Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile shield has triggered a lobbying battle between Silicon Valley and America’s biggest defence groups as they fight for a slice of the ambitious $175bn project.
The Trump administration’s explicit call for “non-traditional” contractors has fired up competition to create the experimental defence system, pitting established giants such Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman with tech groups trying to claim a bigger share of Pentagon funds.
As the battle is likely to draw in tech leaders from Peter Thiel to Elon Musk, the question is whether Silicon Valley truly has the defence chops to muscle further into a decades-old military industrial complex.