The Trump administration has been reticent about publicly discussing the details behind the Golden Dome missile defense scheme, about how it would work, how much it would cost beyond the $175 billion estimate, or what its architecture will be. Golden Dome Director Gen. Michael Guetlein, in a Jan. 23 speech at Space Systems Command’s Industry Days Conference in Los Angeles, said he had two objectives to meet, one this year and the next in 2027. First on the list is to develop an integrated command-and-control system (C2) by this summer. Guetlein described the system as a “glue layer” that will connect all of the tactical C2 capabilities that will contribute to Golden Dome, reported Air & Space Forces Magazine.
In 2027, the program’s focus will shift toward integrating interceptors into that architecture, a task Guetlein hopes to achieve by that summer. It’s not clear how many or what types of interceptors will be part of that initial effort. The Space Force is working with industry to prototype space-based interceptors that can take out enemy missiles in the boost and midcourse phases of flight. In late November, the service awarded contracts to 18 companies for boost-phase interceptor designs.
