SpaceX won $1.6 billion in orders from the U.S. Space Force on Wednesday to launch 18 Falcon 9 missions through ​2027 carrying Pentagon satellites for detecting and targeting airborne objects, the service ‌said. The 18 missions were assigned to SpaceX across two task orders under the U.S. Space Force’s flagship launch procurement program, in which SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and other U.S. launch firms inducted into ​the program jockey for lucrative mission assignments. SpaceX has bagged at least $7 billion worth ​of Pentagon contracts this year as the Trump administration has laid groundwork for its ⁠Golden Dome missile defense shield, a roughly $185 billion multi-year endeavor heavily featuring Elon Musk’s launch and satellite ​company. SpaceX in May won $6.5 billion worth of satellite contracts from the U.S. Space Force. That included $4.16 ​billion for a network of airborne moving target indicator satellites and $2.29 billion three days later for communications satellites that can pass data between missile warning and tracking sensors to interceptors in near real time.

Full report : SpaceX wins $1.6 billion in launch orders for military satellite networks.