, ArduPilot, and ADS-B, and ingests live JADC2 data streams. New data sources can be added through a low-code Python SDK or a no-code configuration UI, so a mission systems team can connect a sensor or feed without waiting on a vendor software release. ARTAK's underlying architecture is MOSA-compliant per 10 U.S.C. 4401 and built on open standards including REST APIs, TAK protocols, and OGC standards.
- Who uses ARTAK today?
- ARTAK has been fielded across most components of U.S. Special Operations Command since 2022, and has supported U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, NATO SOF, and partner-force users. Eolian has attracted approximately $18M in total Department of Defense funding, including a USSOCOM prototype Other Transaction Agreement and a Defense Innovation Unit 5G Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations effort.
- What is included in the ARTAK Squad Kit?
- The ARTAK Squad Kit includes eight mixed-reality headsets, one Samsung tablet, one WiFi/LTE network node, one edge server, and a one-year software subscription. It ships as a self-contained package that gives a squad a live 3D view of the operating environment and integrates with ATAK and JADC2 data. Other configurations are available, including larger command-post kits, custom builds, and software-only licenses installed on hardware a unit already owns.
- How much does ARTAK cost?
- The ARTAK Squad Kit, which includes eight XR headsets, a tablet, a network node, an edge server, and a one-year software subscription, is priced at $234,683 as of 31 July 2026. That places a single kit below the $350,000 simplified acquisition threshold, which is why many units can buy one without a full competitive acquisition. Software-only licenses, enterprise subscriptions, and multi-kit or custom configurations are priced separately. Contact mike@eolianvr.com for a current quote.
- How does a military unit buy ARTAK?
- Most units buy a single ARTAK kit through simplified acquisition procedures. The sequence is: write a one- or two-sentence statement of need; confirm with your S-4 or comptroller that O&M funds are available and appropriate, and obtain the funding citation; choose a payment method, either a Government Purchase Card at or below the micro-purchase threshold or a purchase order above it; submit a purchase request with the item description, cost, funding citation, and payment method; your contracting officer checks mandatory sources, documents price reasonableness, verifies EolianVR's SAM.gov registration, and issues the order; the unit receives and inspects the kit. EolianVR is registered in SAM.gov as a small business under UEI HHN2E2LNBSV5 and CAGE 7RLL6. Confirm all thresholds and funding determinations with your contracting officer, comptroller, and counsel.
- What is ARTAK's security and accreditation posture?
- ARTAK is built on a containerized microservices architecture running on Kubernetes and MicroK8s, with container images signed and scanned using Cosign and Trivy and approved containers available through Iron Bank and Platform One. ARTAK has been tested across edge, on-premises, and DoD cloud environments, with an IL-5 path in progress. ARTAK operates today under existing Department of Defense authorizations within USSOCOM enclaves, with RMF-aligned controls already in production. Accreditation is inherited from the hosting enclave rather than carried independently, so the path for a new customer runs through their own authorizing official, a process Eolian has supported repeatedly.
- What is new in ARTAK Block 3?
- Block 3 turns ARTAK from a 3D map into a full staff planning environment. Its central feature is the Weapon Inventory: 200+ U.S. weapon systems carrying real range, engagement envelope, and blast radius data, enforced in the interface so a weapon cannot be placed beyond its actual range. Block 3 also adds thousands of icons, nodes, symbols, maneuvers, and control measures built to MIL-STD-2525E with emphasis on higher-echelon graphics; render-through so symbols stay visible behind buildings and terrain; an improved Immersion Mode for eye-level walkthroughs of interiors and subterranean spaces; six new base maps; multi-user HMD synchronization; and search and filter by warfighting function.