Microsoft has a new contract for HoloLens

The Army division of the US Military has made a new contract with Microsoft. This time, it's for the tech giant's augmented reality headsets: the HoloLens. The deal is priced at $480 million for Microsoft to supply 100,000 HoloLens headsets.

Although Microsoft had made previous military contracts, this new deal marks a stronghold for the company in military contract deals, especially for its HoloLens headsets. The augmented reality headsets will be used for training, combat, and security purposes. “Augmented reality technology will provide troops with more and better information to make decisions,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.

The HoloLens stated in the contract would be military-grade headsets, which are quite different from the usual HoloLens. Night vision, thermal sensing, and more will be included in the military enterprise. In the next two years, at least 2,500 headset units will be delivered, Microsoft confirmed. 

This contract has been a long battle between Microsoft and other augmented reality companies like Magic Leap. In fact, the bidding began two months earlier and finally, Microsoft has won the contract. “This new work extends our longstanding, trusted relationship with the Department of Defense to this new area," the Microsoft spokesperson added. While it is celebratory news for the company, the new trend between tech companies and the military has conflicting sentiments among the employees.