Designing COTS Optics Into Defense Projects

When settling in to design a new optical device for a defense application, it is often desirable to use Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) optical components wherever possible. COTS optics offer many advantages over their custom-design counterparts. Lower prices and quicker lead times are two distinct advantages with COTS optics over custom components, which immediately lead to lower sample cost and quicker prototype iteration. In moving to production, these advantages lead to higher profit margin and quicker delivery cycles.