Microsoft is awarded $480 million contract to supply the US Army with HoloLens

Microsoft has been awarded a $480 million contract by the US Army. According to the contract, Microsoft has to supply the military branch with approx. 100,000 HoloLens. HoloLens is the  Augmented Reality headsets designed by Microsoft which can be used by the military for training and combat purposes.

Microsoft has defeated other leading Augmented Reality headset manufacturing companies like Magic Leap. Magic Leap has focused mainly on consumer markets which are barely existent. Contrary to it, Microsoft has always been focused on enterprise markets which gave the giant an upper hand over the other companies. Microsoft has sold some headsets to the army earlier but this contract would push all the boundaries to expand the reach of AR headsets.

“Augmented reality technology will provide the army with more and better information to make decisions,” a Microsoft spokesperson informed. The contract has strengthened the trust and the longstanding relationship with the Department of Defense.

The headsets to be designed exclusively for the army would vary from the ordinary HoloLens. They would include features likenight vision, thermal sensing etc. which can be utilized both in training and on the battlefront.

The relationship between the tech companies and the military department has been fraught over the past year. Last month, Google withdrew itself from the bidding process for the Pentagon’s JEDI contract. But despite all the disagreement, Microsoft has continued to bid on the deal which shows the company’s interest to bridge the gap between tech giants and the Department of Defense.