Considerations for the employment of off-the-shelf equipment in military systems

The utilisation of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment on military platforms is on the rise because of the ease of availability and implicit cost advantages over traditional military hardened equipment. However, unexpected problems due to electromagnetic emissions or susceptibility could also be engendered when such equipment are employed in military systems. In order to minimise the potential negatives due to the use of COTS equipment, it is necessary to analyse the causes of expected/unexpected problems and develop a methodology to eliminate these. Keeping in view the prevalent commercial and military standards, and also the available components and technologies utilised in COTS equipment, an integrated approach needs to be adopted, for gainful employment of such equipment in military systems. The integrated approach will essentially include efforts both from the commercial manufacturers and military consumers and would essentially involve identification of mission critical/non-mission critical equipment, examination of commercial and military standards, acceptance of available technologies with a view for further upgrades and finally marrying the military requirements to that of COTS equipment characteristics