MIL-STD-2525 Tactical Symbols and Graphics in WorldWind

NASA WorldWind Java includes a complete tactical symbology subsystem supporting the MIL-STD-2525B and MIL-STD-2525C NATO joint military symbology standards. The system provides two primary abstractions: TacticalSymbol for point symbols anchored to a geographic position, and TacticalGraphic for line and area graphics defined by one or more control points. Both types integrate fully with the RenderableLayer system, support picking and highlighting, and carry rich text and graphic modifier support.

Tactical Symbols

The TacticalSymbol interface (in gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology) defines the contract for all point tactical symbols. It extends WWObject, Renderable, and Highlightable, so symbols can be added directly to a RenderableLayer, respond to pick events, and display highlight states. AbstractTacticalSymbol is the abstract base class providing rendering infrastructure: icon compositing from an IconRetriever, text modifier layout, graphic modifier rendering, and altitude mode handling. For MIL-STD-2525, the concrete implementation is MilStd2525TacticalSymbol in gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.milstd2525.

Symbol Identification Code (SIDC)

Every MIL-STD-2525 symbol is identified by a 15-character alphanumeric Symbol Identification Code (SIDC). The SIDC encodes the affiliation (friendly, hostile, neutral, unknown), battle dimension (air, ground, sea surface, etc.), status (present, anticipated), function ID, echelon, and other attributes. For example:

"SFGPU---------G" — Friendly Ground Unit
"SHGXUCFRMS----G" — Hostile Destroyed Self-Propelled Rocket Launchers
"SFAPMFQM--GIUSA" — Friendly Special Operations Forces Drone Aircraft

MilStd2525TacticalSymbol reads the SIDC and automatically configures the altitude mode: ground symbols use WorldWind.CLAMP_TO_GROUND, air symbols use WorldWind.ABSOLUTE.

Creating a Tactical Symbol

Construct a MilStd2525TacticalSymbol by passing the SIDC string and a Position. Optional modifiers can be passed as an AVList at construction or set afterwards with setModifier().

TacticalSymbols.java — creating and displaying tactical symbols

import gov.nasa.worldwind.geom.Position;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.geom.Angle;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.layers.RenderableLayer;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.*;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.milstd2525.MilStd2525TacticalSymbol;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.avlist.AVKey;

// Create a MIL-STD-2525 friendly ground unit symbol.
// The SIDC "SFGPU---------G" automatically sets altitude mode to CLAMP_TO_GROUND.
TacticalSymbol symbol = new MilStd2525TacticalSymbol(
    "SFGPU---------G",
    Position.fromDegrees(32.4014, 63.3894, 0));

// Assign a display name used by ToolTipController and pick events.
symbol.setValue(AVKey.DISPLAY_NAME, "Friendly Ground Unit");

// Set a direction-of-movement modifier (heading in degrees).
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.DIRECTION_OF_MOVEMENT, Angle.fromDegrees(90));

// Suppress the location text modifier for a cleaner display.
symbol.setShowLocation(false);

// Add the symbol to a renderable layer.
RenderableLayer symbolLayer = new RenderableLayer();
symbolLayer.setName("Tactical Symbols");
symbolLayer.addRenderable(symbol);

// Add the layer to the model.
wwd.getModel().getLayers().add(symbolLayer);
wwd.redraw();

Symbol Attributes

TacticalSymbolAttributes (implemented by BasicTacticalSymbolAttributes) controls the visual appearance of a symbol. Attribute bundles may be shared across many symbols so that a single change propagates everywhere.

TacticalSymbols.java — configuring shared symbol attributes

import gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.BasicTacticalSymbolAttributes;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.render.Material;

// Normal attributes: red text modifiers.
TacticalSymbolAttributes normalAttrs = new BasicTacticalSymbolAttributes();
normalAttrs.setScale(1.0);            // 1.0 = original size
normalAttrs.setOpacity(0.85);         // 85% opaque
normalAttrs.setTextModifierMaterial(Material.RED);

// Highlight attributes: white symbol, full opacity.
TacticalSymbolAttributes highlightAttrs = new BasicTacticalSymbolAttributes();
highlightAttrs.setScale(1.0);
highlightAttrs.setOpacity(1.0);
highlightAttrs.setInteriorMaterial(Material.WHITE);
highlightAttrs.setTextModifierMaterial(Material.WHITE);

symbol.setAttributes(normalAttrs);
symbol.setHighlightAttributes(highlightAttrs);

Key TacticalSymbolAttributes methods:

Method	Description
`setScale(Double)`	Scale factor relative to the symbol’s original size. Values < 1 shrink, > 1 enlarge.
`setOpacity(Double)`	Opacity from 0.0 (transparent) to 1.0 (opaque). Applies to icon and modifiers.
`setInteriorMaterial(Material)`	Override the symbol interior fill color.
`setTextModifierMaterial(Material)`	Color for all text modifier labels.
`setTextModifierFont(Font)`	Font for text modifiers; `null` uses an auto-sized default.

For MilStd2525TacticalSymbol specifically, you can also toggle frame, fill, and icon visibility:

TacticalSymbols.java — toggling MIL-STD-2525 symbol parts

import gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.milstd2525.MilStd2525TacticalSymbol;

MilStd2525TacticalSymbol milSymbol = (MilStd2525TacticalSymbol) symbol;
milSymbol.setShowFrame(true);   // Show/hide the symbol frame shape
milSymbol.setShowFill(true);    // Show/hide the interior fill color
milSymbol.setShowIcon(true);    // Show/hide the function icon

Symbol Modifiers

Modifiers are key-value pairs that augment a symbol’s graphic or text display. Keys are defined as constants in SymbologyConstants (in gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology). Pass a modifier key and value to setModifier(String, Object), or remove a modifier by passing null as the value.

TacticalSymbols.java — setting symbol modifiers

// Direction of movement arrow (value: Angle)
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.DIRECTION_OF_MOVEMENT, Angle.fromDegrees(235));

// Scale the speed leader line to 50% of its original length.
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.SPEED_LEADER_SCALE, 0.5);

// Quantity of units represented (value: Number)
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.QUANTITY, 200);

// Free-text labels
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.STAFF_COMMENTS, "FOR REINFORCEMENTS");
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.ADDITIONAL_INFORMATION, "ADDED SUPPORT FOR JJ");
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.TYPE, "MACHINE GUN");

// Date-time group string
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.DATE_TIME_GROUP, "30140000ZSEP97");

// Altitude or depth label
symbol.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.ALTITUDE_DEPTH, "5000 FT AGL");

Common SymbologyConstants modifier keys:

Constant	Type	Description
`DIRECTION_OF_MOVEMENT`	`Angle`	Heading arrow extending from the symbol
`SPEED_LEADER_SCALE`	`Double`	Scales the direction-of-movement line
`QUANTITY`	`Number`	Number of units represented
`STAFF_COMMENTS`	`String`	Free-form staff comment label
`ADDITIONAL_INFORMATION`	`String`	Additional information label
`TYPE`	`String`	Equipment or unit type label
`DATE_TIME_GROUP`	`String`	Date-time group label
`ALTITUDE_DEPTH`	`String`	Altitude or depth display
`UNIQUE_DESIGNATION`	`String`	Unit designation label
`SYMBOL_INDICATOR`	`TacticalSymbol`	Symbol included in a composite tactical graphic
`ECHELON`	`String`	Echelon modifier (also encoded in SIDC positions 11-12)

Graphic and text modifiers are rendered only when isShowGraphicModifiers() and isShowTextModifiers() return true, respectively. Toggle them with setShowGraphicModifiers(boolean) and setShowTextModifiers(boolean).

Tactical Graphics

TacticalGraphic (in gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology) is the interface for vector tactical graphics — lines, areas, and point icons defined by one or more control points rather than a single position. Graphics are created through a TacticalGraphicFactory. For MIL-STD-2525, use MilStd2525GraphicFactory (in gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.milstd2525). The factory provides:

createPoint(String sidc, Position position, AVList params) — single-position point graphic
createGraphic(String sidc, Iterable<? extends Position> positions, AVList params) — multi-position line or area graphic
createCircle(String sidc, Position center, double radius, AVList params) — circular graphic (returns TacticalCircle)
createQuad(String sidc, Iterable<? extends Position> positions, AVList params) — rectangular graphic (returns TacticalQuad)
createRoute(String sidc, Iterable<? extends TacticalPoint> controlPoints, AVList params) — route connecting point graphics (returns TacticalRoute)

TacticalGraphics.java — creating line and area graphics

import gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.*;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.milstd2525.MilStd2525GraphicFactory;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.geom.Position;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.layers.RenderableLayer;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.avlist.AVKey;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

TacticalGraphicFactory factory = new MilStd2525GraphicFactory();
RenderableLayer graphicLayer = new RenderableLayer();

// --- Point graphic (Nuclear Event) ---
TacticalGraphic pointGraphic = factory.createPoint(
    "GHMPNZ--------X",
    Position.fromDegrees(35.2144, -117.8824),
    null);
pointGraphic.setValue(AVKey.DISPLAY_NAME, "Nuclear Event");
pointGraphic.setText("X691");
pointGraphic.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.DATE_TIME_GROUP, "10095900ZJAN92");
pointGraphic.setModifier(SymbologyConstants.QUANTITY, "15");
graphicLayer.addRenderable(pointGraphic);

// --- Friendly Phase Line (line graphic) ---
List<Position> linePositions = Arrays.asList(
    Position.fromDegrees(34.9349, -117.6303),
    Position.fromDegrees(34.9843, -117.5885),
    Position.fromDegrees(34.9961, -117.4891));
TacticalGraphic phaseLine = factory.createGraphic(
    "GFGPGLP----AUSX",
    linePositions,
    null);
phaseLine.setText("A");
phaseLine.setValue(AVKey.DISPLAY_NAME, "Phase Line Alpha");
graphicLayer.addRenderable(phaseLine);

// --- Assembly Area (polygon graphic) ---
List<Position> areaPositions = Arrays.asList(
    Position.fromDegrees(34.9130, -117.1897),
    Position.fromDegrees(34.9789, -117.1368),
    Position.fromDegrees(34.9706, -116.9900),
    Position.fromDegrees(34.9188, -116.9906));
TacticalGraphic assemblyArea = factory.createGraphic(
    "GHGPGAA----AUSX",
    areaPositions,
    null);
assemblyArea.setText("Atlanta");
assemblyArea.setValue(AVKey.DISPLAY_NAME, "Assembly Area");
graphicLayer.addRenderable(assemblyArea);

wwd.getModel().getLayers().add(graphicLayer);
wwd.redraw();

Graphic Sub-interfaces

TacticalGraphic has several specialized sub-interfaces for common shape types:

Interface	Description
`TacticalPoint`	Positioned by a single geographic point
`TacticalCircle`	Positioned by a center point and a radius
`TacticalQuad`	Rectangle with configurable `length` and `width`
`TacticalRoute`	A series of `TacticalPoint` objects connected by lines

Graphic Attributes

TacticalGraphicAttributes (implemented by BasicTacticalGraphicAttributes) styles tactical graphics with outline material, fill material, opacity, and text modifier properties.

TacticalGraphics.java — applying graphic attributes

import gov.nasa.worldwind.symbology.*;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.render.Material;
import java.awt.Font;

// Shared attributes for line and area graphics.
// Scale 0.25 keeps embedded tactical symbols small relative to the graphic.
TacticalGraphicAttributes sharedAttrs = new BasicTacticalGraphicAttributes();
sharedAttrs.setScale(0.25);
sharedAttrs.setOutlineMaterial(Material.GRAY);
sharedAttrs.setInteriorOpacity(0.5);
sharedAttrs.setOutlineOpacity(0.8);
sharedAttrs.setTextModifierFont(Font.decode("Arial-12"));
sharedAttrs.setTextModifierMaterial(Material.BLACK);

// Apply to a graphic.
graphic.setAttributes(sharedAttrs);

// Highlight attributes are applied when the graphic is selected.
TacticalGraphicAttributes highlightAttrs = new BasicTacticalGraphicAttributes();
highlightAttrs.setOutlineMaterial(Material.YELLOW);
highlightAttrs.setOutlineWidth(3.0);
graphic.setHighlightAttributes(highlightAttrs);

Key TacticalGraphicAttributes methods:

Method	Description
`setOutlineMaterial(Material)`	Color and lighting of the graphic outline
`setInteriorMaterial(Material)`	Color and lighting of the graphic fill
`setInteriorOpacity(Double)`	Fill opacity (0.0–1.0)
`setOutlineOpacity(Double)`	Outline opacity (0.0–1.0)
`setOutlineWidth(Double)`	Outline width in pixels
`setScale(Double)`	Scale for embedded point symbols in composite graphics
`setTextModifierFont(Font)`	Font for text labels
`setTextModifierMaterial(Material)`	Color for text labels

Rendering Symbols

Both TacticalSymbol and TacticalGraphic implement Renderable, so they can be mixed freely in a single RenderableLayer alongside any other WorldWind shapes.

TacticalSymbols.java — rendering multiple symbols in one layer

RenderableLayer symbolLayer = new RenderableLayer();
symbolLayer.setName("Tactical Symbols");

// Add symbols and graphics to the same layer.
symbolLayer.addRenderable(airSymbol);
symbolLayer.addRenderable(groundSymbol);
symbolLayer.addRenderable(phaseLine);

// Enable drag-and-drop repositioning with BasicDragger.
BasicDragger dragger = new BasicDragger(wwd);
wwd.addSelectListener(dragger);

wwd.getModel().getLayers().add(symbolLayer);
wwd.redraw();

Toggle global modifier visibility across a layer:

TacticalSymbols.java — toggling modifiers for all symbols in a layer

for (Renderable r : symbolLayer.getRenderables()) {
    if (r instanceof TacticalSymbol) {
        ((TacticalSymbol) r).setShowGraphicModifiers(showGraphic);
        ((TacticalSymbol) r).setShowTextModifiers(showText);
    }
    if (r instanceof TacticalGraphic) {
        ((TacticalGraphic) r).setShowGraphicModifiers(showGraphic);
        ((TacticalGraphic) r).setShowTextModifiers(showText);
    }
}
wwd.redraw();

Decluttering

When many symbols are displayed at once, text labels can overlap and become unreadable. WorldWind’s declutter system suppresses overlapping labels automatically. The DeclutterTacticalSymbols example in gov.nasa.worldwindx.examples.symbology demonstrates this feature. Decluttering is integrated into AbstractTacticalSymbol via the DeclutterableText interface — no additional configuration is required; the scene controller handles it during rendering.

MilStd2525TacticalSymbol and MilStd2525GraphicFactory require the MIL-STD-2525 icon image resources at runtime. These are distributed as a separate milstd2525-symbols resource directory (or JAR). Ensure this directory is on the classpath or configure the icon retriever path before instantiating any MIL-STD-2525 symbols. Without it, symbols will render without icon imagery.

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Configuration & Deployment

MIL-STD-2525 Tactical Symbols and Graphics in WorldWind

Tactical Symbols

Symbol Identification Code (SIDC)

Creating a Tactical Symbol

Symbol Attributes

Symbol Modifiers

Tactical Graphics

Graphic Sub-interfaces

Graphic Attributes

Rendering Symbols

Decluttering

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Configuration & Deployment

Documentation Index

​Tactical Symbols

​Symbol Identification Code (SIDC)

​Creating a Tactical Symbol

​Symbol Attributes

​Symbol Modifiers

​Tactical Graphics

​Graphic Sub-interfaces

​Graphic Attributes

​Rendering Symbols

​Decluttering

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Tactical Symbols

Symbol Identification Code (SIDC)

Creating a Tactical Symbol

Symbol Attributes

Symbol Modifiers

Tactical Graphics

Graphic Sub-interfaces

Graphic Attributes

Rendering Symbols

Decluttering