I work on AR/VR in the pharma field. It's not super close to downrange applications, but I may be able to handle some questions.
To your concerns, I think they are very valid. Weight, as always, is a primary concern for the infantry. The Hololens2 is not a light system to just wear, let alone with a helmet. Additional issues like battery, signal, and other unforeseens are likely large concerns too.
That said, I think that the ability to quickly and seamlessly integrate all the data that is coming in may have some advantages. Giving warfighters a way to view all the data in real-time is a goal worth spending some money on. The recent Nagorno-Karabakh war has shown that the digital/cyber aspect of war has a likelihood of being a vital factor in future conflicts.
Integrate data for who? I feel the common footsoldier is not the aim here, this is just more metrics for the comms to use and if that.
My scepticism lies in the fact that bulletproof vests, widely used across different countries, was not an invention of the overfunded military-industrial complex, but an ex marine who hacked it together in the back of his garage with a rusty fork.
That's not true. Modern body armor was available in Vietnam [1], and was the result of an ARPA research program. It was expensive and rarely issued though until later, but the technology (boron-carbide plates) is similar to what is used today. You're thinking of Richard Davis, the inventor of the police-issued Kevlar vest. He invented it in the mid 1970s, after getting in a gunfight while working as a pizza delivery driver.
To your concerns, I think they are very valid. Weight, as always, is a primary concern for the infantry. The Hololens2 is not a light system to just wear, let alone with a helmet. Additional issues like battery, signal, and other unforeseens are likely large concerns too.
That said, I think that the ability to quickly and seamlessly integrate all the data that is coming in may have some advantages. Giving warfighters a way to view all the data in real-time is a goal worth spending some money on. The recent Nagorno-Karabakh war has shown that the digital/cyber aspect of war has a likelihood of being a vital factor in future conflicts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Nagorno-Karabakh_conflict