Army asks Microsoft to develop soldier-worn head-up display for virtual-reality training and situational awareness

April 14, 2021
Microsoft is no stranger to big military contracts; the company won a $10 billion cloud contract with the Pentagon to overhaul IT infrastructure.

WASHINGTON – Microsoft has won a 10-year $21.9 billion contract from the U.S. Army to produce an Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), a head-up display based on the company's HoloLens headset. PC Gamer reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

14 April 2021 -- Microsoft will test a system that soldiers can use to fight, rehearse, train, and improve situational awareness. Microsoft will supply the Army more than 120,000 devices over the next decade.

The system uses existing high-resolution night, thermal, and soldier-borne sensors integrated into a unified head-up display to provide improved situational awareness, target engagement, virtual-reality training and informed decision-making, Army officials say.

The contract could be worth nearly $22 billion -- far bigger than the $479 million contract Microsoft won in 2019 to supply the Army with prototypes of the IVAS system, Microsoft officials say.

Related: Field tests begin for head-up displays designed for infantry soldiers by BAE Systems

Related: BAE Systems to provide new head-up display (HUDs) for F-22 jet fighter avionics

Related: Top technology challenges this decade for the warfighter

John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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