Trump supports "Golden Dome:" New era in missile defense
Donald Trump wants the United States to be protected from missile attacks. This defense initiative is to be ensured by the Golden Dome, a new generation anti-missile system. Among its potential contractors is SpaceX, with Elon Musk reportedly proposing, according to Reuters, an anti-missile defense offered as a service in a subscription model.
A key to the country's security is a defensive system offered by a private company as a service—this is how the operation of the Golden Dome, as reported by Reuters, can be summarized. (Musk, on platform X, denied this information.)
The Golden Dome is an innovative anti-missile system, which, by deploying some of its components in orbit, aims to effectively protect the United States from a missile attack. The threat posed by intercontinental ballistic missiles was highlighted by Donald Trump in January 2025 as "the most catastrophic" for the USA.
To counteract this threat, the United States plans to build a global anti-missile system. Although its name references Israel’s Iron Dome, its operating principle is reminiscent of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) from Reagan’s era, often nicknamed "Star Wars."
The sensors of the Golden Dome are designed to form hundreds of satellites deployed in orbit. Their purpose is to detect missile launches, track the trajectory of these missiles, and assess the threats they pose.
If it is determined that missiles threaten the United States, the second component of the Golden Dome will be activated: orbited weapons, potentially including combat lasers, capable of destroying detected missiles in flight.
Subscription-based missile defense
The scale of the project and its potential cost—estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars—mean that alongside large defense corporations, other companies and startups are also competing to build the Golden Dome. These include SpaceX, as well as Palantir, a company specializing in data gathering, and Anduril, a startup specializing in innovative military drones.
In this context, Elon Musk reportedly proposed, according to Reuters, a subscription model for the operation of the space missile shield. The government would not have to bear the initial cost of building space infrastructure, and because it would be a private initiative, the procedures would be simplified, potentially reducing the construction time of the defense system. In return, the Pentagon would pay the contractors a subscription fee.
