Story perspectives

Trump’s Dome Push Yields $3.2B Deals, $542B Outlook

4/25/2026

Summary

Story summary

President Donald Trump's Golden Dome plan pushed the Space Force to use OTA agreements for $3.2 billion in interceptor contracts.
The Space Force awarded contracts to 12 firms—including Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and Northrop Grumman—to build prototypes for a 2028 demo.
Gen. Michael Guetlein warned that unaffordable costs could halt production, while Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects the network could cost $542 billion in 20 years and the Pentagon requests $17.5 billion for FY 2027.

History

Historical Context

After the 1950s MIDAS effort gave way to Defense Support Program, the Pentagon launched Space-Based Infrared System in 1994 to replace DSP. It moved to Missile Defense Agency in 2001, was renamed STSS in 2002, and flew two demonstrator satellites that tracked a test interceptor on 6 June 2010. SBIRS’s first GEO satellite entered orbit in 2011, paving the way for today’s Space Force OPIR prototypes.

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Story summary

President Donald Trump's Golden Dome plan pushed the Space Force to use OTA agreements for $3.2 billion in interceptor contracts.
The Space Force awarded contracts to 12 firms—including Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and Northrop Grumman—to build prototypes for a 2028 demo.
Gen. Michael Guetlein warned that unaffordable costs could halt production, while Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects the network could cost $542 billion in 20 years and the Pentagon requests $17.5 billion for FY 2027.

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