Military Off-The-Shelf (MOTS)

Military Off-The-Shelf refers to military-grade equipment and systems that are already designed, tested, and in active service with armed forces somewhere in the world. Unlike custom-built solutions, these products come ready to deploy with minimal or no modification. If you're working on defence procurement, you'll encounter this approach as a way to control costs and reduce the technical risks that come with developing entirely new military systems.

How It Works

The concept exists on a spectrum. Pure MOTS means you're acquiring a system that's already proven in military service—think weapons systems, communications equipment, or naval sensors that other countries have been using successfully. According to the Canadian Military Journal, the key distinction is that these aren't new designs; they're established products sourced from ongoing production lines. You can procure them either directly from commercial vendors or through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) arrangements with allied nations, as the Canadian Forces College notes.

Here's the catch: MOTS isn't always completely off-the-shelf in practice. The defence community recognizes gradations—MOTS+, MOTS++—that reflect increasing levels of customization needed for interoperability with Canadian systems. Minor modifications might include adapting communication protocols or integrating with existing command and control infrastructure, but sometimes those "minor" changes balloon during implementation. The baseline expectation, though, is that you're not starting from scratch with design and development.

Canada's 2017 defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, explicitly promotes using off-the-shelf solutions to address the schedule delays and technical risks that have plagued previous procurement programs. For naval platforms, this approach applies to propulsion systems, machinery, and sensor suites—components where proven reliability matters more than custom specifications.

Key Considerations

• Not covered in the Supply Manual: The Government of Canada Supply Manual makes no mention of Military Off-The-Shelf as a defined procurement category. This term lives primarily in defence-specific policy documents and military procurement circles, not in general government procurement guidance.

• Foreign dependencies: When you procure through FMS or from international manufacturers, you're accepting some level of supply chain dependency on other nations. Lifecycle support, spare parts, and future upgrades may require ongoing cooperation with foreign governments or contractors.

• Interoperability isn't automatic: Just because a system works for another military doesn't mean it plugs seamlessly into Canadian operations. Those modifications for interoperability can expand in scope during implementation, pushing you further along the MOTS+ continuum than initially planned.

• Evaluation criteria shift: Unlike Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) procurements where you might prioritize cost and availability, MOTS evaluations focus heavily on operational track records, allied use, and proven performance in military environments.

Related Terms

Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS), Nondevelopmental Item (NDI), Foreign Military Sales (FMS), Defence Procurement Strategy

Sources

• Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada's Defence Policy (2017) - Government of Canada

• Canadian Military Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Winter 2015) - Definitions and analysis of MOTS procurement approaches

• Delivering on 'Strong, Secure, Engaged': Defence Procurement - Canadian Forces College

If you're evaluating whether MOTS makes sense for your defence project, focus on the maturity of the system and its operational history. The approach works best when speed to capability and proven performance outweigh the benefits of custom design.