Northrop Grumman has named Apex as a key industry collaborator in its effort to demonstrate space-based interceptor capabilities for the Golden Dome for America initiative, with the pair targeting an on-orbit demonstration by 2027 -- one year ahead of the Pentagon's 2028 initial capability milestone.

The disclosure adds detail to Northrop Grumman's previously announced role as one of 12 firms awarded other transaction authority agreements worth up to $3.2 billion by Space Systems Command.

The company said it has already completed key ground tests in 2026 and will fund the SBI demonstration itself, drawing on what it described as a $1 billion company-led investment in missile defense technology.

Apex is a Los Angeles-based satellite manufacturer founded in 2022 by Chief Executive Officer Ian Cinnamon and Chief Technology Officer Max Benassi to address what the company describes as a satellite production bottleneck limiting U.S. and allied efforts to deploy proliferated space architectures.

“We're combining our advanced missile defense technologies and commercial partnerships to demonstrate next generation space-based interceptor capabilities in support of our nation's Golden Dome priorities,” Ryan Tintner, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's space superiority systems division, said in a statement.

Cinnamon said Apex was founded specifically to support proliferated constellations of the type Golden Dome requires, with the partnership designed to enable constellation-scale production at affordable cost.