Elon Musk‘s SpaceX has become a leading contender to help build President Donald Trump‘s “Golden Dome” missile defense system.

SpaceX is working with software company Palantir and Anduril, a defense technology company, on a bid for a contract with the Defense Department. In recent weeks, the three companies have met with Trump administration and Pentagon officials to discuss their plan, sources shared with Reuters.

Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system would reportedly consist of 400 to more than 1,000 satellites orbiting Earth, sensing missiles and tracking their movements. A separate fleet of 200 attack satellites would be tasked with bringing enemy missiles down with missiles or lasers, the sources added, noting SpaceX is not expected to be involved in weaponizing the satellites. 

Bids to build Trump’s missile defense system came after Trump signed an executive order announcing the “Golden Dome” plan. He called a missile attack “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.” The Pentagon said it would deliver Trump options that are “in line with the executive order and in alignment with White House guidance and timelines.”

The national security and defense community is expected to be “deferential” to Musk’s companies, given his current role at the Department of Government Efficiency, according to one of the sources.

The Pentagon has received interest from more than 180 companies regarding the project, which is estimated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The Defense Department’s draft timeline has the project beginning in early 2026.

SpaceX securing a role on the “Golden Dome” project, which is based on Israel’s “Iron Dome,” will likely frustrate Democrats, who have been critical of Musk running his businesses while being involved in the Trump administration.

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“When the richest man in the world can become a Special Government Employee and exert influence over the flow of billions of dollars of taxpayer money in government contracts to his companies, that’s a serious problem,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

Shaheen proposed new legislation that would bar companies owned by special government employees, such as Musk, from receiving federal contracts.