Keeping current and increasing the effectiveness of the decision-making process and the interoperability in the digital age geospatial intelligence and Geospatial Information Systems' applications in the military and intelligence fields for the Mexican Navy

Abstract

The birth of the digital era - full of new technologies and information systems that increase as time goes by - has forced the military to embrace these innovations so that they do not lose effectiveness or become obsolete when compared with other countries' armed forces. One of these innovations is the Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), which is the result of geography's evolution from its application for naming and delineating the boundaries of countries, seas, and rivers. Modern day applications of this science have transformed it into a more scientific, mathematical, and technological one, which is a powerful tool for GEOINT analysts, and support of the decision-making process in the intelligence and military fields. This thesis introduces the GEOINT-process-model and the main GIS applications in the military and intelligence fields. A practical scenario that embraces a SOF operation is developed through use of the GEOINT process and ArcGIS software. Furthermore, this thesis presents a preliminary approach for the Mexican Navy to embrace the use of GIS and GEOINT.