Overview
- Anduril said it will lead a consortium to prototype space-based interceptors under the Space Force’s Golden Dome, teaming with Impulse Space, Inversion Space, K2 Space, Sandia National Laboratories, and Voyager Technologies.
- The Space Force selected 12 companies under agreements worth up to $3.2 billion to design and test early interceptor capabilities, with firms such as Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, SpaceX, and Lockheed Martin also on contract.
- Space-based interceptors would sit in low Earth orbit and try to hit missiles during boost phase, giving defenders seconds to respond and aiming to blunt hypersonic weapons and mass launches before countermeasures deploy.
- Program leaders call the orbital interceptor layer the highest-risk part of Golden Dome because scaling and cost-per-shot remain unclear, and they point to directed energy and advanced AI as potential lower-cost paths if needed.
- Golden Dome carries cost estimates of roughly $175–$185 billion, sharpening the push for interceptor designs that can be produced and operated at a price that fits a long-term homeland defense plan.