Golden Dome software and interceptor ramp‑up
Anduril and Palantir are reported to be developing core software for the U.S. $185B 'Golden Dome' missile shield while Lockheed and BAE signed deals to quadruple THAAD seeker production and scale precision‑strike missile output. The combined push makes software and AI central to the largest U.S. missile‑defense program to date. (prismnews.com) (defensenews.com)
Anduril and Palantir are listed as members of a Golden Dome software consortium that also includes Aalyria Technologies, Scale AI and Swoop Technologies. (usnews.com) The group is reported to be targeting an initial software package ready for testing as soon as summer 2026, according to Wall Street Journal coverage of the program. (magzter.com) Golden Dome’s first‑stage price estimate was raised by roughly $10 billion to about $185 billion on March 17, 2026 to accelerate additional space sensing and data‑transport capabilities, the program director said. (bloomberg.com) Separately, the Pentagon signed a seven‑year framework with BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin to quadruple annual production of THAAD infrared seekers as part of a broader munitions surge. (defensenews.com) BAE describes the THAAD seeker as an infrared sensor package that can acquire ballistic targets traveling at speeds up to about 17,000 miles per hour and supports hit‑to‑kill intercepts. (defensenews.com) BAE’s seeker work under the agreement will be performed at facilities in Nashua, New Hampshire and Endicott, New York, giving a concrete geographic anchor to the production ramp. (defensenews.com) The software consortium mixes commercial AI and space‑networking firms—Scale AI for machine‑learning/data pipelines and Aalyria, a Google spin‑out that closed a $100 million Series B at a $1.3 billion valuation in February 2026—underscoring the program’s reliance on labeled data and high‑throughput space links. (usnews.com)
