OAN Staff Blake Wolf
1:47 PM – Thursday, April 17, 2025
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, along with two partners, have emerged as frontrunners to acquire President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system contract — according to multiple reports.
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The project was ordered by President Trump in January, and the defense system’s purpose is to shield the United States from missile attacks by sensing missiles and track their movements across the globe. It is designed to intercept ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles.
In a January 27th executive order (EO), Trump cited a foreign missile attack as “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.” In case of a dire situation, the missile defense system would also launch its own missiles to shoot down enemy projectiles targeting U.S. territories.
The project is expected to cost Musk around $10 billion, according to DailyMail.
SpaceX is working together with software developer Palantir, and defense technology company Anduril for the massive contract. However, the SpaceX coalition is not expected to be involved in the weaponization of the satellites, according to Fox News.
The three companies recently met with Trump administration officials in order to pitch their plan, which includes the construction and launch of 400 to 1,000 satellites around the globe.
The Pentagon also revealed that it plans to deliver “options to the President for his decision in line with the executive order and in alignment with White House guidance and timelines.”
Over 180 different companies have expressed interest to the Pentagon regarding the project. However, SpaceX has a clear advantage, due to its current fleet of satellites and rockets — which could potentially be repurposed for the Golden Dome project.
An anonymous source with knowledge of the discussions spoke with Reuters and described them as “a departure from the usual acquisition process. There’s an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government.”
Additionally, SpaceX reportedly proposed the idea of having the Golden Dome be set up on a “subscription service” model to gain access, rather than having the U.S. federal government pay for the construction of the massive project.
The subscription model could allow for the system to be built and implemented faster, although some Pentagon officials have expressed concern with the subscription-based model — as the government could also “lose control of the development and pricing” with any future changes or updates.
U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein has reportedly been holding ongoing discussions as to whether SpaceX should own and operate the system, as opposed to the federal government, according to Reuters.
“It remains to be seen whether SpaceX and these tech companies will be able to pull any of this off,” an anonymous source familiar with the discussions told Reuters. “They’ve never had to deliver on an entire system that the nation will need to rely on for its defense.”
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