The Department of Defense (DoD) is exploring enlisting new types of industry partners to help the agency undertake the monumental project of building President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense system across the United States.
The President signed an executive order on Jan. 27 calling for development of the new missile defense system. The concept aims to “deploy and maintain a next-generation missile defense shield” to protect against hypersonic weapons and other advanced aerial threats, which the order designates as the “most catastrophic threat facing the United States.”
To move forward with building what could become a massive procurement project for DoD, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Space Force announced plans to host a conference later this month that encourages participation from commercial firms outside the traditional defense industry.
According to a notice on Sam.gov, the conference is set to take place from April 20 to May 2 in Huntsville, Ala. The conference will focus on space-interception concepts and examine methods to destroy missiles during their boost phase.
The military agencies are also soliciting ideas for intercepting missiles in later stages, including post-boost, early midcourse, and midcourse phases, and focusing on both kinetic and non-kinetic systems.
The Golden Dome project remains in its conceptual phase with substantial technological and organizational obstacles to overcome – including the deployment of space-based interceptors.
Private corporations are also preparing to get involved in this major project, with several major contractors already stepping forward to compete for the project.
For instance, last week Booz Allen Hamilton unveiled its “Brilliant Swarms” project, which would consist of up to 2,000 small satellites operating as an interconnected network powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning technology. That concept, according to the company – “fills a critical gap in the Trump Administration’s Golden Dome for America.”
DoD is continuing to develop its plan for what and how the Golden Dome project will look like. As mandated by the executive order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is tasked with delivering a DoD analysis to identify existing programs that align with the system’s requirements and pinpoint any gaps that need further research and development.
That report was due on the president’s desk by March 31.