This is the HoloLens version of the US military that Microsoft employees were protesting

In November, we learned that Microsoft had won a $ 479 million contract to provide the US military with a version of its HoloLens augmented reality helmet. This decision was decried by Microsoft's own employees in February, prompting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to react.

For the first time, we see what these hundreds of millions of dollars have actually bought.

CNBC took an exclusive look at a first version of the Army's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), which turns out to be a modified version of the new HoloLens 2 for soldiers. Physically, it looks almost identical to the headset on the market. Except the new FLIR thermal camera mounted above the user's forehead.

But that's what counts inside the glasses and CNBC reports that this prototype of the future of war is pretty much what first-person video games have imagined for years. A head-up display can display your exact heading over your field of view and your position on a virtual map in relation to your squadron companions, not to mention a video game-like virtual reticle to indicate the direction you are aiming . gun – and that the FLIR thermal imaging camera allows the helmet to act as a thermal / night-vision goggle to see enemies through bushes and smoke.

Here is our video on the normal version of HoloLens 2, for comparison:

CNBC's report – which includes interviews with army officials and soldiers – clearly shows that the helmet is a war tool you expect, which will probably not solve the concerns of employees who believe that Microsoft should not be present this line of work.

Initially, the US military had asked for a few thousand helmets, although the Reuters agency then announced that the army could eventually buy more than 100,000. The military told CNBC that she hoped to be able to send "thousands and thousands of soldiers into the force as a whole" by 2022 and deploy them by 2028.

You can read the full story of CNBC here.

And if you're curious, here's a huge document describing what the Army hopes to achieve with this helmet: