New Delhi, July 30 -- SpaceX has secured another major Pentagon contract, winning $1.6 billion from the US Space Force to launch 18 Falcon 9 missions through 2027 carrying military satellites designed to detect and track airborne objects. While the latest award is a launch contract, it does highlight the increasingly central role Elon Musk's company is playing in the Trump administration's ambitious Golden Dome missile defence programme.

The US Space Force said the 18 missions were awarded under its flagship launch procurement programme, where SpaceX competes with companies including United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Blue Origin for national security launches.

The $1.6 billion order is only the latest in a series of Pentagon awards that ...