US Army to advance ultra-high speed missile tracking with new system

The U.S. Army has awarded AeroVironment (AV) a $97 million contract under the GENESIS program to develop an advanced virtual missile defense testing system at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. This system will serve as a highly realistic missile-testing simulator, enabling the Army to test sensors and guidance systems without firing actual missiles. Using Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) technology, real missile components such as seekers will be mounted on robotic platforms that simulate real mission maneuvers while projecting multi-spectral infrared and visible images of targets. This approach allows engineers to evaluate target acquisition, tracking, and sensor performance in a controlled, repeatable environment, significantly reducing the complexity and cost of live testing. GENESIS’s core innovation lies in its ability to project scenes across multiple electromagnetic wavelengths simultaneously, including visible light, near-infrared, and thermal infrared, with ultra-high frame rates necessary to simulate the rapid movement of missiles accurately. Additionally, the system will include a cryogenic space chamber to replicate