US seeks to own the night with IVAS
Wearable technology includes HUD for enhanced situational awareness
The US Army and USMC trialled the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) in a series of field exercises since 18 October, culminating in a ‘milestone testing and demonstration event’ this week at Fort Benning, Georgia, according to a 2 November statement from the army.
IVAS employs a combination of technologies and AR capabilities in a HUD device resembling the Microsoft HoloLens device. Indeed, Microsoft is working with the US Army to develop and produce the system. By blending the HUD and other wearable technologies, IVAS is intended to improve individual soldier SA.
The system is one of 31 modernisation efforts from Army Futures Command to restore overmatch combat superiority for US warfighters, after the 2018 National Defense Strategy concluded that near-peer adversaries have closed a historical gap in capabilities.
IVAS is envisaged to be used in night operations. Brig Gen David Hodne, US Army Chief of Infantry and head of the Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team, said on 30 October: ‘In order to restore overmatch, we must restore lethality, and lethality means we can see, designate and move quickly through hours of limited visibility.’
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