Overview

• Leaked planning documents outline four integrated layers comprising a space-based sensing and interception tier plus three land-based components of interceptors, radar arrays and potential lasers.
• Lockheed Martin executives and other contractors warn that the three-year schedule to achieve full operational capability will demand extensive testing and enhanced system resilience.
• Pentagon briefings schedule the first major integrated flight test for the fourth quarter of 2028, aligning with President Trump’s operational target despite feasibility doubts.
• Technical hurdles identified in the slides include boosting or on-orbit intercept feasibility, interceptor reentry survivability under heat and communication latency across the kill chain.
• Canada has cleared legal and policy barriers to partner on Golden Dome as the Pentagon seeks to diversify its industrial base and limit reliance on any single supplier.