Anduril teams with Meta to create world's best XR systems for the United States military

After being unceremoniously turfed from Facebook in 2017 after being "outed" as a supporter of President Trump, Oculus VR creator Palmer Luckey has returned to Meta in a different way: partnering with the company to make the best XR headsets for the US military.

The big new deal was funded through private capital, without the use of any US taxpayer funds, and has been designed to save the US military billions of dollars by using high-performance components and technology that were originally created for commercial use.

Anduril explained on its website: "This partnership comes at a pivotal moment in the evolution of national defense. America's national security has benefited from U.S. technological leadership at every phase of the computing revolution, from the first microchips and PCs to today's internet and mobile devices. As a new era of computing takes shape-built atop AI and body-worn devices-Meta and Anduril are committed to maintaining America's technological edge while reinforcing our economic and national security".

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey posted on his X account saying: "We have been working together on a variety of things for a while now, but the first one to go public will be EagleEye, the system I hope will go on to become the next Soldier Borne Mission Command for the Army".

He added: "It is pretty cool to have everything at our fingertips for this joint effort - everything I made before Meta acquired Oculus, everything we made together, and everything we did on our own after I was fired. It's time to finish the fight".

Anduril and Meta's new partnership will see the two companies designing, building, and fielding a range of integrated XR (AR + VR) products that provide warfighters with "enhanced perception" and enabling control of autonomous platforms on the battlefield. The companies have over 10+ years of experience between them in advanced hardware, software, and AI.

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Meta, said: "Meta has spent the last decade building AI and AR to enable the computing platform of the future. We're proud to partner with Anduril to help bring these technologies to the American servicemembers that protect our interests at home and abroad".

Palmer Luckey, Founder of Anduril, said: "I am glad to be working with Meta once again. Of all the areas where dual-use technology can make a difference for America, this is the one I am most excited about. My mission has long been to turn warfighters into technomancers, and the products we are building with Meta do just that".