Mixed reality doesn’t come cheap. But the Army thinks a version of Microsoft’s HoloLens with a price tag of $22 billion will help troops in combat as adversaries such as China invest heavily in military technology.
The Army announced the 10-year contract Wednesday for a program that had already been in the works with Microsoft to create a custom high-tech goggle designed to bring night and thermal vision and situational awareness capabilities to soldiers in close combat. The Integrated Visual Augmentation System will lean on the tech giant to create a military-use device that uses augmented reality and machine learning that will also help train soldiers.
The agreement with Microsoft runs for five years, with an option to extend for another five, and an initial commitment to provide goggles for 120,000 soldiers, according to reports. Microsoft and the Army have already have been collaborating on the project, which will use an expedited acquisition authority to reach soldiers in the theater quickly.
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Army chief of staff Gen. James McConville explained IVAS at a National Press Club event in 2020.
“[It] is our heads-up display system that will serve as the nerve center for the integrated squad combat system,” said McConville. “This allows the soldier to understand the threat picture in real-time during day or nighttime operations and reduces computation time from minutes down to seconds. Speed and quality decision-making increases our soldiers’ survivability and lethality.”
McConville often talks about the importance of using technology to link shooters and sensors with command-and-control nodes.
Soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Washington state recently tested the technology from inside Stryker and Bradley combat vehicles and provided the Army with feedback.
“This changes how we operate, honestly,” said Sgt. Philip Bartel. “Now, guys aren’t hanging out of vehicles in dangerous situations trying to get views on what’s going on.”
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Sgt. John Martin believes the goggles will add lethality and save lives.
“The fact that we are going to be more lethal on the ground, the fact that we won’t be losing as many guys because everyone can see and track the same information, the capabilities and possibilities and implications of this technology are endless,” he said.
