Lockheed Martin has developed a command and control (C2) prototyping solution to help accelerate the development of the Golden Dome, the US equivalent of Israel’s Iron Dome system, initiated under the Trump administration.
The company’s Center for Innovation in Suffolk, Virginia, also known as “The Lighthouse,” now serves as a secure prototyping and testing facility, facilitating collaboration between the government, military, and industry. The site enables live, virtual, and simulated testing, along with classified exercises, wargaming, and mission-specific demonstrations.
This infrastructure supports evaluation of future Golden Dome C2 systems using existing, combat-tested technologies across multi-domain operations, from seabed to space. Tools under assessment include battle management systems, threat evaluation software, sensor tasking, AI-enabled decision support, and mission planning tools.
Golden Dome Overview
The Golden Dome is the US government’s layered air and missile defense strategy, designed to counter ballistic, hypersonic, cruise, and autonomous airborne threats. It will rely on a network of advanced satellites and sensors for early warning and interception.
Earlier this month, the Missile Defense Agency issued a pre-solicitation for the SHIELD program, a $151 billion initiative to support Golden Dome through contracts focused on AI threat detection, weapons development, system integration, and cybersecurity.
The Pentagon plans to deploy initial capabilities within three years.
