As the Army builds out its newly staffed Space Operations Branch to support the joint force’s space mission, the service is also preparing to play a key role in what is expected to be a pivotal year of testing and development for the Golden Dome for America (GDA) missile-defense initiative.
Speaking with journalists at last week’s Association of the United States Army conference, Lt. Gen. John L. Rafferty, commander of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), said the service has already identified an air defense unit to back GDA efforts.
Rafferty declined to name the element, but described it as a highly trained formation “that we know can meet the demands of Golden Dome for America when the systems are fielded.”
Currently, many air-defense capabilities across the joint force are bundled into integrated packages that include a sensor, an interceptor and command-and-control (C2) elements. Rafferty characterized GDA as an effort to disaggregate some of those pieces and to assemble C2 capabilities that can operate together nationwide.
“That approach lets you array sensors, shooters and C2 platforms across the country and then pick the best sensor, the best shooter and the proper C2 in a more disaggregated fashion,” he said, noting the Army’s experience. “We believe we have the most experienced, combat-seasoned air-defense formations in the world, and we’ve got the right people to run this system when it arrives — after some training.”
Joint Task Force Gold — a roughly 100-person unit created in January under U.S. Northern Command and led by Army officers — is also deepening its preparations for Golden Dome, conducting planning exercises and bringing together relevant stakeholders, according to Col. Kevin “Stoney” Stonerook, the task force’s deputy commander.
“We’re helping assemble the team of teams — all the different stakeholder communities, including industry and other government partners — to provide cyber-warfare and related capabilities for GDA,” Stonerook said. “We’re definitely involved in site planning as GDA is built out across the country, and we’re working to integrate capabilities across GDA’s multiple layers. There’s still a lot to sort out.”
Stonerook said the task force launched a series of planning “sprints” starting in February. Those events gathered roughly 300 people from the broader GDA stakeholder community at Colorado Springs to develop an operational concept and to surface unresolved issues.
He added that another planning sprint was scheduled for the end of October.
“We’re continuing to learn and to focus not just the more than 100 personnel assigned to JTF-Gold but all the stakeholder communities on the questions that must be answered to get to operationalization,” he said.
(Photo caption: President Donald Trump listens as then-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discusses the Golden Dome missile-defense proposal. — Jim Watson/Getty Images)
Officials at the Pentagon have stated they aim to field an initial version of GDA by the end of the next year, seeking to meet a goal of having an operational shield by the conclusion of President Donald Trump’s second term, while planning a more mature, fully developed system to be completed by 2035.
However, lawmakers from both parties have voiced frustration over the program’s slow pace and uneven communication from the White House on the project’s trajectory and priorities.
For fiscal 2027, the Pentagon requested $17.5 billion for Golden Dome as part of a proposed $350 billion reconciliation package, and it included roughly $400 million for the program in research and development funds within the base budget submission. Reporting in September from Air & Space Forces Magazine noted that disagreement over passage of the reconciliation bill could put much of that funding at risk.
At the AUSA panel, Rafferty reiterated the Army’s commitment to supporting the effort to field the homeland defense system.
“I try not to draw a sharp line between SMDC and JTF-Gold,” he said. “It’s going to take all of us to enable homeland defense through Golden Dome for America. Protecting the homeland is SMDC’s No. 1 priority, and we’re fully committed to helping deliver that capability.”
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Jamal Peterson reports on defense, aerospace, and tech policy. With a military background and a strategic mind, he dissects complex subjects with clarity, offering readers sharp, reliable insights.
