The editors and staff of COTS Journal are dedicated to providing the industry with the best quality technical material to help readers design and build embedded computers for the military – whether for benign applications or for the most rugged, mission-critical jobs the battlefield, sky or water can offer.

What differentiates COTS Journal from the rest of the pack – aside from its unique posture as the only technology publication addressing the military market – is the quality of its editorial staff. These seasoned veterans of computer, defense and publishing industries not only go the extra mile to provide the most up-to-date information in an easily readable form, but they themselves participate in the industry and are widely sought after to provide technology, market and trend briefings to the industry and government sectors.

We publish more pages of editorial content as a ratio to advertising than any of our nearest competitors. This feat is accomplished through a series of staff and contributed articles that meet the standards required by the readers and supported by our staff. No fluff or filler is tolerated.

COTS (kots), n. 1. Commercial off-the-shelf. Terminology popularized in 1994 within U.S. DoD by SECDEF Wm. Perry¹s ³Perry Memo² that changed military industry purchasing and design guidelines, making Mil-Specs acceptable only by waiver. COTS is generally defined for technology, goods and services as: a) using commercial business practices and specifications, b) not developed under government funding, c) offered for sale to the general market, d) still must meet the program ORD. 2. Commercial business practices include the accepted practice of customer-paid minor modification to standard COTS products to meet the customer¹s unique requirements.

– Ant. When applied to the procurement of electronics for the U.S. Military, COTS is a procurement philosophy and does not imply commercial, office environment or any other durability grade. E.g., rad-hard components designed and offered for sale to the general market are COTS if they were developed by the company and not under government funding.

COTS Journal is a technology-in-context book that looks at any embedded technology any-where it exists. Our editors assess the applicability of the world’s best embedded research and standards, methodologies and products for government, military and aerospace applications.

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

There is little doubt that 2017 will hold a host of uncertainties. Will the overall U.S. defense budget shrink or grow? Will sequestration be abolished or maintained? How hard will procurement reforms be pushed? How these issues pan out will become clear over time? What is absolutely certain is that technology will continue to be a priority for the military. Over the last couple decades, the portion of the defense budget that accounts for electronics, computing, networking—and all associated technologies—has steadily ramped up even as overall budgets have risen and fallen. Moreover, every Secretary of Defense over the past 20 years has voiced their view that technological superiority is a priority.

COTS Journal is a leader in such thinking as we work to provide the best quality technical material to help readers design and build embedded computer-based systems for the military. As embedded computing technology advances, both legacy form factors; and new architectures and approaches have a place. System developers have to consider legacy formats with upgraded components. At the same time they must take advantage of the kinds of technologies flourishing in the civilian market – like IoT cloud computing, tablet and mobile interfaces and virtualized HPEC platforms. COTS Journal remains the premier resource for that variety of innovative information.

Technology suppliers presented in COTS Journal are those most critical to military system designs of today and tomorrow. But COTS Journal’s coverage is unique. While other media sources claim to cover technology, we cover it specifically tailored for engineers. With all that in mind, COTS Journal is the ultimate resource for developers of military systems in the uncertain landscape of 2017 and beyond.