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The Trump administration is actively expanding its search for industry partners to support the Golden Dome missile defense program, turning to companies like Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Project Kuiper and traditional defense contractors amid tensions with Elon Musk, whose firm SpaceX (SPACE) has played a central role in the system’s early development, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The administration is moving to reduce reliance on SpaceX (SPACE) following a deterioration in the relationship between Musk and President Trump, which culminated in a public dispute in early June. Even prior to the fallout, Pentagon and White House officials had expressed concerns about overdependence on a single company for key elements of the $175 billion defense initiative.
Golden Dome, often likened to Israel’s Iron Dome but designed as a global, satellite-based defense architecture, will require an extensive constellation of orbiting assets. While SpaceX (SPACE), which has launched more than 9,000 Starlink satellites, remains a key player because of its unmatched launch capabilities, officials are now actively engaging with new entrants, Reuters reported.
Among those is Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Project Kuiper, a planned constellation of 3,000 low-Earth orbit satellites, of which only 78 have launched to date. The Pentagon has approached Kuiper about participating in Golden Dome, signaling an openness to involving commercial tech companies in national defense infrastructure. Amazon (AMZN) Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos acknowledged earlier this year that Kuiper’s technology would have military relevance, though he emphasized the platform’s commercial intent.
The administration is also in contact with established defense firms including Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC) and L3Harris (LHX), as well as emerging rocket startups like Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Stoke Space, which may be invited to bid on individual launches as the project evolves.
Publicly, Musk has downplayed SpaceX’s involvement, writing on X (formerly Twitter) that the company has not tried to bid for any contract related to Golden Dome and prefers to focus on Mars exploration. SpaceX (SPACE) didn’t respond to requests for comment by Reuters.