Microsoft will deliver the US Army 120 thousand augmented reality headsets for $21.9 billion

At the end of March 2021, Microsoft announced the conclusion of a contract for the supply of augmented reality headsets to the US Army, based on HoloLens technology and supported by Azure cloud services. The contract is designed for 10 years, its value reaches $21.88 billion.

The contract with the US Army Microsoft involves the supply of more than 120 thousand augmented reality headsets. The company has been working closely with the army since 2018, military personnel have been testing Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) virtual reality headsets for the past two years. These solutions include night vision sensors, high-resolution thermal imagers, and they are also designed to indicate soldiers on a projection display.

Microsoft will deliver the US Army, more than 120 thousand $21.9 billion AR headsets

The system also uses augmented reality and machine learning to create a realistic mixed reality learning environment so that Close Combat Force (CCF) units can train before engaging opponents, the US Army said in a statement.

In February 2021, the army showed how a newer, more durable version of the projection display allows armored vehicle operators to see through the walls, for example, the Bradley combat vehicle. An earlier version was criticized for poor sensor and GPS performance.

By April 2021, it is known that the HoloLens has not undergone any significant changes from a hardware point of view since the announcement of the second version of the mixed reality headset, which took place in 2019. The manufacturer gradually improved the software part of the devices HoloLens along with the development of gesture support. Microsoft also implemented support for Microsoft Mesh technology, which allows people to see each other in virtual space.^[1][2]

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