Army’s $22 Billion Spending Estimate for Microsoft Goggles Risks a 50% Cut
- Initial estimate reflected ‘worst possible pricing,’ Army Says
- Disclosure comes in Army rebuttal to Inspector General audit
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The U.S. Army’s initial estimate that it may spend nearly $22 billion over the next decade on high-tech combat goggles and related services from Microsoft Corp. may be double what the service really expects.
Pushing back on criticism in a report Friday from the Pentagon’s inspector general that the contract “could result in wasting up to $21.9 billion in taxpayers funds to field a system that soldiers may not want to use or use as intended,” the Army said the estimate was a worst-case scenario and a ceiling for what the service would expect to spend.