Anduril Industries and Palantir Technologies are part of the group developing software to run President Trump’s planned Golden Dome antimissile shield, according to people familiar with the matter.
The firms, which haven’t been publicly named before, belong to a consortium of defense and tech companies that aims to have the Golden Dome software ready for testing this summer.
Also contributing are Aalyria Technologies, a networking company that adapted technology from Google parent Alphabet; artificial-intelligence startup Scale AI and software firm Swoop Technologies, according to some of the people.
If the software works during its live demonstration, it could become the cornerstone of the $185 billion defense system, giving its makers a potentially lucrative opportunity to make billions of dollars developing and maintaining the system over time.
Software deals have become a prominent part of the military’s acquisition activity. Anduril this month won a 10-year contract worth up to $20 billion to consolidate work on multiple projects for the U.S. Army.
Golden Dome is a closely watched project for thwarting airborne attacks on the U.S. and its territories.
Its software is a critical piece. It would connect the radars and other sensors that detect and track airborne threats. Through the software, commanders could control an arsenal of weapons to intercept enemy attacks.
Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, the project’s leader at the Pentagon, has described the software as a “glue layer” that would help officers manage the arrays of sensors, radars and missile batteries spread across different military services.
“We recognized on day one that command-and-control was going to be our secret sauce,” Guetlein said at a recent industry conference.
One sign of the software’s importance: It is the only Golden Dome program run from Guetlein’s office. The Air Force, Missile Defense Agency and other Defense department groups are managing other Golden Dome projects.
After the Golden Dome software development consortium launched last year, Guetlein added traditional defense contractors Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and RTX to help develop the operating system.
Another sign of the software project’s novel approach: The defense companies, which traditionally transact directly with the Pentagon, are acting as subcontractors to the tech companies in the group.
The consortium’s goal this year, a Pentagon official said, is to demonstrate that Golden Dome’s command-and-control system can receive data from different sources, process the information and take action.
“Integrating the needed capabilities at scale, and with the speed that we all know is necessary, requires a strong coalition working together across the industry to leverage and enhance today’s radars, space sensors and interceptors,” Northrop Grumman space executive Rob Fleming said.
Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com