MS to Supply $25 Trillion Augmented Reality Headsets to US Army

Source: CNBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Microsoft (MS) has signed an augmented reality (AR) headset supply contract worth $21.88 billion (approximately 25 trillion KRW) with the U.S. Army.

An MS spokesperson stated, "We have signed a contract to supply HoloLens-based AR headsets to the U.S. Army," adding, "This contract is expected to have a (sales) value of up to $21.88 billion over the next 10 years."

Two years ago, MS secured a contract worth $480 million from the Department of Defense and has been developing the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) prototype with the U.S. Army. Both parties recently completed performance verification of the IVAS and have begun production.

The HoloLens headset developed by MS is in the form of goggles; when worn, it allows the user to recognize their location, surrounding environment, and key tactical information through three-dimensional images displayed before their eyes, enabling informed decision-making.

Alex Kipman, a MS technical researcher, said on his blog, "The AR headset supplied to the U.S. Army has enhanced situational awareness capabilities compared to existing devices," and added, "It will enable information sharing and decision-making in various scenarios during U.S. Army operations."

In 2019, MS also surpassed Amazon, the leader in cloud services, to win a cloud service provision contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (the JEDI project).