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EXCLUSIVE-Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX

EXCLUSIVE-Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceXAdds RTX executive comment from earnings call in 27th paragraphThe Pentagon is looking beyond SpaceX for Golden Dome, sources...

EXCLUSIVE-Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX

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Even before the spat, officials at the Pentagon and White House had begun exploring alternatives to SpaceX, wary of over-reliance on a single partner for huge portions of the ambitious, $175 billion space-based defense shield, two of the sources said.Musk and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. After Reuters reported initially that SpaceX was a frontrunner to build parts of Golden Dome, Musk said on X that the company had \"not tried to bid for any contract in this regard. Our strong preference would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars.\"Due to its size, track record of launching more than 9,000 of its own Starlink satellites, and experience in government procurement, SpaceX still has the inside track to assist with major portions of the Golden Dome, especially launch contracts, sources say.Project Kuiper, which has launched just 78 of a planned constellation of 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites, has been approached by the Pentagon to join the effort, signaling the administration's openness to integrating commercial tech firms into national defense infrastructure and going beyond traditional defense players.Jeff Bezos, Amazon's executive chairman, told Reuters in January that Kuiper would be \"primarily commercial,\" but acknowledged \"there will be defense uses for these [low-earth orbit] constellations, no doubt.\"A spokesperson for Project Kuiper declined to comment for this story. The Pentagon declined to comment. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Golden Dome's ambitions mirror those of Israel's Iron Dome - a homeland missile defense shield - but a larger, more complex layered defense system requires a vast network of orbiting satellites covering more territory.In the search for more vendors for the satellite layers of Golden Dome, \"Kuiper is a big one,\" a U.S. official said.While SpaceX remains a frontrunner due to its unmatched launch capabilities, its share of the program could shrink, two of the people said. Officials have reached out to new entrants like rocket companies Stoke Space and <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/RKLB\">Rocket Lab</a> RKLB.O are gaining traction and will be able to bid on individual launches as the program matures, according to the U.S. official.Later in the development of Golden Dome \"each individual launch is going to get bid, and we have to actually give bids to other people,\" besides SpaceX, the official said. NEED FOR SATELLITESThere is an urgent need for more satellite production. Last year Congress gave Space Force a $13 billion mandate - up from $900 million - to buy satellite-based communication services in what was widely seen as one of many efforts to stimulate private sector satellite production.Amazon's Project Kuiper, a $10 billion initiative led by former Starlink managers dismissed by Musk for slow progress, Reuters has reported, has lagged behind SpaceX in deployment. But its potential defense applications - such as communications that could aid missile tracking - have drawn renewed interest as the administration prepares to allocate the first $25 billion tranche of funding authorized under Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.Traditional defense giants Northrop Grumman NOC.N, <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/LMT\">Lockheed</a> Martin LMT.N, and L3Harris LHX.N are also in talks to support Golden Dome. L3Harris CFO Kenneth Bedingfield told Reuters in an interview the company has seen a surge in interest in its missile warning and tracking technologies, which are expected to play a key role in the system.Northrop, meanwhile, is pursuing several efforts including a space-based interceptor, a component that would enable missile strikes from orbit, Robert Fleming, the head of the company's space business, told Reuters in an interview.\"Lockheed Martin is ready to support Golden Dome for America as a proven mission partner,\" Robert Lightfoot, president of Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement.Golden Dome's initial outreach this spring invited smaller, newer Silicon Valley firms seen as nimbler, more sophisticated and potentially less expensive alternatives to the big defense firms to the table - but that was before the Musk-Trump feud upended that calculus.Several with close ties to Trump aside from SpaceX, including <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/PLTR\">Palantir</a> PLTR.O and Anduril - were considered early frontrunners to win big pieces of the $175 billion project. But the Musk-Trump feud has reshaped the competitive landscape. Musk recently launched the \"America Party,\" a tech-centric, centrist political movement aimed at defeating Republicans who backed Trump's tax-and-spend agenda. RAPID TIMEFRAMETrump launched the Golden Dome initiative just a week into his second term, pushing for rapid deployment. Space Force General Michael Guetlein, confirmed by the Senate on July 17, is set to lead the program with sweeping authority.Under a previously unreported directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Guetlein has 30 days from confirmation to build a team, 60 days to deliver an initial system design, and 120 days to present a full implementation plan, including satellite and ground station details, two people briefed on the memo said.The inclusion of commercial platforms like Kuiper raises security concerns. Its satellites would need to be hardened against cyberattacks and electronic warfare, a challenge that has plagued even SpaceX's Starlink network. In May 2024, Elon Musk said SpaceX was spending \"significant resources combating Russian jamming efforts. This is a tough problem.\"Beyond the technical and political challenges, Golden Dome could reshape global security dynamics. A fully operational space-based missile shield may prompt adversaries to develop new offensive capabilities or accelerate the militarization of space.Still, established defense players like Lockheed and RTX, formerly Raytheon, will likely be at the front of the line for contracts. Executives at RTX, maker of the Patriot missile defense system, said on Tuesday they believe the system is going to be integral to Golden Dome \"especially if you want to make a significant impact over the next 2 to 3 years.\"(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington, additional reporting by Joey Roulette; editing by Chris Sanders and Michael Learmonth)((mike.stone1@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/MichaelStone;))</body></html>","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>EXCLUSIVE-Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nEXCLUSIVE-Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n<a class=\"head\" href=\"https://laohu8.com/wemedia/1032215980\">\n\n\n<div class=\"h-thumb\" style=\"background-image:url(https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/4567337cbdf294b657b1fa87c5488b48);background-size:cover;\"></div>\n\n<div class=\"h-content\">\nReuters \n2025-07-22 21:59\n</div>\n\n</a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<html xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml\"><head><title>EXCLUSIVE-Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX</title></head><body>Adds RTX executive comment from earnings call in 27th paragraph<div>The Pentagon is looking beyond SpaceX for Golden Dome, sources sayThe White House is wary of over-reliance on Musk, who is feuding with TrumpAmong new entrants are Jeff Bezos' Kuiper, and other startups</div>By Mike Stone\nWASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, courting <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AMZN\">Amazon</a>.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contractors as tensions with Elon Musk threaten SpaceX's dominance in the program, according to three sources familiar with the matter.The shift marks a strategic pivot away from reliance on Musk's SpaceX, whose Starlink and Starshield satellite networks have become central to U.S. military communications.It comes amid a deteriorating relationship between Trump and Musk, which culminated in a public falling-out on June 5. Even before the spat, officials at the Pentagon and White House had begun exploring alternatives to SpaceX, wary of over-reliance on a single partner for huge portions of the ambitious, $175 billion space-based defense shield, two of the sources said.Musk and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. After Reuters reported initially that SpaceX was a frontrunner to build parts of Golden Dome, Musk said on X that the company had \"not tried to bid for any contract in this regard. Our strong preference would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars.\"Due to its size, track record of launching more than 9,000 of its own Starlink satellites, and experience in government procurement, SpaceX still has the inside track to assist with major portions of the Golden Dome, especially launch contracts, sources say.Project Kuiper, which has launched just 78 of a planned constellation of 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites, has been approached by the Pentagon to join the effort, signaling the administration's openness to integrating commercial tech firms into national defense infrastructure and going beyond traditional defense players.Jeff Bezos, Amazon's executive chairman, told Reuters in January that Kuiper would be \"primarily commercial,\" but acknowledged \"there will be defense uses for these [low-earth orbit] constellations, no doubt.\"A spokesperson for Project Kuiper declined to comment for this story. The Pentagon declined to comment. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Golden Dome's ambitions mirror those of Israel's Iron Dome - a homeland missile defense shield - but a larger, more complex layered defense system requires a vast network of orbiting satellites covering more territory.In the search for more vendors for the satellite layers of Golden Dome, \"Kuiper is a big one,\" a U.S. official said.While SpaceX remains a frontrunner due to its unmatched launch capabilities, its share of the program could shrink, two of the people said. Officials have reached out to new entrants like rocket companies Stoke Space and <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/RKLB\">Rocket Lab</a> RKLB.O are gaining traction and will be able to bid on individual launches as the program matures, according to the U.S. official.Later in the development of Golden Dome \"each individual launch is going to get bid, and we have to actually give bids to other people,\" besides SpaceX, the official said. NEED FOR SATELLITESThere is an urgent need for more satellite production. Last year Congress gave Space Force a $13 billion mandate - up from $900 million - to buy satellite-based communication services in what was widely seen as one of many efforts to stimulate private sector satellite production.Amazon's Project Kuiper, a $10 billion initiative led by former Starlink managers dismissed by Musk for slow progress, Reuters has reported, has lagged behind SpaceX in deployment. But its potential defense applications - such as communications that could aid missile tracking - have drawn renewed interest as the administration prepares to allocate the first $25 billion tranche of funding authorized under Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.Traditional defense giants Northrop Grumman NOC.N, <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/LMT\">Lockheed</a> Martin LMT.N, and L3Harris LHX.N are also in talks to support Golden Dome. L3Harris CFO Kenneth Bedingfield told Reuters in an interview the company has seen a surge in interest in its missile warning and tracking technologies, which are expected to play a key role in the system.Northrop, meanwhile, is pursuing several efforts including a space-based interceptor, a component that would enable missile strikes from orbit, Robert Fleming, the head of the company's space business, told Reuters in an interview.\"Lockheed Martin is ready to support Golden Dome for America as a proven mission partner,\" Robert Lightfoot, president of Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement.Golden Dome's initial outreach this spring invited smaller, newer Silicon Valley firms seen as nimbler, more sophisticated and potentially less expensive alternatives to the big defense firms to the table - but that was before the Musk-Trump feud upended that calculus.Several with close ties to Trump aside from SpaceX, including <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/PLTR\">Palantir</a> PLTR.O and Anduril - were considered early frontrunners to win big pieces of the $175 billion project. But the Musk-Trump feud has reshaped the competitive landscape. Musk recently launched the \"America Party,\" a tech-centric, centrist political movement aimed at defeating Republicans who backed Trump's tax-and-spend agenda. RAPID TIMEFRAMETrump launched the Golden Dome initiative just a week into his second term, pushing for rapid deployment. Space Force General Michael Guetlein, confirmed by the Senate on July 17, is set to lead the program with sweeping authority.Under a previously unreported directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Guetlein has 30 days from confirmation to build a team, 60 days to deliver an initial system design, and 120 days to present a full implementation plan, including satellite and ground station details, two people briefed on the memo said.The inclusion of commercial platforms like Kuiper raises security concerns. Its satellites would need to be hardened against cyberattacks and electronic warfare, a challenge that has plagued even SpaceX's Starlink network. In May 2024, Elon Musk said SpaceX was spending \"significant resources combating Russian jamming efforts. This is a tough problem.\"Beyond the technical and political challenges, Golden Dome could reshape global security dynamics. A fully operational space-based missile shield may prompt adversaries to develop new offensive capabilities or accelerate the militarization of space.Still, established defense players like Lockheed and RTX, formerly Raytheon, will likely be at the front of the line for contracts. Executives at RTX, maker of the Patriot missile defense system, said on Tuesday they believe the system is going to be integral to Golden Dome \"especially if you want to make a significant impact over the next 2 to 3 years.\"(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington, additional reporting by Joey Roulette; editing by Chris Sanders and Michael Learmonth)((mike.stone1@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/MichaelStone;))</body></html>\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{"LU0310799852.SGD":"FTIF - Templeton Global Equity Income A MDIS SGD","LU0320765646.SGD":"FTIF - Franklin Income A MDIS SGD-H1","LU1429558221.USD":"Natixis Loomis Sayles US Growth Equity RA USD","IE0004091025.USD":"BNY MELLON GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES \"B\" (USD) ACC","LU0353189763.USD":"ALLSPRING US ALL CAP GROWTH FUND \"I\" (USD) ACC","LU0149725797.USD":"汇丰美国股市经济规模基金","USAW.SI":"AMZN 3xLongSG261006","LU2237957811.SGD":"NIKKO AM GLOBAL EQUITY \"F\" (SGD) ACC","LMT":"洛克希德马丁","RKLB":"Rocket Lab USA, Inc.","LU0314104364.USD":"MANULIFE GF AMERICAN GROWTH \"AA\" (USD) INC","LU2552382132.HKD":"WELLINGTON US BRAND POWER \"A\" (HKD) ACC","LU0056508442.USD":"贝莱德世界科技基金A2","LU0957791311.USD":"THREADNEEDLE (LUX) GLOBAL FOCUS \"ZU\" (USD) ACC","AMZN":"亚马逊","LU0289941410.SGD":"AB FCP I Dynamic Diversified AX SGD","LU0823421333.USD":"BNP PARIBAS DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY \"C\" (USD) ACC","LU0211328371.USD":"TEMPLETON GLOBAL EQUITY INCOME \"A\" (MDIS) (USD) INC","LU0130102774.USD":"Natixis Harris Associates US Equity RA USD","IE00BQXX3D17.EUR":"GUINNESS GLOBAL INNOVATORS \"C\" (EUR) ACC","LU2265009873.SGD":"Eastspring Investments - Global Growth Equity AS SGD-H","NOC":"诺斯罗普格鲁曼","LU0162691827.USD":"BGF US BASIC VALUE \"A4\" INC","LU0061475181.USD":"THREADNEEDLE (LUX) AMERICAN \"AU\" (USD) ACC","LU0308772762.SGD":"Blackrock Global Allocation A2 SGD-H","BK4507":"流媒体概念","LU0096364046.USD":"CT (LUX) I AMERICAN \"DU\" (USD) ACC","LU1935042488.USD":"MANULIFE GF GLOBAL MULTI-ASSET DIVERSIFIED INCOME \"AA\" (USD) INC","SG9999014914.USD":"UNITED GLOBAL QUALITY GROWTH (USDHDG) INC","LU2362540622.SGD":"WELLINGTON NEXT GENERATION GLOBAL EQUITY \"A\" (SGDHDG) ACC","IE00BQXX3F31.USD":"GUINNESS GLOBAL INNOVATORS \"C\" (USD) ACC","LU2125154935.USD":"ALLSPRING (LUX) WF GLOBAL EQUITY ENHANCED INCOME \"I\" (USD) INC","LU1633808545.USD":"ALLIANZ GLOBAL EQUITY GROWTH \"AT\" (USD) ACC","RKT":"Rocket Companies","LU2237438978.USD":"Amundi Funds US Pioneer A2 (C) USD","RTX":"雷神技术公司","BA":"波音","LHX":"L3Harris Technologies Inc","BK4524":"宅经济概念","LU0302445910.USD":"SCHRODER ISF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE EQUITY \"A\" ACC","BK4564":"太空概念","LU2362541273.HKD":"WELLINGTON NEXT GENERATION GLOBAL EQUITY \"A\" (HKD) ACC","LU2236285917.USD":"ALLIANZ GLOBAL INCOME \"AMG\" (USD) INC","LU0310800379.SGD":"FTIF - Templeton Global A Acc SGD","LU0203201768.USD":"AB SICAV I - ALL MARKET INCOME PORTFOLIO \"AX\" (USD) INC","PLTR":"Palantir Technologies Inc.","LU0353189680.USD":"富国美国全盘成长基金Cl A Acc","LU2764262908.HKD":"BGF GLOBAL UNCONSTRAINED EQUITY \"A2\" (HKD) ACC","LU1674673691.USD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL LOWER CARBON EQUITY \"AD\" (USD) INC","BK4503":"景林资产持仓","LU1674673428.USD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL LOWER CARBON EQUITY \"AC\" (USD) ACC"},"source_url":"https://api.refinitiv.com/data/news/v1/stories/urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250722:nL1N3TJ0H7:1","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"2553259097","content_text":"EXCLUSIVE-Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceXAdds RTX executive comment from earnings call in 27th paragraphThe Pentagon is looking beyond SpaceX for Golden Dome, sources sayThe White House is wary of over-reliance on Musk, who is feuding with TrumpAmong new entrants are Jeff Bezos' Kuiper, and other startupsBy Mike Stone\nWASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, courting Amazon.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contractors as tensions with Elon Musk threaten SpaceX's dominance in the program, according to three sources familiar with the matter.The shift marks a strategic pivot away from reliance on Musk's SpaceX, whose Starlink and Starshield satellite networks have become central to U.S. military communications.It comes amid a deteriorating relationship between Trump and Musk, which culminated in a public falling-out on June 5. Even before the spat, officials at the Pentagon and White House had begun exploring alternatives to SpaceX, wary of over-reliance on a single partner for huge portions of the ambitious, $175 billion space-based defense shield, two of the sources said.Musk and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. After Reuters reported initially that SpaceX was a frontrunner to build parts of Golden Dome, Musk said on X that the company had \"not tried to bid for any contract in this regard. Our strong preference would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars.\"Due to its size, track record of launching more than 9,000 of its own Starlink satellites, and experience in government procurement, SpaceX still has the inside track to assist with major portions of the Golden Dome, especially launch contracts, sources say.Project Kuiper, which has launched just 78 of a planned constellation of 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites, has been approached by the Pentagon to join the effort, signaling the administration's openness to integrating commercial tech firms into national defense infrastructure and going beyond traditional defense players.Jeff Bezos, Amazon's executive chairman, told Reuters in January that Kuiper would be \"primarily commercial,\" but acknowledged \"there will be defense uses for these [low-earth orbit] constellations, no doubt.\"A spokesperson for Project Kuiper declined to comment for this story. The Pentagon declined to comment. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Golden Dome's ambitions mirror those of Israel's Iron Dome - a homeland missile defense shield - but a larger, more complex layered defense system requires a vast network of orbiting satellites covering more territory.In the search for more vendors for the satellite layers of Golden Dome, \"Kuiper is a big one,\" a U.S. official said.While SpaceX remains a frontrunner due to its unmatched launch capabilities, its share of the program could shrink, two of the people said. Officials have reached out to new entrants like rocket companies Stoke Space and Rocket Lab RKLB.O are gaining traction and will be able to bid on individual launches as the program matures, according to the U.S. official.Later in the development of Golden Dome \"each individual launch is going to get bid, and we have to actually give bids to other people,\" besides SpaceX, the official said. NEED FOR SATELLITESThere is an urgent need for more satellite production. Last year Congress gave Space Force a $13 billion mandate - up from $900 million - to buy satellite-based communication services in what was widely seen as one of many efforts to stimulate private sector satellite production.Amazon's Project Kuiper, a $10 billion initiative led by former Starlink managers dismissed by Musk for slow progress, Reuters has reported, has lagged behind SpaceX in deployment. But its potential defense applications - such as communications that could aid missile tracking - have drawn renewed interest as the administration prepares to allocate the first $25 billion tranche of funding authorized under Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.Traditional defense giants Northrop Grumman NOC.N, Lockheed Martin LMT.N, and L3Harris LHX.N are also in talks to support Golden Dome. L3Harris CFO Kenneth Bedingfield told Reuters in an interview the company has seen a surge in interest in its missile warning and tracking technologies, which are expected to play a key role in the system.Northrop, meanwhile, is pursuing several efforts including a space-based interceptor, a component that would enable missile strikes from orbit, Robert Fleming, the head of the company's space business, told Reuters in an interview.\"Lockheed Martin is ready to support Golden Dome for America as a proven mission partner,\" Robert Lightfoot, president of Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement.Golden Dome's initial outreach this spring invited smaller, newer Silicon Valley firms seen as nimbler, more sophisticated and potentially less expensive alternatives to the big defense firms to the table - but that was before the Musk-Trump feud upended that calculus.Several with close ties to Trump aside from SpaceX, including Palantir PLTR.O and Anduril - were considered early frontrunners to win big pieces of the $175 billion project. But the Musk-Trump feud has reshaped the competitive landscape. Musk recently launched the \"America Party,\" a tech-centric, centrist political movement aimed at defeating Republicans who backed Trump's tax-and-spend agenda. RAPID TIMEFRAMETrump launched the Golden Dome initiative just a week into his second term, pushing for rapid deployment. Space Force General Michael Guetlein, confirmed by the Senate on July 17, is set to lead the program with sweeping authority.Under a previously unreported directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Guetlein has 30 days from confirmation to build a team, 60 days to deliver an initial system design, and 120 days to present a full implementation plan, including satellite and ground station details, two people briefed on the memo said.The inclusion of commercial platforms like Kuiper raises security concerns. Its satellites would need to be hardened against cyberattacks and electronic warfare, a challenge that has plagued even SpaceX's Starlink network. In May 2024, Elon Musk said SpaceX was spending \"significant resources combating Russian jamming efforts. This is a tough problem.\"Beyond the technical and political challenges, Golden Dome could reshape global security dynamics. A fully operational space-based missile shield may prompt adversaries to develop new offensive capabilities or accelerate the militarization of space.Still, established defense players like Lockheed and RTX, formerly Raytheon, will likely be at the front of the line for contracts. Executives at RTX, maker of the Patriot missile defense system, said on Tuesday they believe the system is going to be integral to Golden Dome \"especially if you want to make a significant impact over the next 2 to 3 years.\"(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington, additional reporting by Joey Roulette; editing by Chris Sanders and Michael Learmonth)((mike.stone1@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/MichaelStone;))","news_type":1,"symbols_score_info":{"USAW.SI":0.6,"AMZN":0.9,"LMT":0.9,"RKT":1,"NOC":0.9,"LHX":0.9,"BA":0.9,"RKLB":0.9,"PLTR":0.9,"RTX":0.9}},"isVote":1,"tweetType":1,"viewCount":698,"commentLimit":10,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"symbols":[],"verified":2,"subType":0,"readableState":1,"langContent":"EN","currentLanguage":"EN","warmUpFlag":false,"orderFlag":false,"shareable":true,"causeOfNotShareable":"","featuresForAnalytics":[],"commentAndTweetFlag":false,"andRepostAutoSelectedFlag":false,"upFlag":false,"length":30,"optionInvolvedFlag":false,"xxTargetLangEnum":"ORIG"},"commentList":[],"hasMoreComment":false,"orderType":2}