These 18 awards focus on Boost Phase SBI, a weapon that can destroy missiles immediately after they exit the silo. From a physics perspective, this is one of the most difficult things to ask of an interceptor. This is because in order for a weapon to reach its target, atmospheric disturbance and heating due to re-entry must be taken into account. In December, the Space Force issued a follow-up request for a prototype proposal to consider a space-based midcourse interceptor capable of destroying ballistic missiles in space.
The Pentagon has not said how many SBIs will be needed at Golden Dome or what their SBIs will look like. Essentially, an orbiting interceptor is a flying fuel tank with a rocket and a sensor package to hit a target. But the Space Force and potential Golden Dome contractors, including industry giants Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, have not disclosed design specifications for the interceptor or the number of shields needed.
A standard missile Block 3 IIA is launched from the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Facility at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, during a test to intercept an intermediate-range ballistic missile target in space, Dec. 10, 2018.
Credit: Mark Wright/Department of Defense
A standard missile Block 3 IIA is launched from the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Facility at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, during a test to intercept an intermediate-range ballistic missile target in space, Dec. 10, 2018. Credit: Mark Wright/Department of Defense
“You can move your money freely”
Getlin said Pentagon leadership has given him “unprecedented authority” regarding the Golden Dome program. He said Friday that his office has full authority over the technical aspects of the program, as well as Golden Dome’s procurement, contracts, employment, security and budget.
In January of last year, President Trump ordered the military to begin the Golden Dome project by executive order and appointed Getlin to lead it. The Senate confirmed his appointment in a vote last July. After the initial fanfare of Golden Dome’s announcement, which included multiple photo-ops in the Oval Office, military officials fell silent. Getlin cited security concerns over the Pentagon’s silence on one of President Trump’s flagship defense plans.
“I was confirmed on July 18th. On July 19th, I became number one on the enemy’s intelligence collection list,” Getlin said. “On July 20, they started hacking into our defense industrial base, and the Secretary of Defense asked us to be silent. So we’ve been silent. I haven’t talked to the industry consortium. I haven’t talked to the press. I haven’t talked to the think tanks. And it wasn’t until September that I was even allowed to start talking to the Hill.”
