The University of Arizona announced it is partnering with defense contractor Precise Systems, Inc. to compete for up to $151 billion in contracts under President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense program.
Trump said in May 2025 that he expects the Golden Dome system to have the capability of intercepting missiles “even if they are launched from space.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during President Donald Trump’s 2025 reveal of his Golden Dome missile defense concept.
It is inspired by Israel's much smaller-scale Iron Dome air defense system, which "detects incoming short-range rockets, artillery and mortars, calculates their trajectory, and launches interceptor missiles to destroy those predicted to hit populated areas or strategic assets," as described by Reuters.
The UA said in a news release Wednesday that it has joined a team led by Precise Systems, a company of Bluestone Investment partners, that was approved by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency in November to be considered for Golden Dome contracts via SHIELD, or Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense.
SHIELD, according to the news website Breaking Defense, is a contracting vehicle through which defense industry partners, including universities and corporations, can compete to develop and supply technology, components and capabilities to support Golden Dome construction.
The Precise Systems team is among 2,100 competitors eligible to compete for the contracts.
UA Senior Vice President Tomás Diaz de la Rubia
“At the University of Arizona, we view national security as one of the grand challenges of our time and a call to action for public research universities,” Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, UA senior vice president for research and partnerships, said in the university’s news release.
“Partnerships like this one with Precise Systems are essential, as they enable us to connect our expertise in space science and satellite systems, hypersonics, quantum technologies and cybersecurity with mission needs to succeed in an increasingly complex global landscape,” he said.
The partnership is supported by UA Venture Capital.
“UA Venture Capital is proud to help activate broad regional collaboration around Golden Dome, an important national security initiative,” said Fletcher McCusker, founder and general principle of UA Venture Capital, which has a $100 million national defense venture fund focused on defense-specific areas such as hypersonics and missile defense, cybersecurity and threat detection," McCusker said in the UA news release.
“This effort represents a win for our investors, accelerates economic growth in Arizona, and strengthens the bridge between industry and academia,” he said.
Precise Systems, located in Maryland, acquired Tucson Embedded Systems, LLC, a hardware and software engineering firm, in 2025. “The Tucson-based organization has a record of creating avionic systems” for U.S. Department of Defense clients such as the Naval Air Warfare Center, said the UA news release.
Critical Infrastructure Investments, a company founded by former UA professor Alex Dely, is also supporting the partnership.
In addition, three UA startups — DeUVe Photonics, FreeFall Aerospace and CM Laser Technologies — “are part of the Precise Systems consortium for Golden Dome projects,” UA added.
UA said the partnership will strengthen the defense industry in Southern Arizona, which includes Raytheon Technologies, Sargent Aerospace and Defense, Paragon Space Development, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the Army’s Fort Huachuca, said the release.
Raytheon teams with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems on the Iron Dome Weapon System in Israel.
Raytheon is also among the major contractors selected to compete for Golden Dome contracts.
