The US Space Force on Friday announced a list of dozens of companies working on space-based interceptors for the Pentagon’s Gold Dome initiative, a multi-layered defense system to protect US territory from drone, ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missile attacks.
list Golden Dome Some previously reported Space-Based Intercept (SBI) contractors include Anduril Industries, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics Mission Systems, GITAI USA, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Quindar, Raytheon, Sci-Tec, SpaceX, True Anomaly, and Turion Space.
The Space Force made 20 individual awards to 12 companies in late 2025 and early 2026 using an acquisition mechanism known as Other Transaction Authority, or OTA, contracts. OTAs allow the Pentagon to bypass federal procurement rules and cast a wide net to attract a larger number of potential contractors, and are particularly useful for rapid prototyping. That’s exactly what the Space Force wants to see with the first phase of the SBI program.
The contracts have a total value of up to $3.2 billion and will use a mix of public and private investment to bring the SBIs closer to testing in low Earth orbit.
Officials did not release details of each company’s contribution, but contractors come to the SBI program with different skill sets. The contracts are for early-stage development and technology demonstrations, not for future full-scale production with a significantly higher price tag.
“Due to operational security requirements related to the SBI program, no additional information will be available at this time,” the Space Force said in a statement.
Regular players
Some of the companies on the list are well-known in the space industry, such as SpaceX, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. They appear to be in a position to be lead or prime contractors. Others, e.g On the sensor and A real anomalyare full-stack developers that are newer to the space industry but have high ambitions in the national security market. Quindar and SciTec, a subsidiary of Firefly Aerospace, have software expertise. Turion develops space sensing technology and GITAI USA started as a space robotics company.
