Military Symbology¶

The BMS application renders military symbols according to APP-6D (NATO Joint Military Symbology) and MIL-STD-2525D standards. These symbols provide a standardised way to represent military units, equipment, installations, and activities on tactical displays.

Complete symbol catalogue

This page introduces the symbology concepts with curated examples. For the full catalogue of every symbol the BMS can render — all symbol sets, every entity, in all four affiliations — see the Symbol Reference.

Understanding Military Symbols¶

Military symbols communicate critical battlefield information at a glance through a combination of:

Frame Shape - Indicates the affiliation (friend, hostile, neutral, unknown)
Fill Colour - Reinforces affiliation identification
Icon - Represents the specific entity type (infantry, tank, aircraft, etc.)
Modifiers - Add detail such as unit size, status, or special designations

Affiliation Colours and Shapes¶

Affiliation	Colour	Frame Shape
Friend	Blue/Cyan	Rectangle (land), Oval (air), Semi-circle (sea)
Hostile	Red	Diamond
Neutral	Green	Square
Unknown	Yellow	Quatrefoil (cloverleaf)
Pending	Yellow	Quatrefoil with dashed border
Assumed Friend	Blue	Dashed rectangle/oval
Suspect	Red	Dashed diamond

Symbol Set Dimensions¶

Military symbols are organised into symbol sets that define the operational dimension:

Symbol Set	Code	Description
Air	01	Aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, missiles
Air Missile	02	Air-launched missiles
Space	05	Satellites and space objects
Land Unit	10	Ground combat and support units
Land Equipment	15	Ground vehicles and weapons
Land Installation	20	Fixed facilities and infrastructure
Sea Surface	30	Naval vessels and surface craft
Sea Subsurface	35	Submarines and underwater objects
Mine Warfare	36	Naval mines
Activities	40	Operations and events

Land Symbols¶

Ground units and equipment use rectangular frames for friendly forces. The internal icon indicates the unit type.

Land Units by Affiliation¶

Friend	Hostile	Neutral	Unknown	Description
				Infantry
				Armour
				Artillery (Field)
				Mechanised Infantry
				Reconnaissance
				Engineer
				Air Defence
				Signal
				Medical
				Supply
				Command and Control

Land Equipment¶

Friend	Hostile	Neutral	Unknown	Description
				Tank
				Armoured Personnel Carrier
				Howitzer
				Missile Launcher

Air Symbols¶

Air symbols use a rounded or oval frame. They represent aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, and airborne missiles.

Air Platforms by Affiliation¶

Friend	Hostile	Neutral	Unknown	Description
				Fighter Aircraft
				Bomber
				Attack/Strike
				Military Helicopter (Rotary Wing)
				Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
				Reconnaissance Aircraft
				Cargo Aircraft
				Tanker/Refueller

Civilian Air Traffic¶

ADS-B data feeds show civilian aircraft using neutral affiliation:

Symbol	Description
	Civilian Fixed Wing
	Civilian Helicopter
	Civilian UAV/Drone

Sea Surface Symbols¶

Sea surface symbols represent naval vessels and civilian maritime traffic. Friendly forces use a semi-circular frame with the flat side up.

Naval Combatants by Affiliation¶

Friend	Hostile	Neutral	Unknown	Description
				Aircraft Carrier
				Cruiser
				Destroyer
				Frigate
				Corvette
				Patrol Boat
				Amphibious

Civilian Maritime Traffic¶

AIS data feeds show civilian vessels. These use appropriate affiliation based on vessel type and origin:

Friend	Neutral	Description
		Cargo Vessel
		Tanker
		Merchant Ship (General)
		Passenger Vessel
		Fishing Vessel
		Tug
		Yacht/Pleasure Craft

Subsurface Symbols¶

Subsurface symbols represent submarines and underwater objects. The frame is inverted compared to surface vessels.

Submarines by Affiliation¶

Friend	Hostile	Neutral	Unknown	Description
				Submarine (Generic)
				Submarine (Surfaced)
				Submarine (Snorkeling)
				AUV / UUV (Unmanned Underwater)

Underwater Threats¶

Friend	Hostile	Neutral	Description
			Mine (Generic)
			Moored Mine
			Bottom Mine
			Torpedo

Installation Symbols¶

Fixed installations and facilities use a unique frame to distinguish them from mobile units.

Friend	Hostile	Neutral	Description
			Airport
			Heliport
			Military Base
			Medical Treatment Facility
			Bridge
			Seaport (Naval Transportation)

Symbol Identification Codes (SIDC)¶

Each symbol is defined by a Symbol Identification Code (SIDC), a 20-character numeric string that encodes all symbol attributes:

SIDC breakdown — 20-character APP-6D code structure

Standard Identity Codes¶

Code	Affiliation
0	Pending
1	Unknown
2	Assumed Friend
3	Friend
4	Neutral
5	Suspect
6	Hostile

Common Symbol Sets¶

Code	Symbol Set
01	Air
10	Land Unit
15	Land Equipment
20	Land Installation
30	Sea Surface
35	Sea Subsurface

Using Symbols in BMS¶

Point Dropper¶

The BMS Point Dropper tool allows you to place symbols on the map:

Open the Point Dropper panel from the toolbar
Select a Symbol Set (Air, Land, Sea, etc.)
Choose the Affiliation (Friend, Hostile, Neutral, Unknown)
Select the specific Entity Type
Click on the map to place the symbol

Live Data Feeds¶

When AIS (maritime) or ADS-B (aviation) connectors are enabled, symbols are automatically generated from live data:

AIS vessels appear as sea surface symbols with appropriate ship type icons
ADS-B aircraft appear as air symbols with aircraft type icons
Affiliation is typically set to Neutral for civilian traffic

Custom Symbols via JSON¶

Load tactical scenarios from JSON files containing symbol definitions:

{
    "sidc": "10031000001211000000",
    "latitude": -37.8136,
    "longitude": 144.9631,
    "label": "Alpha Company",
    "note": "Infantry unit in position"
}

See the BMS Overview for more details on JSON scenario format.