Question 1

What is AirAlerts and how does the drone map work?

Accepted Answer

AirAlerts is a live map of drones and air alerts for Russia and Ukraine. It reads public Telegram channels, finds the targets (drones, missiles, aircraft), places, explosions and shoot-downs in the messages and shows them on the map by region and district in real time.

Question 2

Where does the data come from?

Accepted Answer

From public Telegram channels: the messages are collected and parsed automatically. The list of channels and their state is open on the "Data source status" page.

Question 3

Is this an official air raid alert?

Accepted Answer

No. It is not an official siren: the data is processed automatically and may be inaccurate or late. In danger, follow the signals of the official services.

Question 4

How do I find out what is flying to my region?

Accepted Answer

Open the page of your region: the map shows the targets in it and nearby, and above the map are the alerts and shoot-downs of the last 24 hours. To avoid watching the map, turn on notifications for the region.

Question 5

How do I turn on alert notifications?

Accepted Answer

Press "Follow" on the region card and allow notifications in the browser; the service can be installed as an app (PWA). Notifications also come through the Telegram bot.

Question 6

How is the direction of a target worked out?

Accepted Answer

From the sequence of reports about the target and its speed. When there is little data, the direction is estimated from the typical course for the region; such an estimate is approximate.

Question 7

Do I need to register and what does it cost?

Accepted Answer

No registration is needed; the map and notifications are free. You can support the project with a voluntary donation.

UAV map — Republic of Karelia: live drone radar