The project has been far from smooth from the beginning.
In April 2022, the DOD warned that the massive purchase could be awasteof taxpayer money.
The devices' failure to perform essential functions was also a concern.
Congressrefusedan Army request to spend $400 million to buy 6,900 IVAS headsets last year.
Instead, it approved $40 million for Microsoft to build a new and improved version.
The Army said the pricing goal “is it be substantially less than $80,000.”
“We still have to be able get something that’s affordable,” said Bush.
The rest includes increased expenditures, from Army program management to Microsoft engineering and software support costs.
Microsoft is trying to help the army meet its goal of a cheaper headset.
The IVAS units combine high-resolution night, thermal, and soldier-borne sensors into a heads-up display.
Earlier this month, Microsoftendedproduction of its HoloLens 2 headset with no plans for a successor.
The company emphasized at the time that it remains “fully committed” to IVAS.
