Golden Dome's Orbital Interceptors: Meet the Contractors Building the Sky Shield

The Space Force disclosed a list of about a dozen contractors (including SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Anduril, Booz Allen, General Dynamics, Quindar, GITAI USA, Sci-Tec, Turion Space, and True Anomaly) tapped under OTA agreements to develop Space-Based Interceptors for Golden Dome. The awards, totaling up to $3.2 billion, fund early-stage demos with the aim of demonstrating initial SBI capability in low Earth orbit by 2028, while integrating lower-altitude and ground-based defenses. Officials emphasize affordability and redundancy; full-scale production would cost far more, and some analysts question timelines and budgets. The 2027 funding request includes a significant Golden Dome package, though political hurdles and secrecy around the system’s architecture complicate projections.