Glossary
Golden Dome for America
A U.S. homeland missile-defense 'system of systems' — layered space-based sensors and interceptors plus ground-based radar and AI battle management — established by executive order in January 2025 and now in active contract-award phase.
Golden Dome for America is a Department of Defense initiative to build a layered, multi-orbit missile-defense architecture protecting the U.S. homeland against ballistic, hypersonic, and advanced cruise-missile threats. It was established by Executive Order 14186 (January 27, 2025) and is run by the DoD's Office of Golden Dome for America, executed through the Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Space Force/Space Development Agency.
Scale and structure
Congress provided an initial $24.4 billion through the FY2025 reconciliation law; the White House has estimated total program cost at $175 billion, though independent estimates (CBO, AEI) run substantially higher. As of mid-2026 the program is in an active contract-award phase: the Missile Defense Agency has approved roughly 2,440 vendors under its SHIELD effort, and in April 2026 the Space Force awarded space-based-interceptor development OTAs to 12 companies.
Companies and contracts tied to the program
SpaceX holds the largest single contract recorded in the index tied to Golden Dome — a $30B missile-defense prime contract — alongside a $4.16B SB-AMTI threat-detection satellite contract. Anduril Industries holds a $5B subcontract awarded the same day. See the Golden Dome program page for the full contract and participant list, or the Space-Based Interceptor Layer program for the specific interceptor-development sub-effort.