Three years before software giant Microsoft developed its now ubiquitous Windows operating system, Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.00 was released in 1982, and it is now one of the longest-running PC video game series of all time. A new Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is planned for release later this year.
Clearly Microsoft has scored success in the simulator space, as the United States Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) has tapped the company to create an “Immersive Intelligent Environment” augmented reality space simulation. Dubbed I3E, the simulation will be powered by Microsoft’s HoloLens headset and feature a real-time display of orbital objects, while it will allow Space Force guardians to interact with them in an accurately scaled space environment.
I3E is a follow-on to the Immersive Digital Facility (IDF) prototype successfully developed last year.
The $19.8 million I3E contract, with a one-year period of performance beginning this past December 1 and reserved scope for an additional three years, will mature the digital ecosystem’s capabilities and deliver cutting-edge capabilities to enhance the Space Force’s mission effectiveness, SSC announced this month.
“Leveraging emerging game-changers like I3E enhances our ability to gain situational awareness and enable decision-makers to act at a higher velocity than our adversaries,” explained Shannon Pallone, program executive officer for Battle Management Command, Control and Communications (BMC3). “Within BMC3 we are investing in a digital environment to include I3E to facilitate and expedite the development, assessment, and delivery of improved space capabilities to enhance capability integration across the USSF’s Field Commands and mission partners.”
Aiding the Guardians
The I3E simulation will further enable Space Force guardians to plug and play new and emerging space capabilities into the environment to better understand their interactions and impacts on the overall space architecture. SSC has already begun training personnel on how to utilize I3E, and has stated the technology can quickly and securely integrate new capabilities to help the Space Force keep pace with adversaries.
It is currently accessible at its Los Angeles node, but according to SSC, the environment will eventually be accessible to Guardians everywhere via a Virtual Desktop. As the environment expands to service more users, mission sets, and classification levels, it can scale to support additional critical Space Force locations
“This modernization journey presents an opportunity to deepen our relationship as we support the U.S. Space Force in adopting state-of-the-art solutions to more rapidly to meet their evolving mission needs,” said Jason Zander, executive vice president of strategic missions and technologies at Microsoft.
The Military and AR Simulations
As previously reported, the United States military has relied on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) as training aids for years, but new advances in the technology could further spur new opportunities for the developers of military simulations. This could allow for interoperable training modules, web-based platforms, and cloud computing that would enable U.S. military personnel to train with NATO allies without having to leave their home bases.
The United States Navy had already gone full steam ahead with VR in June 2021, when it unveiled its virtual combat training facilities in San Diego and Pearl Harbor. It duplicated the shipboard undersea warfare (USW) combat system used in its DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and CG 47 Ticonderoga-class cruisers. Integrated with the AEGIS combat system, the simulation provides a full range of undersea warfare functions.
Microsoft has also spent years working with the U.S. military, and in 2021 the company won a $21.88 billion contract to deliver 120,000 custom HoloLens kits to soldiers in the U.S. Army following a three-year prototyping period. However, just last January, Congress rejected the U.S. Army’s request for an additional $400 million to purchase up to 6,900 Microsoft HoloLens combat goggles as more than 80% of soldiers reported discomfort after wearing them for a few hours, such as nausea, headaches, and eyestrain. Lawmakers did provide $40 million to Microsoft to develop a new version of the HoloLens.
Microsoft has worked to address the issues with HoloLens, and it would appear that the technology is set to deliver something truly out of this world.
