Is open source GIS feasible in military operations? Evaluation by applying a use case

dc.contributor.authorHenrico, Susanna Jacoba
dc.contributor.authorCoetzee, Serena Martha
dc.contributor.authorCooper, Antony Kyle
dc.date.accessioned2021-11-18T08:34:06Z
dc.date.available2021-11-18T08:34:06Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractThe study of terrain and all its related elements and facets are of crucial importance to the military, with the importance of terrain being recognised by military leaders more than two thousand years ago. Military operations can occur at any of the three levels of war: tactical, operational and strategic, and can be a combat operation or a military operation other than war (MOOTW). Information about the geography empowers a military commander to plan and execute a mission successfully. As technology developed and evolved, geographic information systems (GIS) have come to play a major role in this. Today, a military operation without the use of GIS is unthinkable. In a developing country like the South Africa, however, licenses for proprietary GIS software, vendor-exclusive training and the bureaucracy of the procurement cycle add to the time and costs of a mission. The question arises whether open source software is a feasible alternative. Since the South African National Defence Force was initially trained in the use of proprietary software and it therefore became a strong habit, the perception now exits that Free and Open Source Geographic Information Software (FOSSGIS) products are neither mature enough nor user-friendly enough to be used in military operations. This study evaluated the use of an open source desktop GIS product, QGIS, in a use case for MOOTW. QGIS, outputs were compared to those produced in ArcGIS, a proprietary desktop GIS product developed by Esri, widely used in military operations. The user-friendliness of the two products as well as pricing was also compared. Results show that the QGIS outputs provide the operational commander with equivalent information to plan and execute a mission successfully. This implies that open source GIS is suitable for military operations, especially those with limited budgets and at short notice, such as in the case of disaster relief.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentGeography, Geoinformatics and Meteorologyen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2021en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipSusan Henrico’s master’s research was financially supported by the South African National Defence Force, Defence Intelligence.en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThe South African National Defence Force, Defence Intelligence.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttps://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/puben_ZA
dc.identifier.citationHenrico, S., Coetzee, S.M. & Cooper, A. 2020, 'Is open source GIS feasible in military operations? Evaluation by applying a use case', South African Journal of Military Studies, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 41-60.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn2309-9682 (print)
dc.identifier.issn2224-0020 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.5787/48-1-1259
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/82742
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherFaculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights© 2021 Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies. Creative Commons License - CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.en_ZA
dc.subjectOpen source softwareen_ZA
dc.subjectMilitary operationen_ZA
dc.subjectQGISen_ZA
dc.subjectDisaster reliefen_ZA
dc.subjectMilitary operation other than war (MOOTW)en_ZA
dc.subjectGeographic information system (GIS)en_ZA
dc.subjectFree and open source geographic information software (FOSSGIS)en_ZA
dc.titleIs open source GIS feasible in military operations? Evaluation by applying a use caseen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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