The government has awarded contracts worth $1.75 billion to build missile-tracking satellites for the U.S. Space Force as part of President Donald Trump’s vision for a greater national missile defense system.
The contracts, awarded by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) to Sierra Space, a technology company based in Louisville, Colorado, and to L3 Harris Technologies, are for 36 total satellites to track missiles and other threats.
“This contract demonstrates Sierra Space’s capabilities as a formidable player in American national security,” the company’s CEO Dan Jablonsky, said in a news release.
Sierra Space receives $798 million to go towards 18 satellites. The other $955 million will go to L3Harris Technologies to build the other 18 satellites.
“With these awards, SDA is accelerating the deployment of the Tracking Layer to provide the homeland, our deployed forces, and allies with global, persistent indications, detection, identification, warning, tracking, and defense against advanced and evolving missile threats,” Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, the Space Force’s portfolio acquisition executive for missile warning and tracking and director of the Space Development Agency, said in a statement.
‘Golden Dome’ System
The announcement comes as part of Trump’s push for the U.S. to construct its own version of Israel’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system.
In January 2025, the president issued an executive order regarding the “Iron Dome of America,” saying that ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles “remain the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.”
Hypersonic missiles are hard to intercept because they are fast and have unpredictable flight paths, but the new satellites will be designed to track missiles through flight and provide targeting data at low
General Michael A. Guetlein, Director of Golden Dome for America (GDA) speaks during the Golden Dome for America event at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia, April 23. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Joshua D. Sheppard)
During a May 20, 2025, Oval Office press conference, Trump said the dome would cost approximately $75 billion, about $25 million of which was contained in Congress’ reconciliation bill as a down payment.
Trump’s objectives include the deployment of a Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor layer, development and deployment of proliferated space-based interceptors capable of boost-phase intercept, and deployment of underlayer and terminal-phase intercept capabilities postured to defeat a countervalue attack.
Meanwhile, Sierra Space and L3 Harris Technologies have previously been in receipt of defense contracts. In January 2024, Sierra Space won a $740 million contract with the Space Development Agency to deliver 18 tracking satellites.
Including these new satellites, L3 Harris Technologies has been contracted to build 72 satellites for the government.
The new satellites are scheduled to be available for launch by the end of 2028.
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