Anduril to acquire space surveillance firm ExoAnalytic eyeing more Golden Dome capabilities

Anduril to acquire space surveillance firm ExoAnalytic eyeing more Golden Dome capabilities

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) – Anduril Industries on Wednesday said it has signed a definitive ‌agreement to acquire ExoAnalytic Solutions, a national security company specializing in space sensing and awareness and missile defense.

The purchase comes as defense technology firm positions itself ​for a role in President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile ​defense project, an initiative to build a space-based shield capable ⁠of intercepting ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles.

Hundreds of companies are vying ​for a role in developing Golden Dome. Anduril was among companies that ​received smaller contracts for space-based interceptors awarded in late November.

ExoAnalytic grew from missile defense algorithms to building a global telescope network that tracks thousands of objects in ​orbit.

The company owns and operates more than 400 telescope systems deployed ​worldwide, giving it what Anduril described as persistent, high-fidelity awareness of deep space at ‌a ⁠global scale.

ExoAnalytic is also a leader in modeling and simulation for classified national security space programs and provides software and expertise for missile warning and missile defense.

Gokul Subramanian, Anduril’s senior vice president of engineering, ​said the deal ​would supercharge the ⁠company’s ambitions.

“We expect this acquisition to enable us to tap into those capabilities more and more,” he ​told reporters, adding that the combined entity would advance ​Anduril’s work ⁠in space sensing, tracking, battle management and fire control.

The acquisition, Anduril’s first under its space business unit and its 11th overall, would integrate ExoAnalytic’s ⁠global ​sensor network and data analytics with Anduril’s ​expertise in autonomy and command and control.

by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Christopher Cushing

Mike Stone is a Reuters reporter covering the U.S. arms trade and defense industry. Most recently Mike has been focused on the Golden Dome missile defense shield. Mike also spends a lot of his time writing on Ukraine and how industry has adapted, or faltered as it supports that conflict. Mike, a New Yorker, has extensively covered how the U.S. has supplied Ukraine with weapons, the cadence, decisions and milestones that have had battlefield impacts. Before his time in Washington Mike’s coverage focused on mergers and acquisitions for oil and gas companies, financial institutions, defense companies, consumer product makers, retailers, real estate giants, and telecommunications companies.