The US Space Force awarded 12 companies, including Lockheed Martin Corp. and SpaceX, contracts worth up to $3.2 billion to develop prototypes for space-based interceptors under President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome plan.
The companies will be tasked with demonstrating a capability for space-based interceptors by 2028, Space Force said in a press release. The interceptors, which are designed to destroy enemy missiles outside the Earth’s atmosphere, are a key but unproven component of Golden Dome.
Other companies getting awards under the program are Anduril Industries Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and General Dynamics Corp., GITAI USA Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp., Quindar Inc., RTX Corp.’s Raytheon, Sci-Tec Inc., True Anomaly Inc. and Turion Space Corp.
The contracts were awarded under a fast-track procedure known as Other Transactional Authority, which is designed to cut the normal procurement red tape and increase competition.
“Adversary capabilities are advancing rapidly, and our acquisition strategies must move even faster to counter the growing speed and maneuverability of modern missile threats,” Space Force Col. Bryon McClain said in a statement.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the price tag for a network of space-based interceptors could be as high as $542 billion over 20 years.
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The Pentagon’s top Golden Dome official this month signaled he’s a realist on the potential cost of space-based interceptors. “We are so focused on affordability. If we cannot do it affordably, we will not go into production,” Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein told a House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee on April 15.
People familiar with the matter had said earlier that SpaceX would be part of a group of companies developing the operating system underpinning Golden Dome. The company’s involvement underscores the deep ties between Elon Musk’s rocket-and-satellite maker and the US government.