Unlike existing ground-based systems, the Space-Based Interceptor (SBI) program deploys weapons in orbit, enabling the US military to engage and destroy threats earlier in their flight path, intercepting missiles sooner after launch.
Anduril said its consortium includes Impulse Space, Inversion Space, K2 Space, Sandia National Laboratories, and Voyager Technologies, bringing together commercial space startups and established research institutions to deliver what the company described as "affordable, scalable" interceptor solutions. The Department of Defense's Space Force has awarded 12 companies contracts to develop space-based missile defence interceptor systems worth up to a combined $3.2 billion. Other recipients include Northrop Grumman, RTX's Raytheon, SpaceX, and Lockheed Martin, among others.
The US's "near-peer adversaries have invested in exotic, highly manoeuvrable vehicles, introducing considerable challenges to protecting the US homeland," Gokul Subramanian, Anduril's senior vice president of engineering, said in a statement.
The goal is to demonstrate an integrated interceptor capability within the Golden Dome architecture by around 2028, adding an orbital layer to U.S. homeland defence.
Golden Dome, expected to cost $185 billion, plans to expand ground-based defences such as interceptor missiles, sensors and command-and-control systems while adding space-based elements to detect, track and potentially counter incoming threats from orbit.
Golden Dome's director, Space Force General Michael Guetlein, has previously identified the SBI program as the initiative's highest-risk element, citing scalability and affordability as the central challenges. He has said directed energy weapons and next-generation artificial intelligence represent the most promising technologies for driving down cost-per-kill.