- Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ is a missile shield, though exactly what the project will look like is still a mystery.
- Legacy and new defense companies are vying for opportunities within the ‘Golden Dome’ initiative.
- There have been arguments for the project to focus on a range of threats beyond missiles.
President Donald Trump envisions his “Golden Dome for America” as a next-generation missile shield, but defense companies see other opportunities amid the heightened focus on fending off threats to the homeland.
What exactly the project will entail remains to be seen, but industry partners are curious to see if it will include less conventional systems like counter-drone capabilities and electronic warfare. The “Golden Dome” effort is being eyed closely by legacy defense companies and smaller, younger companies alike.
Lockheed Martin, an established player in integrated missile defense, has said that it is “ready to answer the call.” Other big defense companies, like RTX and Northrop Grumman, have also shown their interest in the project. But other defense firms want a piece of the action as well.
BlueHalo, a Virginia-based defense contractor, has said the project, which is already set to be a massive undertaking as the Trump administration effectively revives the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative, will ultimately require “the full might of the Defense Industrial Base to achieve success.”
In an interview with Business Insider, BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker said that a comprehensive Golden Dome could become an all-encompassing threat response with buy-in from all areas of the defense tech and AI industries.
BlueHalo develops cost-effective counter-drone systems, among other defense technologies. The company developed the Palletized High Energy Laser system that uses directed energy and AI to eliminate drones for the Army and is working on a next-generation counter-drone missile that it recently tested.
‘A very wide swath of threat vectors’
Moneymaker said the defense industry will need greater clarity for companies to begin fielding potential “Golden Dome” solutions. Right now, there are still a lot of questions about the scale and how extensive the White House wants this to be.
And those are not the only uncertainties. Agencies like NORTHCOM, Space Command, and the Missile Defense Agency may all have requirements and varying levels of ownership, raising responsibility questions. Leading agencies will also have to hash out how the potential inclusion of electronic warfare and signals intelligence will work on American soil and balance citizens’ privacy rights.
Mark Wright/Missile Defense Agency
Some of these issues are likely being addressed now as the first planning deadline fast approaches. In late January, the White House gave the Pentagon 60 days from the president’s executive order to develop a plan for the new shield.
The executive order for what Trump initially called “Iron Dome for America” was focused on the threat of ballistic, hypersonic, and advanced cruise missiles. But it also mentioned without specificity “other next-generation aerial attacks.”
The White House did not respond to Business Insider’s request for clarity on whether it would want the new project to focus on more than missile threats.
Moneymaker said when it comes to the dangers the US is facing, there are “a lot of varying degrees of technology that are ranging from very unsophisticated threats to very, very sophisticated threats.”
He said potential threats include everything from complex and maneuverable hypersonic missiles to cheap, off-the-shelf drones with munitions taped to them. The Ukraine war has seen the revolutionary employment of drones and loitering munitions. The threats to the nation can range from missiles to cyberattacks to drone swarms.
“That is a very wide swath of threat vectors,” the CEO said.
Former military officials have argued the original focus of the Trump administration’s shield project was too narrowly focused on missiles.
Glen VanHerck, a retired Air Force General who previously served as the head of NORAD, and Pete Fesler, another retired Air Force general and former NORAD official, argued last month in The National Interest that plans for Trump’s “Golden Dome” are stuck in a bygone era focused primarily on legacy systems.
The former military officials called for “a comprehensive and holistic approach to homeland defense — one that addresses the full spectrum of current and future threats.” That approach could include electronic warfare, cyber-resilience, and improved counter-drone capabilities.
“The Pentagon cannot afford to simply buy more of yesterday. Instead, it must dynamically adapt for tomorrow,” they wrote.
Getting to a fully operational Iron Dome within the US will be a heavy lift, one that demands organization and a “whole of government” approach.
“This will be clearly a collaborative effort across a lot of players,” Moneymaker said. “Both government and industry alike.”
