The Next Frontier of Battlefield Tech: Anduril and Meta's Smart Glasses for Soldier AI Integration
The Vision: Optimizing the Human Weapons System
Defense-tech company Anduril, in collaboration with Meta, is pushing the boundaries of military augmented reality (AR) with a prototype headset designed to transform how soldiers interact with battlefield data. The goal, according to Quay Barnett, Anduril's vice president leading the effort, is to treat the human as a weapons system—a cyborg-inspired concept where drones and soldiers share a unified field of view, communicate seamlessly, and make decisions as a single entity. Barnett, a former member of the Army's Special Operations Command, envisions a future where eye-tracking and voice commands can order drone strikes, request evacuations, or plan routes in real time.
Two Parallel Projects: SBMC and EagleEye
The Army's SBMC Program
Anduril is currently developing two distinct AR systems. The first is the Soldier Born Mission Command (SBMC), a project awarded to Anduril and Meta through a $159 million prototyping contract in 2023. SBMC aims to create augmented-reality glasses that attach to existing military helmets, providing soldiers with heads-up displays of tactical information. This program is a direct response to the Army's need for next-generation situational awareness tools.
Anduril's Self-Funded EagleEye
In a bold move, Anduril also announced a self-funded, independent project called EagleEye in October 2023. EagleEye goes a step further by designing a completely new helmet and headset combo, rather than retrofitting existing gear. The military did not request this system, but Anduril believes it will prove superior and eventually be adopted. Both projects remain years away from full deployment, with the Army not expected to make a production decision on SBMC until 2028—and only if it proves viable, unlike the previous lead Microsoft's HoloLens, which saw a $22 billion contract canceled due to performance issues.
Technical Capabilities: What the Glasses Can Do
Overlays and AI Recognition
Depending on the situation, the glasses will overlay crucial information onto a soldier's natural field of view. This ranges from simple data like a compass bearing to complex visuals such as full area maps, the location of nearby drones, or AI-identified targets (e.g., a specific truck). The system uses computer vision and machine learning to recognize objects and relay intelligence instantly.
Voice Commands and Large Language Models
Soldiers interact with the interface using plain language. Commands like "evacuate an injured soldier" or "plot a route avoiding hostile zones" are processed by a large language model (LLM). Anduril is currently testing with Google's Gemini, Meta's Llama, and even Anthropic's Claude—despite the latter's conflicts with the Pentagon. The LLM translates natural speech into executable software commands, making the system intuitive and fast.
The Lattice Platform Integration
The engine powering both SBMC and EagleEye is Anduril's proprietary software platform, Lattice. Lattice aggregates data from diverse military hardware—drones, sensors, radars—into a single, unified battlefield picture. In March 2023, the Army announced a $20 billion initiative to integrate Lattice across its entire infrastructure, underscoring its importance. For smart glasses, Lattice will provide the real-time overlays and decision-support logic, enabling soldiers to see and act on information from multiple sources.
Multi-Step Autonomous Operations
Barnett's team is designing the headset to handle complex, multi-step tasks. For example, a soldier could instruct a drone to "surveil the northern sector and return if you spot an artillery unit." The system would then analyze data, recommend courses of action—such as sending another drone to strike—and prompt the soldier to confirm, ensuring normal chain-of-command approval. This blend of automation and human oversight aims to accelerate decision-making while maintaining accountability.
While both projects are still in early prototyping stages, the convergence of AR, AI, and voice control could redefine infantry operations. Anduril and Meta are betting that their smart glasses will give soldiers unprecedented awareness and control, making the human-machine team concept a battlefield reality. Whether the Army moves forward with SBMC, EagleEye, or both, the underlying vision—a cyborg soldier optimized for modern warfare—is already shaping the future of defense technology.