Overview
- Following Monday’s Senate hearing, senior officials said the U.S. lacks defenses against hypersonic and advanced cruise missiles, framing the urgency for the Golden Dome homeland shield.
- Space Systems Command announced up to $3.2 billion in Other Transaction Authority awards to 12 companies to build space‑based interceptor prototypes targeted for a 2028 demonstration.
- The effort centers on armed satellites in low Earth orbit designed to strike missiles in early flight, a high‑cost approach that independent studies say could be hard to scale.
- Golden Dome director Gen. Michael Guetlein told lawmakers the team will deliver an initial capability by 2028 and will pivot to other technologies if space boost‑phase intercepts prove unaffordable.
- The Pentagon pegs the program near $185 billion and plans to seek about $17.5–$17.9 billion in fiscal 2027, much of it through reconciliation, which has drawn oversight concerns from lawmakers.