Microsoft—Microsoft won $21.9 billion US Army contract to supply HoloLens-based combat headsets despite employee protests
In March 2021, Microsoft was awarded a 10-year contract worth up to $21.9 billion to supply the US Army with 120,000+ HoloLens-based IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System) augmented reality headsets for combat use. Over 250 employees had signed a 2019 petition opposing the contract, saying they 'didn't want to become war profiteers.' CEO Nadella defended the contract. The program faced technical issues with soldiers reporting nausea and headaches, and Microsoft eventually transferred hardware development to Anduril in February 2025.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military & Defense Contracts | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Worker Rights | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.664 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (2 signals)
Microsoft awarded $21.88 billion Army contract for HoloLens-based IVAS headsets
The US Army awarded Microsoft a 10-year production contract worth up to $21.88 billion for the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), based on Microsoft's HoloLens mixed-reality technology, to supply at least 120,000 headsets for combat use.
250+ Microsoft employees signed open letter opposing HoloLens Army contract
More than 250 Microsoft employees signed an open letter urging the company to cancel the IVAS contract with the US Army, stating they 'didn't want to become war profiteers' and that Microsoft had misled engineers on how their products would be used. CEO Nadella responded that employees were free to stop working on projects they had personal reservations about.