This extensible plugin architecture that allows enhanced capabilities for specific mission sets (Direct Action, Combat Advising, Law Enforcement, Protection Operations, Border Security, Disaster Response, Off-grid Communications, Precision Mapping and Geotagging).

[2] Initially created in 2010 by the Air Force Research Laboratory,[3][4] and based on the NASA WorldWind Mobile codebase its development and deployment grew slowly, then rapidly since 2016.

[5][6] As of 2020, ATAK has a growing base of 250,000 military and civilian users across numerous public safety agencies and US partner nations, and has seen the addition of 15 United States Department of Defense programs.

[9] On October 14, 2014, U.S. Army Geospatial Center recommended AFRL's Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK), over the world-leader Esri's Commercial Joint Mapping Tool Kit (CJMTK), NASA's World Wind, and the Army's Globe Engine (AGE) for map engine driving the Nett Warrior End User Device.

Polaris integrated its Ground Guidance software into an ATAK Plugin to allow on and off-road routing for mounted and dismounted soldiers, accounting for terrain, weather, enemy activity and equipment load.

TAK has supported the rescue of over 2,000 people during disaster response for seven major hurricanes (Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence, Lane, Michael, and Dorian).

WinTAK is an application developed for the Microsoft Windows Operating System which uses maps to allow for precise targeting, intelligence on surrounding land formations, navigation, and generalized situational awareness.

IF YOU PUBLISH AND/OR DISTRIBUTE THE ATAK PR SOFTWARE, YOU SHALL PROVIDE A COPY OF THIS AGREEMENT AND CORRESPONDING THIRD PARTY LICENSE NOTICES TO THE RECIPIENT OF THE ATAK PR SOFTWARE; YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ALTER THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT.On August 19, 2020, the source code for the Android Tactical Assault Kit for Civilian Use (ATAK-CIV), the official geospatial-temporal and situational awareness tool used by the US Government, has been released on United States Department of Defense - Defense Digital Service GitHub repository.