The Army is set to receive additional Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) 1.2 headsets from Microsoft [MSFT] in the coming weeks for larger-scale testing before the end of the year, with lead service officials noting those results will determine the fate of the potential $22 billion program.
After gathering some feedback on an initial handful of upgraded IVAS 1.2 systems received last summer, Army Acquisition Chief Doug Bush told lawmakers on Wednesday the service is now preparing to take the program into platoon and company-level testing as the service eyes a future buy of thousands of headsets in fiscal year 2025.
“There’s a plan to move from squad to platoon to company as we progress through testing [IVAS] 1.2 to determine…whether or not it is worth spending those procurement dollars on. So I would not say we know for sure, but I believe we have a plan to inform such a decision, if members provide the funds,” Bush said during a Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee hearing.
The Army’s FY ‘25 budget submission includes a $255.5 million request to buy 3,162 IVAS 1.2 headsets and $98 million further research and development efforts, with service officials noting previously the planned procurement would be contingent on the results of the operational testing.
“I do support the [IVAS funding] in the president’s budget request because I do believe it will give the [Army] chief and secretary the option, if testing goes well, to keep this capability on track. But there’s an ‘if’ there. And, of course, we would not make such a decision without informing them of the test results, so they can make the call,” Bush told the panel.
In March 2021, the Army awarded Microsoft a deal worth up to $21.9 billion over the next 10 years to move the IVAS augmented reality headset program from rapid prototyping into production (Defense Daily, March 31 2021).
Following an operational test with the initial 1.0 version of IVAS in June 2022, Army officials had detailed a plan to adjust the program’s timeline to address reliability, low-light sensor performance and form factor issues identified during the evaluation and in early January 2023 awarded Microsoft a $125 million deal to work on developing IVAS 1.2.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) pressed Army officials on the state of the IVAS program and upcoming testing plans, comparing the capability to a “bad penny [that] keeps turning up,” and citing issues he’s heard with soldiers that used the new IVAS 1.2 system during initial testing.
“My understanding from the results is that soldiers who have tested these latest systems couldn’t read or open a lock in low light, most soldiers had cable malfunctions, the remote keys got stuck [and] the mission shield is not ballistically rated. There are other issues. I could go on but my time is running short,” Cotton said.
Bush has said previously the upcoming testing with IVAS 1.2 would be conducted with the “combat-capable” version of the headset, and noted on Wednesday the upgraded capability has been specifically designed to address earlier form factor concerns.
“The one that concerned me the most was the form factor, meaning how a soldier wears it. In the first version, I agree it was not something that was usable in an infantry context. This version, I believe, gets at that very much and is much closer to what our soldiers are used to wearing with night vision devices they wear but [IVAS] does more than just night vision. However, sir, it is new technology and it may not work out, but we are hopeful that it will,” Bush said.
Cotton also asked Gen. James Rainey, head of Army Futures Command, during the hearing whether IVAS 1.2 will prove “suitable for combat use” once it goes through the upcoming larger-scale operational testing.
“I don’t know. I’m very interested in receiving [IVAS] 1.2. We have high expectations that it’s going to be much better than what we have received and tested so far. When it comes to IVAS, as a former infantryman, I realize the potential. I mean if it works, it is a legitimate 10x upgrade to our most important formations. But if it does not work, then I think we would have to take a very hard look at whether we continue down that path or use that money for other critical aspects of our night vision strategy. Because we have to make sure the entire Army can own the night and there are other very good systems, like ENVG-B for example, that have demonstrated really strong success,” Rainey said.
During a SASC hearing last month, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said the service doesn’t plan to take an “either/or” approach with its Enhanced Night Vision Goggle–Binocular (ENVG-B) and IVAS programs, with the service’s secretary reaffirming an intent to continue moving ahead with both efforts (Defense Daily, April 18).
The Army’s FY ‘25 budget request includes $100 million for procurement of 2,364 ENVG-B devices, built by L3Harris [LHX] and Elbit America.
Wormuth cited IVAS as a “pathfinder in wearable technology” for the Army, noting the service’s plans for further testing this year to inform next steps with the 1.2 version of the system.
“We’re continuing to work with Microsoft on [the IVAS] program. We have some additional testing coming up this year. We’re going to be doing a lot of testing on the 1.2 version. The last test that we ran looking at IVAS was much more successful. The soldier feedback we got was much better. The form factor for the headset was more comfortable. They weren’t having as much neck strain and I think the resolution for the vision piece was better,” Wormuth said at last month’s SASC hearing.