The US Missile Defense Agency has expanded its contractor pool for the Golden Dome missile defense initiative to over 2,100 firms, reflecting a significant investment of up to $151 billion in advanced technologies aimed at countering various aerial threats. This expansion, part of a broader strategy under President Trump’s defense initiatives, emphasizes rapid innovation in missile defense capabilities, including artificial intelligence and digital engineering. From an Indian strategic perspective, this development highlights the growing US focus on layered missile defenses amid heightened geopolitical tensions, which could influence regional security dynamics in the Indo-Pacific and open avenues for collaboration in defense technologies, enhancing India’s own ballistic missile defense systems against emerging threats.