Golden Dome

The sprawling U.S. homeland air and missile defense shield program is searching for ways to lower the cost of interception dramatically to move forward.

Israeli defense technology specialist Rafael should be able to scale its Iron Beam laser air defense technology in the coming years to be able to intercept even ballistic missiles, says Chairman Yuval Steinitz.

Proliferating space constellations could suffer the same fate as the Telstar 1 satellite in 1962.

The Space Development Agency is set to restart deployments of its proliferated satellite constellation.

Global government spending on space suffered an unusual 3% dip in 2025, but is poised to recover in 2026 and continue to grow after, the ESA says.

The Pentagon is creating a new high-level role tasked with overseeing the development of most of the military’s autonomous systems.

Defense tech company True Anomaly says it has successfully demoed on-orbit maneuvering activities.

Florida-based Starfighters Space is seeing an uptick in U.S. defense interest in hypersonic defense testing.

Lockheed Martin is ready to begin production of the future interceptor, with design review and full test expected this year.

Northrop Grumman has enlisted satellite bus manufacturer Apex to support its space-based interceptor contract with the U.S. Space Force.

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a purpose-built production facility for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Next-Generation Interceptor program.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

The stand-up and operation of a notional Golden Dome missile defense architecture would cost about $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years, the Congressional Budget Office says in a new report.

Rocket Lab has already booked more launches in the first three months of 2026 than in all of 2025, company CEO Peter Beck announced in a May 7 earnings call.

Anduril Industries has gathered five industry partners to support its work on the U.S. Space Force’s space-based interceptor program, the company says.

Firefly Aerospace has made progress building and testing the major flight components of the future Eclipse medium-lift launch vehicle, CEO Jason Kim says.

Readers write about space-based interceptors, parallel approaches at San Francisco Airport, and coverage of Artemis II. Plus: Behind the scenes at MRO Americas.

U.S. Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein now refers conditionally to the prospect of fielding a space-based layer of interceptors.

Space technology company True Anomaly has raised $650 million in a recent Series D fundraising round.

The U.S. Space Force has identified the 12 companies currently on contract to develop space-based interceptors ahead of a planned 2028 demonstration.

The Trump administration has unveiled a $1.5 trillion defense spending proposal for fiscal 2027, marking a substantial long-term increase in military funding.

The U.S. Space Force is set to double its R&D funding, with a focus on missile warning satellites, classified programs and advanced space technologies.

The Trump administration wants to fund the U.S. Space Force’s request for a larger budget in fiscal 2027, and then some.

Aviation Week editors discuss the increase in projected Golden Dome costs and what the fiscal 2027 Pentagon budget request may tell us about the umbrella program.

The record-high defense top line is intended to grow aircraft fleets, increase munition buys and bolster missile defenses.