L3Harris wins US contract to bolster missile tracking in space part of Trump’s Golden Dome

The Space Development Agency has awarded L3Harris Technologies a nearly $1 billion contract to build satellites that would bolster a missile tracking layer above Earth, a key element of President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome defense shield.

The $843 million contract for 18 satellites is in addition to two previous orders for 34 of the systems that began as an experimental capability developed for the Missile Defense Agency just a few years ago.

L3Harris was first selected to build a set of four satellites as part of the Missile Defense Agency’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor program. The company launched the first set into orbit in February 2024.

The space agency is creating a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit that can espy difficult-to-detect hypersonic missiles as well as ballistic missiles.

“Defeating the hypersonic missile threat begins in space, and our Tranche 3 satellites will advance our proven, on-orbit tracking and targeting capability needed to protect our homeland,” L3Harris’ Chief Executive Officer Christopher Kubasik said in a statement released on Friday.

The company announced earlier this month that it had begun producing the satellites at full scale at a $100 million, 94,000-square-foot expanded Satellite Integration and Test facility in Florida.