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WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has quietly renamed the Trump administration’s ambitious national missile defense initiative from “Iron Dome for America” to “Golden Dome for America,” according to a recent advisory to defense contractors.
The name change came to light when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, while discussing programs protected from potential budget cuts, referred to the system as “Golden Dome, or Iron Dome” in a recent video addressing the Pentagon’s efforts to identify $50 billion in cost savings in the 2026 budget.
What initially appeared to be a verbal slip has now been confirmed as an official program name change. “Please note the Department of Defense has renamed this program from ‘Iron Dome for America’ to ‘Golden Dome for America,’” the U.S. Missile Defense Agency stated in a Feb. 24 advisory to contractors submitting proposals in response to an agency request for information.
The notice, sent just days before the February 28 submission deadline, indicated the agency would maintain its original file systems despite the change: “Since the RFI will close in less than a week, our drop boxes and other related items will remain as ‘Iron Dome for America.’”
Neither the Department of Defense nor the Missile Defense Agency responded to inquiries about the reasoning behind the name change. A defense official said the decision was made by the White House.
The publication Defense News suggested a possible explanation might be trademark concerns, as “Iron Dome” is a registered trademark owned by Israeli defense firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which developed Israel’s existing Iron Dome system in partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
The program originated from President Donald Trump’s January 27 executive order initiating planning for what was then called “The Iron Dome for America.” The order established the development of a next-generation missile defense shield as national policy, citing threats from ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles.
While inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system, the American version is designed to operate on a much larger scale, protecting the entire U.S. territory from advanced missile threats. Space-based sensors have been identified as critical components, with the executive order specifically directing the Department of Defense to explore potential deployment of space-based interceptors that would launch in response to an attack.
The Missile Defense Agency is leading efforts to engage with defense industry partners to assess technological capabilities, with the U.S. Space Force expected to play a central role given the system’s reliance on space technologies.
The name change comes as Hegseth pushes forward with broader budget realignments, asking military services and agencies to identify $50 billion in potential cuts that could be redirected to other defense priorities, while protecting certain critical programs – including the newly renamed Golden Dome.
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