Elon Musk’s SpaceX frontrunner to build Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ missile shield

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has emerged as the frontrunner to win a crucial part of Donald Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence shield, alongside two other Trump-aligned partners, several people familiar with the matter have said.

The billionaire owner of Tesla and Trump ally is partnering with software company Palantir and drone manufacturer Anduril in a build to build key parts of Golden Dome, the six sources said. The lucrative contract has drawn significant interest from the tech sector’s growing base of defence startups.

On 27 January, Trump named a potential missile attack as “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States” whilst delivering his executive order. Based on Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ defence system, his proposed ‘Golden Dome’ would similarly be designed to provide the US with a robust anti-missile system.

Defence company Lockheed Martin describes the project as an “impenetrable shield, safeguarding the American homeland with...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]