The United States Army has officially received its first order of Microsoft’s bespoke Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), Bloomberg reported last week.
Following a series of successful field tests, Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Douglas Bush, said in a statement he had “cleared the Army to begin accepting” a part of 5,000 headsets, a spokesperson said.
Army Spokesman Jamal Beck added the Army had previously placed its order on hold, citing concerns about the device’s performance and the need for additional testing.
According to reports, the headsets were expected to release in 2022, US army officials reassured in December last year. The device had been declared “not combat ready” at the time due to numerous problems, including moisture protection, heads-up display (HUD) calibration issues, and others.
Beck added the Army was “adjusting its fielding plan to allow for time to correct deficiencies and also field to units that are focused on training activities.”
The cutting-edge headset would cost the Army roughly $21.88 billion over ten years’ time, totalling 120,000 device units as well as spare parts and services, the report read.
The order, valued at $373 million in March last year, was accepted last month ahead of a final testing report expected in October, which the Pentagon will draft based on ongoing testing cycles.
Data from the findings will allow Congress to determine if it will allocate $424.2 million for the Army’s budget year in October, namely after lawmakers from the Senate Appropriations Committee ordered massive cutbacks of $350 million of the requested $400 million in spending for the military branch.
The IVAS system had received over 80,000 hours of field testing last year to evaluate the device’s combat readiness, with the Army stating it was “fully committed” to working with Microsoft on the project.
