AeroVironment and SNC partner to develop next-generation Golden Dome air defense system for U.S..

According to information published by AeroVironment on August 8, 2025, the company has entered into a strategic partnership with Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to co-develop a multi-domain, integrated air and missile defense system in support of the Golden Dome for America (GDA) initiative. The collaboration aims to develop a scalable and layered defense architecture that can protect U.S. critical infrastructure from a wide range of modern and emerging aerial threats, including advanced cruise missiles and drone swarms.
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U.S. Companies AeroVironment and Sierra Nevada Corporation join forces to develop the Golden Dome for America, an integrated air and missile defense system to protect key U.S. assets from evolving aerial threats (Picture source: Editing Army Recognition Group)

This newly announced alliance aligns AeroVironment's expertise in precision unmanned systems and tactical ISR technologies with SNC’s deep experience in mission systems integration and national security platforms. The companies aim to accelerate the deployment of an open-architecture, rapidly configurable air defense solution that can provide localized “under-dome” protection, with the potential to scale outward as new sensor and interceptor technologies, including space-based assets, are brought into the kill chain. The system is designed to neutralize Group 1 to Group 4 unmanned aerial systems (UAS), next-generation cruise missiles, and hybrid aerial threats using an integrated mix of kinetic, directed energy, radio frequency, electronic warfare, and cyber tools.

The Golden Dome for America is a strategic homeland defense initiative modeled loosely after Israel’s Iron Dome but adapted to the broader and more complex threat environment confronting the United States. While the Iron Dome has demonstrated high effectiveness in intercepting short-range rockets and artillery shells, the GDA aims to deliver a far more versatile and layered solution. It is specifically engineered to counter a spectrum of threats that includes low-flying cruise missiles, coordinated drone assaults, and advanced aerial systems deployed by peer and near-peer adversaries. Designed with modularity and open architecture at its core, the GDA focuses on protecting high-value and limited-area targets such as military bases, nuclear power facilities, ports, and airfields, while remaining capable of integration with future space-based surveillance and intercept platforms.

Fatih Ozmen, CEO of SNC, described the scale and ambition of the project as comparable to the Manhattan Project, emphasizing the necessity for unprecedented industry collaboration and innovation. He underlined SNC’s legacy in integrating complex systems and highlighted the opportunity to merge SNC’s open architecture solutions with AeroVironment’s precision technologies to create a truly next-generation defense system.

To enhance the GDA’s space-domain capabilities, Sierra Space, a sister company to SNC, is exploring avenues of cooperation with AeroVironment. Their joint work aims to leverage orbital platforms for early warning, target tracking, and guidance of future interceptors. This space-based layer is envisioned as a crucial component of the system, especially in light of evolving threats such as maneuverable reentry vehicles and hypersonic glide vehicles, which demand real-time detection and rapid-response interception across multiple domains.

The development of the Golden Dome for America represents a critical transformation in how the United States approaches homeland defense. As adversaries accelerate development of more advanced aerial attack systems, including drone swarms, hypersonic weapons, and electronic warfare tactics, the need for a flexible, layered, and modular air and missile defense solution becomes paramount. The partnership between AeroVironment and SNC marks a strategic step toward delivering a cost-effective, rapidly deployable, and technology-driven defensive shield capable of evolving with the threat landscape. The GDA initiative has the potential to serve as the backbone of future U.S. air defense operations, providing vital protection to national infrastructure and reinforcing American deterrence in an increasingly contested global security environment.