Google in Talks With Pentagon to Join $185 Billion Golden Dome Missile Defense Program

Alphabet's Google is in early talks with the U.S. Department of Defense to take part in data security work under the $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense program, according to Bloomberg. A deal would mark Google's first known involvement in the flagship initiative, which aims to build an integrated, multi-layered defense network spanning ground facilities to orbital assets. The discussions center on deploying Google's data storage, networking and cybersecurity infrastructure so communications can keep functioning even if adversaries disrupt conventional ground networks or mobile base stations. The Pentagon is forming an industry consortium to protect data pipelines supporting the program's core military command-and-control software. No final decisions have been made on the consortium's formal structure or corporate participants, and a Defense official said initial concepts are still being evaluated. The effort would feed into a broader command-and-control architecture already being developed by Palantir, Anduril and SpaceX. The talks underscore Google's push into national security work after it declined to renew its Project Maven AI contract in 2018 following employee protests.