COTS Boards Pass Muster In Military Applications

摘要

Not that long ago, military procurement was the butt of many jokes about $1000 hammers and $500 toilet seats. The high cost of military hardware resulted from the demand for it to operate reliably in the harsh conditions of a global battlefield. In the mid-'90s, governments mandated that military contractors begin using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to reduce costs. Now it's clear that the COTS initiative is achieving its objectives, but only with careful design and some loosening of requirements. It's also obvious that significant challenges still remain.