Military COTS Technology

The Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) is a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) term defining a non-developmental item (NDI) of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract in the same precise form as available to the general public. AIS’s pre-designed COTS and MOTS-based rugged embedded computers and displays provide a cost effective control interface which is easily integrated to new and existing installations, reducing time to market and increasing competitiveness in a market where service, availability, reliability, and technology are significant importance.

In the United States, Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) is a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) term defining a non-developmental item (NDI) of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract in the same precise form as available to the general public. For example, technology related items, such as computer software, hardware systems or free software with commercial support, and construction materials qualify, but bulk cargo, such as agricultural or petroleum products, do not.

COTS purchases are alternatives to in-house developments or one-off government-funded developments. COTS typically requires configuration that is tailored for specific uses. The use of COTS has been mandated across many government and business programs; as such products may offer significant savings in procurement, development, and maintenance.


The reforms of the mid-1990s adopted some commercial practices in government procurement and encouraged the purchase of commercial products and services rather than acquisitions tailored to unique government specifications in the belief that this approach would give the government access to commercial solutions, reduce the cost of major systems, improve the overall quality of contractor performance, and shorten the time it takes to purchase goods and services that support agency missions. Those reforms have expanded the definition of commercial items to encompass not only goods, but virtually all types of services. AIS pre-validated control and communications rugged displays are available in a range of military and aerospace proven form factors and offer a choice of configurations and ruggedization levels designed to meet a wide range of performance and environmental requirements.