In a dramatic shift, Donald Trump has officially removed Elon Musk’s SpaceX from the $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense initiative and is now pivoting toward Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.

The move comes just weeks after Trump and Musk’s relationship publicly collapsed on June 5. In the wake of that fallout, Pentagon officials had already been uneasy about Musk potentially controlling too much of the nation's military communications infrastructure.

Now, the administration is doing something rare—opening the door to other players, including traditional defense contractors and Amazon’s satellite division, Project Kuiper.


Amazon Takes the Lead as SpaceX Steps Back

Project Kuiper, though still in early stages with only 78 of 3,000 planned satellites launched into low-Earth orbit, has caught the Pentagon’s attention. Jeff Bezos, Executive Chairman of Amazon, told Reuters in January, "There will undoubtedly be defense uses for these [low-orbit] constellations," even though Kuiper was initially marketed as a commercial venture.

Officials say Kuiper is now a strong contender to provide satellite layers for the Golden Dome—an American counterpart to Israel’s Iron Dome, but with global coverage ambitions. Trump’s team wants a competitive ecosystem of suppliers.

"Every launch will go to open bidding. We need to give others a chance to compete," one official told Reuters. This includes newcomers like Rocket Lab and Stoke Space, who are now on equal footing with SpaceX.


Old and New Players Enter the Arena

While startups get the spotlight, legacy contractors aren’t backing down. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris are all in talks to support the program.

L3Harris CFO Kenneth Bedingfield told Reuters the company is seeing increased demand for its missile tracking systems. Northrop’s space division lead Robert Fleming revealed development of a space-based fighter to intercept threats directly in orbit.

Lockheed Martin Space President Robert Lightfoot confirmed the company is “ready to support Golden Dome for America as a proven mission partner.”


Massive Budget Boost from Congress

The project got a huge financial push from Congress. The Space Force’s satellite communications budget jumped from $900 million to $13 billion last year. The first $25 billion was unlocked earlier this year via Trump’s tax and spending bill—reinforcing the private sector’s expanding role in national defense.


Musk Allies Sidelined as Trump Accelerates Timeline

Early front-runners like Palantir and Anduril—firms closely tied to Trump—are also losing ground. The public spat between Trump and Musk shifted the dynamics. Musk has since founded a political group called “The American Party” to oppose Trump-aligned Republicans supporting his spending agenda.

Despite the political fallout, work is moving fast. Gen. Michael Guetlein, confirmed by the Senate on July 17, now leads Golden Dome. Per an order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Guetlein has 30 days to assemble his team, 60 days to present a system prototype, and 120 days to deliver a full plan including satellites and ground infrastructure.


Space Race Escalates Amid Cybersecurity Fears

While SpaceX still leads in launch capabilities, cybersecurity concerns are mounting. If Amazon’s Kuiper is to handle secure defense communications, its satellites must be hardened against interference and digital threats—an area where SpaceX has already proven itself.

In May 2024, Musk said SpaceX was “spending heavily to counter Russian jamming attempts.”

The stakes are global. A functioning orbital missile defense network could pressure adversaries to ramp up their own space militarization efforts. While smaller firms are entering the scene, major players are far from out.

Executives from RTX (formerly Raytheon) said Tuesday they expect the Patriot missile system to play a “significant” role in Golden Dome, especially “if the goal is real impact in the next 2–3 years.”

Golden Dome isn’t just a defense initiative—it’s now a battlefield for America’s most powerful tech titans.


#TRUMP , #ElonMusk , #SpaceX , #CyberSecurity , #USPolitics

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