RTX Is ‘fully prepared’ to support Trump’s Iron Dome plan

Aerospace and defense manufacturer RTX Corp. is “fully prepared” to support President Donald Trump’s ambitions to build an orbital missile defense system to protect the U.S.

Trump signed an executive order this week calling for the Pentagon to develop “an Iron Dome for America,” that would feature the creation and deployment of space-based interceptors to destroy missiles from foreign adversaries.

“This is what Raytheon is exceptionally good at doing” Neil Mitchill, chief financial officer at RTX, said in an interview. “So we are fully prepared to support the president’s ambitions there.”

“It would be a tremendous system and as you know, we play a role in the Iron Dome in Israel as well,” he added. RTX was previously known as Raytheon and maintains a business unit with that name.

The U.S. already operates the Defense Support Program, with satellites developed by manufacturer Northrop Grumman used to detect missile launches, space launches and nuclear detonations.

Satellites with an offensive capability were proposed by the Reagan administration in the 1980s but abandoned over cost and technological impediments.