An Army Tactical Missile System being tested in December 2021, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Photo: AFP / John Hamilton / US Army
California-based Rocket Lab says it has done a deal with a company capable of helping build the Golden Dome missile defence system.
It has signed up to buy the parent holding company of Arizona firm Geost for $460 million.
Geost develops electro-optical and infrared technology used in missile warning and tracking, surveillance and reconnaissance, Rocket Lab said.
These were "core capabilities" for the likes of the Pentagon's proposed constellation of low-orbit satellites, as well as for the Dome, the company said on its website.
The aim of the Dome is to create a shield that can shoot down all sorts of missiles including nuclear warheads.
US President Donald Trump last week put the cost of the Golden Dome at $300 billion, but many analysts say it will cost much more.
Critics have said it risks undermining global security by fuelling a new arms race involving space.
Sir Peter Beck said the Geost deal positioned Rocket Lab as a "disruptive prime" - meaning major - contractor to US national security.
"Rocket Lab was founded to disrupt the traditional space industry and we're doing just that," Beck said on the firm's website.
"By bringing these mission critical payloads in-house, Rocket Lab enhances its ability to rapidly deliver integrated spacecraft systems purpose-built for US national security," the website said.
The acquisition to be settled later this year would take the company's staff numbers to 2600 in factories and at test and launch sites in New Zealand, California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Toronto and Arizona.
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