Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two companions have emerged as frontrunners to win an important a part of President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile protection shield, six individuals conversant in the matter stated.
Musk’s rocket and satellite tv for pc firm is partnering with software program maker Palantir and drone builder Anduril on a bid to build key components of Golden Dome, the sources stated, which has drawn vital curiosity from the know-how sector’s burgeoning base of protection startups.
In his January 27 government order, Trump cited a missile assault as “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.” All three corporations have been based by entrepreneurs who’ve been main political supporters of Trump. Musk has donated greater than 1 / 4 of a billion {dollars} to assist elect Trump, and now serves as a particular adviser to the president working to lower authorities spending by means of his Department of Government Efficiency. Despite the Pentagon’s optimistic indicators to the SpaceX group, some sources pressured the choice course of for Trump’s Golden Dome is in its early levels. Its final construction and who is chosen to work on it might change dramatically within the coming months.
The three corporations met with prime officers within the Trump administration and the Pentagon in latest weeks to pitch their plan, which might build and launch 400 to greater than 1,000 satellites circling the globe to sense missiles and observe their motion, sources stated.
A separate fleet of 200 assault satellites armed with missiles or lasers would then deliver enemy missiles down, three of the sources stated. The SpaceX group is not anticipated to be concerned within the weaponization of satellites, these sources stated.
One of the sources conversant in the talks described them as “a departure from the usual acquisition process. There’s an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government.”
SpaceX and Musk have declined to touch upon whether or not Musk is concerned in any of the discussions or negotiations involving federal contracts along with his companies.
The Pentagon didn’t reply to detailed questions from Reuters, solely saying it can ship “options to the President for his decision in line with the executive order and in alignment with White House guidance and timelines.”
The White House, SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril additionally didn’t reply to questions. After publication, Musk replied to a publish about Reuters’ story on his social community X with out elaborating: “This is not true.”
In an uncommon twist, SpaceX has proposed establishing its function in Golden Dome as a “subscription service” during which the federal government would pay for entry to the know-how, moderately than personal the system outright.
The subscription mannequin, which has not been beforehand reported, might skirt some Pentagon procurement protocols permitting the system to be rolled out sooner, the 2 sources stated. While the strategy wouldn’t violate any guidelines, the federal government might then be locked right into a subscription and lose management over its ongoing improvement and pricing, they added.
Some Pentagon officers have expressed issues internally about counting on the subscription-based mannequin for any a part of the Golden Dome, two sources informed Reuters. Such an association could be uncommon for such a big and significant protection program.
U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein has been in talks on whether or not SpaceX must be the proprietor and operator of its a part of the system, the 2 sources stated. Other choices embrace having the U.S. personal and function the system, or having the U.S. personal it whereas contractors deal with operations. Guetlein didn’t reply to a request for remark. Retired Air Force General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, a prime SpaceX advisor to Musk, has been concerned within the firm’s latest discussions with senior protection and intelligence leaders, the 2 sources stated. O’Shaughnessy didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Should the group led by SpaceX win a Golden Dome contract, it could be the largest win for Silicon Valley within the profitable protection contracting trade and a blow to the standard contractors.
However, these long-standing contractors, resembling Northrop Grumman, Boeing and RTX are anticipated to be huge gamers within the course of as properly, individuals conversant in the businesses stated. Lockheed Martin put up a webpage as part of its advertising and marketing efforts.
The Pentagon has obtained curiosity from greater than 180 corporations eager to assist develop and build the Golden Dome, in accordance to a U.S. official, together with protection startups like Epirus, Ursa Major and Armada. Members of the White House’s National Security Council have been briefed by a handful of corporations about their capabilities, 4 sources stated.
The Pentagon’s quantity two, former non-public fairness investor Steve Feinberg, will likely be a key decision-maker for Golden Dome, two U.S. protection officers stated.
Feinberg co-founded Cerberus Capital Management which has invested within the cutting-edge hypersonic missiles trade however not in SpaceX. Feinberg, who didn’t reply to a request for remark, has stated he would divest of all his pursuits in Cerberus when he joined the administration.
Some consultants consider the general value for Golden Dome might attain a whole bunch of billions of {dollars}. The Pentagon established a number of timelines for capabilities to be delivered beginning with early 2026 to these delivered after 2030.
Laura Grego, analysis director on the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists, questioned the feasibility of such a protection system provided that a number of research have concluded it is a “bad idea, expensive and vulnerable.”
“Such a system could be overwhelmed by launching multiple weapons at the same time, pushing the required size of the defense to very large numbers – potentially in the tens of thousands of satellites,” Grego stated. SpaceX is pitching for the a part of the Golden Dome initiative known as the “custody layer,” a constellation of satellites that may detect missiles, observe their trajectory, and decide if they’re heading towards the U.S., in accordance to two sources conversant in SpaceX’s objectives.
SpaceX has estimated the preliminary engineering and design work for the custody layer of satellites would value between $6 billion and $10 billion, two of the sources stated. In the final 5 years, SpaceX has launched a whole bunch of operational spy satellites and extra not too long ago a number of prototypes, which might be retrofitted to be used for the challenge, the sources stated.
Reuters reviewed an inside Pentagon memo from Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth issued shortly earlier than a February 28 deadline to senior Pentagon management asking them for preliminary Golden Dome proposals and calling for the “acceleration of the deployment” of constellations of satellites.
The time-frame might give SpaceX a bonus due to its fleet of rockets, together with the Falcon 9, and current satellites that might be repurposed for the missile protection shield, the individuals conversant in the plan stated.
Despite these benefits, a few of these conversant in the discussions stated it was unsure whether or not the SpaceX group would give you the option to effectively arrange a system with new know-how in a cheap means that may shield the United States from assault.
“It remains to be seen whether SpaceX and these tech companies will be able to pull any of this off,” stated one of many sources. “They’ve never had to deliver on an entire system that the nation will need to rely on for its defense.”
Separately, some Democrats in Congress expressed concern about Musk’s bidding on federal contracts whereas serving within the White House.
“When the richest man in the world can become a Special Government Employee and exert influence over the flow of billions of dollars of taxpayer money in government contracts to his companies, that’s a serious problem,” stated U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Armed Services Committee.
Shaheen has launched new laws that may forestall federal contracts from being issued to corporations owned by any particular authorities worker like Musk.
U.S. Rep. Donald Beyer, D-Va, informed Reuters he was additionally involved about SpaceX’s function given Musk’s unprecedented “inside access to non-public information and data.”
“Any contracts awarded to him, or his companies, are suspicious,” he stated.
Published – April 18, 2025 10:31 am IST
