The Department of Defense (DOD) has launched the Golden Dome for America Ecosystem Hub, a digital platform intended to streamline collaboration between the department and the commercial technology sector.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD was rebranded as the Department of War.
Gen. Mike Guetlein, director of Golden Dome for America, announced the Hub’s launch last week at the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium. The platform is immediately accessible at hub.goldendome.mil.
According to officials, the Hub is intended to provide a unified entry point for traditional defense contractors, commercial technology companies, venture capitalists, academic institutions, research laboratories, and nontraditional entrepreneurs.
“To defeat a new generation of sophisticated, maneuvering aerial threats, we must build a defensive shield that adapts faster than the adversary,” Guetlein said. “We are doing this by cutting bureaucratic red-tape, harnessing innovation through partnerships, and leveraging the true power of the Arsenal of Freedom.”
Guetlein said the initiative is intended to break down barriers between commercial innovation and national defense and address what he called the “Valley of Death” that can stall the deployment of critical technologies.
The Hub is also intended to support fiscal accountability as the department develops Golden Dome. Guetlein said the program requires $185 billion and that the department plans to use commercial-off-the-shelf technologies and competition to help control costs.
“While we are committed to making the necessary investments to defend and protect the nation, we are equally committed to being responsible with every dollar of the $185 billion we need to deliver Golden Dome,” Guetlein said.
President Donald Trump launched the Golden Dome under an executive order in January 2025 to defend the United States from advanced missile threats, including hypersonic weapons. The program was initially projected to cost $175 billion. Its price tag has since risen to $185 billion, with completion now expected by 2035, seven years later than originally planned.
The Hub connects authorized experts, including program managers, directly with commercial providers, venture capitalists, and academic researchers. Traditional and nontraditional innovators can register, upload concepts, and submit designs directly to program decision-makers.
The platform also provides real-time, unclassified visibility into Golden Dome’s immediate capability gaps, allowing private-sector companies to align investment and research and development with active mission requirements.
Qualified suppliers can also connect through the Hub with innovative capital tools. The strategy is intended to encourage participation from multiple vendors, mitigate sub-tier supply chain vulnerabilities, prevent vendor lock-in, and establish a foundation for rapid production scaling.
The Hub was developed with industry partners to incorporate an innovation mindset and industry best practices into the mission-critical platform.
“Defense of the Homeland is a national imperative, and as a result requires a close partnership between industry and the government to leverage innovation to the maximum extent possible,” Guetlein said.
The DOD is encouraging defense contractors, commercial technology firms, research laboratories, and nontraditional entrepreneurs interested in participating in Golden Dome to register their organizations and submit initial capability overviews through the Hub.