TLDR;
- Meta and defense tech firm Anduril are co-developing advanced mixed reality (XR) devices for the U.S. military.
- The collaboration is part of the Army’s revamped $22 billion wearable tech initiative, once led by Microsoft.
- The new system, dubbed EagleEye, merges Meta’s XR and AI with Anduril’s battlefield command software.
- The partnership marks a dramatic reunion between Meta and Palmer Luckey, the ousted Oculus founder.
Meta and Anduril Industries have announced a strategic partnership to develop next-generation mixed reality (XR) devices for the U.S. military. This collaboration brings Palmer Luckey, founder of both Oculus and Anduril, back into the fold of Meta, the very company that once fired him.
Their joint effort focuses on producing rugged, AI-powered XR helmets, glasses, and wearables under a system called EagleEye. The technology promises to deliver real-time intelligence, sensor fusion, and battlefield awareness to soldiers, effectively turning them into “technomancers,” in Luckey’s words.
Meta’s Military Moment
This partnership signals Meta’s most substantial push into the defense sector yet. Once dependent on social media revenue, Meta has increasingly pivoted toward enterprise and government applications of its immersive tech.
Anduril and Meta have teamed up to make the world's best AR and VR systems for the United States Military.
Leveraging Meta's massive investments in XR technology for our troops will save countless lives and dollars. pic.twitter.com/t9d2vRInSe
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) May 29, 2025
Notably, the XR devices being co-developed with Anduril will draw from Meta’s Reality Labs research and integrate its open-source Llama AI models. These will work in tandem with Anduril’s battlefield software platform, Lattice, to provide soldiers with real-time information overlays—like identifying distant drones or mapping hidden threats.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg praised the initiative, stating the technology will “help U.S. soldiers protect our interests at home and abroad.” Meta has also been quietly building a team with former Pentagon insiders to smooth its transition into the defense procurement space.
A $22 Billion Opportunity and a Microsoft Misfire
The partnership stems from the Army’s Soldier Borne Mission Command (SBMC) Next program, formerly known as IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System). Originally awarded to Microsoft with a massive $22 billion budget, the program ran into persistent issues and was reassigned earlier this year.
Anduril took over as lead vendor, with Microsoft stepping back into a supporting cloud role. To participate in the revamped initiative, Meta needed to work with Anduril, which now holds the keys to the project’s hardware ecosystem.
Despite the Army contract still being in the bidding phase, reportedly worth around $100 million for the initial XR prototypes, Meta and Anduril are pressing forward with development regardless of the outcome, suggesting confidence in demand from other defense branches.
A Full Circle Moment for Palmer Luckey
For Palmer Luckey, this collaboration represents both vindication and evolution. After being ousted from Facebook in 2017 over political controversy, he went on to found Anduril to build AI-driven defense technologies. He’s long maintained that the U.S. military deserves cutting-edge tools built by visionaries, not just legacy contractors.
Now, seven years later, he’s not only partnering with Meta again but doing so on terms that amplify his mission. Notably, even the headset’s name, EagleEye has roots in Luckey’s earliest Anduril pitch decks, though initially shelved in favor of software development. With Meta’s hardware and AI power behind it, EagleEye is finally becoming reality.
