Elon Musk's SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to win a crucial part of President Donald Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense shield, six people familiar with the matter said.

COLORADO SPRINGS — The head of the U.S. Space Force sought to clear up confusion about the Trump administration’s ambitious missile defense initiative known as Golden Dome, emphasizing that it represents a complex network of systems rather than a single procurement program.

SpaceX, along with two other firms, has emerged as the top contender to build and develop President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile initiative. According to a Reuters report, Elon Musk’s company is teaming up with startups Palantir and Anduril to bid for the development of critical components of the Golden Dome missile defense system,