Overview
- Space Systems Command disclosed Friday that it issued 20 flexible prototype agreements worth up to $3.2 billion to 12 companies to build space-based interceptors for the Golden Dome homeland shield.
- The selected mix of primes and startups—including SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Anduril, and others—will compete to field a low‑Earth‑orbit interceptor layer that targets missiles early in flight.
- Space-based interceptors are satellites designed to hit a launch soon after liftoff or during midcourse and glide phases, and the Space Force says it will demonstrate an initial integrated capability in 2028.
- Gen. Michael Guetlein has warned Congress that a boost‑phase kill from orbit may prove too costly to scale, saying the program will not produce what it cannot afford and will rely on other layers if needed.
- Following Thursday’s public showcase at JEB Little Creek–Fort Story—where officials highlighted the Army’s passive ALPS radar—the Pentagon stressed progress while noting that many technical and funding details remain classified, with a $17.5 billion FY2027 request mostly tied to uncertain reconciliation funding and only about $398 million in the base budget.