Elon Musk’s SpaceX is frontrunner to build Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ missile shield: sources

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and 2 partners person emerged arsenic frontrunners to triumph a important portion of President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” rocket defense shield, six group acquainted pinch nan matter said.

Musk’s rocket and outer institution is partnering pinch package shaper Palantir and drone builder Anduril connected a bid to build cardinal parts of Golden Dome, nan sources said, which has drawn important liking from nan exertion sector’s burgeoning guidelines of defense startups.

In his Jan. 27 executive order, Trump cited a rocket onslaught arsenic “the astir catastrophic threat facing nan United States.”

All 3 companies were founded by entrepreneurs who person been awesome governmental supporters of Trump. Musk has donated much than a 4th of a cardinal dollars to thief elite Trump, and now serves arsenic a typical advisor to nan president, moving to trim authorities spending done his Department of Government Efficiency.

Despite nan Pentagon’s affirmative signals to nan SpaceX group, immoderate sources stressed nan determination process for Trump’s Golden Dome is successful its early stages. Its eventual building and who is selected to activity connected it could alteration dramatically successful nan coming months.

The 3 companies met pinch apical officials successful nan Trump management and nan Pentagon successful caller weeks to transportation their plan, which would build and motorboat 400 to much than 1,000 satellites circling nan globe to consciousness missiles and way their movement, sources said.

A abstracted fleet of 200 onslaught satellites equipped pinch missiles aliases lasers would past bring force missiles down, 3 of nan sources said. The SpaceX group is not expected to beryllium progressive successful nan weaponization of satellites, these sources said.

One of nan sources acquainted pinch nan talks described them arsenic “a departure from nan accustomed acquisition process. There’s an cognition that nan nationalist information and defense organization has to beryllium delicate and deferential to Elon Musk because of his domiciled successful nan government.”

SpaceX and Musk person declined to remark connected whether Musk is progressive successful immoderate of nan discussions aliases negotiations involving national contracts pinch his businesses.

The Pentagon did not respond to elaborate questions from Reuters, only saying it will present “options to nan President for his determination successful statement pinch nan executive bid and successful alignment pinch White House guidance and timelines.”

The White House, SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril besides did not respond to questions. After publication, Musk replied to a station astir Reuters’ communicative connected his societal web X without elaborating: “This is not true.”

Subscription service

In an different twist, SpaceX has projected mounting up its domiciled successful Golden Dome arsenic a “subscription service” successful which nan authorities would salary for entree to nan technology, alternatively than ain nan strategy outright.

The subscription model, which has not been antecedently reported, could skirt immoderate Pentagon procurement protocols, allowing nan strategy to beryllium rolled retired faster, nan 2 sources said. While nan attack would not break immoderate rules, nan authorities whitethorn past beryllium locked into a subscription and suffer power complete its ongoing improvement and pricing, they added.

Some Pentagon officials person expressed concerns internally astir relying connected nan subscription-based exemplary for immoderate portion of nan Golden Dome, 2 sources told Reuters. Such an statement would beryllium different for specified a ample and captious defense program.

US Space Force General Michael Guetlein has been successful talks connected whether SpaceX should beryllium nan proprietor and usability of its portion of nan system, nan 2 sources said. Other options see having nan US ain and run nan system, aliases having nan US ain it while contractors grip operations. Guetlein did not respond to a petition for comment.

Retired Air Force General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, a apical SpaceX advisor to Musk, has been progressive successful nan company’s caller discussions pinch elder defense and intelligence leaders, nan 2 sources said. O’Shaughnessy did not respond to requests for comment.

Should nan group led by SpaceX triumph a Golden Dome contract, it would beryllium nan biggest triumph for Silicon Valley successful nan lucrative defense contracting manufacture and a rustle to nan accepted contractors.

However, those long-standing contractors, specified arsenic Northrop Grumman, Boeing and RTX are expected to beryllium large players successful nan process arsenic well, group acquainted pinch nan companies said. Lockheed Martin put up a webpage arsenic a portion of its trading efforts.

Many bids

The Pentagon has received liking from much than 180 companies keen to thief create and build nan Golden Dome, according to a US official, including defense startups for illustration Epirus, Ursa Major and Armada. Members of nan White House’s National Security Council were briefed by a fistful of companies astir their capabilities, 4 sources said.

The Pentagon’s number two, erstwhile backstage equity investor Steve Feinberg, will beryllium a cardinal decision-maker for Golden Dome, 2 US defense officials said.

Feinberg co-founded Cerberus Capital Management, which has invested successful nan cutting-edge hypersonic missiles manufacture but not successful SpaceX. Feinberg, who did not respond to a petition for comment, has said he would divest of each his interests successful Cerberus erstwhile he joined nan administration.

Some experts judge nan wide costs for Golden Dome could scope hundreds of billions of dollars. The Pentagon established respective timelines for capabilities to beryllium delivered, starting pinch early 2026 to those delivered aft 2030.

Laura Grego, investigation head astatine nan nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists, questioned nan feasibility of specified a defense strategy fixed that aggregate studies person concluded it is simply a “bad idea, costly and vulnerable.”

“Such a strategy could beryllium overwhelmed by launching aggregate weapons astatine nan aforesaid time, pushing nan required size of nan defense to very ample numbers – perchance successful nan tens of thousands of satellites,” Grego said.

SpaceX is pitching for nan portion of nan Golden Dome inaugural called nan “custody layer,” a constellation of satellites that would observe missiles, way their trajectory, and find if they are heading toward nan US, according to 2 sources acquainted pinch SpaceX’s goals.

SpaceX has estimated nan preliminary engineering and creation activity for nan custody furniture of satellites would costs betwixt $6 cardinal and $10 billion, 2 of nan sources said. In nan past 5 years, SpaceX has launched hundreds of operational spy satellites and much precocious respective prototypes, which could beryllium retrofitted to beryllium utilized for nan project, nan sources said.

Reuters reviewed an soul Pentagon memo from Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth issued soon earlier a February 28 deadline to elder Pentagon activity asking them for first Golden Dome proposals and calling for nan “acceleration of nan deployment” of constellations of satellites.

The clip framework could springiness SpaceX an advantage because of its fleet of rockets, including nan Falcon 9, and existing satellites that could beryllium repurposed for nan rocket defense shield, nan group acquainted pinch nan scheme said.

Despite these advantages, immoderate of those acquainted pinch nan discussions said it was uncertain whether nan SpaceX group would beryllium capable to efficiently group up a strategy pinch caller exertion successful a cost-effective measurement that tin protect nan United States from attack.

“It remains to beryllium seen whether SpaceX and these tech companies will beryllium capable to propulsion immoderate of this off,” said 1 of nan sources. “They’ve ne'er had to present connected an full strategy that nan federation will request to trust connected for its defense.”