(MENAFN) The US Army has been given permission to begin receiving new battle goggles from software giant Microsoft, moving forward with a transaction that had been put on hold due to worries that the equipment might not function properly.
The initial purchase will be made under a deal that, if the Army exercises all of its options and the goggles function as planned, could be worth about $22 billion over ten years. According to a March 2021 purchase for 5,000 sets of goggles worth at $373 million, the Army’s assistant secretary for procurement, Douglas Bush, approved receipt of the first shipment of goggles, according to a Thursday report by Bloomberg News.
Initial deliveries had been put off because there was worry that the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) goggles wouldn’t operate as intended without additional thorough testing. Initial testing indicates that the equipment won’t be put into use on the front lines right now.
The Army is “adjusting its fielding plan to allow for time to correct deficiencies and also field to units that are focused on training activities,” Bloomberg cited Army representative Jamal Beck as saying.
MENAFN04092022000045011137ID1104807538
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
