Microsoft gets contract to make HoloLens for the US military

Microsoft won a contract to supply the US Army HoloLens headsets. The contract value reached USD 21.88 billion for 10 years. There will be about 120 thousand units of HoloLens that Microsoft will make for US soldiers. Microsoft’s collaboration with the US Army dates back to 2018, and soldiers have been testing the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) headset for the past two years.

This highly sophisticated system, leveraging augmented reality and machine learning, enables a training environment that is a combination of reality and cyberspace so that the Close Combat Force (CCF) can train before engaging with real enemies.

Initial testing of the latest version in February, the US Army revealed that the HoloLens was tougher. The previous version was criticized for its lack of sensors and GPS performance, and Microsoft is now making maximum improvements.

The start of the contract with the US Army was met with strong resistance from some Microsoft employees, so CEO Satya Nadella stepped in to respond. But that hasn’t stopped the United States Department of Defense and Microsoft from collaborating on this new headset version.

This two-year collaboration between Microsoft and the US Army pioneered designs specifically designed for soldiers. This support makes developing prototype products faster. Microsoft makes soldiers have the weapons, tools, and capabilities necessary to accomplish their mission.