GovCons can’t get enough of Golden Dome, President Trump’s proposed homeland missile defense system. That’s for good reason. Not only has an independent estimate pegged Golden Dome as costing at least $252 billion over a 20 year period, but the Trump Administration has already appropriated $25 billion to start the program.
As such, the industry’s titans and its fastest-rising newcomers are positioning themselves to compete for Golden Dome contracts. Learn the latest Golden Dome business opportunities at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 29! Strike up collaborations with other GovCon leaders and secure that big Golden Dome contract. Get your pressing questions answered by DOD’s top officials. Secure your seat for this elite GovCon conference today!
Let’s dive into the five most essential insights about Golden Dome for GovCons:
1. OBBBA Spending Has Lots of Money For Golden Dome
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law in July provides tens of billions of dollars for components critical to Golden Dome, according to a Congressional Research Report that provides insight into the bill’s spending. As part of this pool of money, there’s:
- $29 billion for shipbuilding
- $24 billion for integrated air and missile defense
- $25 billion for munitions and supply chain resiliency
- $16 billion for scaling low-cost weapons into production
- $9 billion for air superiority
The Space Force will largely depend upon commercial firms, research labs, universities and international partners such as Canada to build Golden Dome. The White House said in a January executive order that Golden Dome must protect against a variety of aerial threats. These include hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, ballistic weapons and next-generation aerial attacks.
2. Golden Dome Deadline Delayed Due to Massive Interest
Industry interest in Golden Dome’s initial business opportunity, the $150 billion Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense, or SHIELD, was more than the Pentagon anticipated. So much so that it delayed the response deadline by a week to Oct. 16, DefenseOne reported.
A solicitation posted in September received over 1,500 questions. SHIELD is a multiple-award, indefinitely delivery/indefinite quantity contract vehicle that will accommodate different award types. SHIELD’s work areas include research and development, prototyping, experimentation, production and fielding, and hardware and software modification.
Dig into the future of defense at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 29! Hear from top DOD officials about their spending priorities for the upcoming year. Check out the latest offerings from leading industry firms including Exiger, Nokia Federal Solutions and Oceus. Secure your seat today and get an edge on your GovCon competition!
3. Lockheed Martin Schedules Space Interceptor Test for Golden Dome
Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor by revenue, is planning a 2028 demonstration for the most challenging portion of Golden Dome: the space-based interceptor. If successful, this would demonstrate performance of Golden Dome’s outer layer and could hasten a sensor-to-shooter framework for boost and midcourse missile defense, Army Recognition has reported.
The goal of the space-based interceptor is to strike adversary missiles in space. Lockheed Martin has ambitious goals for its demonstration. It wants to prove a “hit-to-kill” solution that’s part of a command and control process from sea to space, bolstered by an interoperable fire control apparatus.
The American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, has estimated Golden Dome’s total cost, over a 20-year period, to range from $252 billion to $3.6 trillion.
4. Firefly Aerospace Acquires SciTec With Eye on Golden Dome
One of the fastest-rising space startups in the U.S. recently made a big bet toward securing Golden Dome contracts. Launch developer Firefly Aerospace of Austin, Texas in October acquired software firm SciTec for $855 million to improve its integrated and software-defined offerings for the homeland missile defense system.
SciTec’s foundational capabilities, which include tracking and defense, space domain awareness, missile warning, and autonomous command and control, will bolster Firefly’s lunar, launch and space-based services. SciTec also brings on-board and ground processing in addition to AI-powered systems created for low latency operations to guide threat tracking and response.
Firefly bills itself as the only commercial firm to have launched a satellite to orbit on 24 hours notice. The company counts the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia, as one of its four launch sites.
The Firefly acquisition of SciTec is expected to close by the end of the year. SciTec had revenues of roughly $164 million for the year-long period ending June 30, Firefly said. This revenue figure was supported by contracts from the intelligence community, national security and defense agencies and commercial organizations.
5. New Company to Demonstrate Space-Based Interceptor
Lockheed Martin isn’t the only company developing a space-based interceptor. Apex Space, of Los Angeles, plans to launch its Project Shadow by June, Ars Technica reported.
Once in orbit, Project Shadow’s spacecraft should deploy two interceptors, each of which will shoot a solid rocket motor from a separate supplier. The company’s Orbital Magazine will environmentally control the interceptors, deliver a fire control command and finish an in-space cross link to deliver real-time updates after deployment, according to Apex Space.
The company has invested $15 million into Project Shadow. Apex Space is teaming with other firms on key components for the interceptor and mission analysis. The company bills itself as the world’s first mass developer of productized satellite bus platforms.
Apex Space has a valuation of more than $1 billion having recently ended a Series D funding round, SpaceNews reported.
