Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded other-transaction-authority (OTA) agreements worth up to $3.2 billion total across 20 companies on April 27, 2026 for the Space-Based Interceptor (SBI) program — the orbital layer of the Pentagon's Golden Dome missile defense architecture. Coverage from GovCon Wire.
Who got picked
Awardees identified in reporting include Anduril Industries, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics Mission Systems, GITAI USA, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Quindar, Raytheon, Sci-Tec, True Anomaly, and Turion Space. SSC said 20 OTAs were awarded; not every awardee was named publicly.
The bigger picture
SBI is one layer of Golden Dome — the Pentagon's layered missile-defense initiative. Total program cost is projected at roughly $185 billion, with $18 billion requested in the FY2027 budget. Initial capability demonstration is targeted for 2028.
Why this is unusual
- 20 OTA awardees is a deliberate diversification — SSC wants commercial-space breadth, not just primes
- Inclusion of small/mid firms (True Anomaly, Turion Space, Quindar, Sci-Tec, GITAI) signals the SBI architecture isn't a single-prime play
- OTA structure means rapid prototyping, fewer FAR-clause headaches, but proposals get re-competed at each phase gate
What to do
- If you supply orbital propulsion, optical sensors, RF payloads, or rendezvous-and-proximity ops: every named awardee will be hunting subs in the next 90 days
- Watch the FY27 budget markup — the $18B ask is the long pole that funds production phase