Golden Dome requires non-traditional thinking and an agile approach

Big systems projects are nothing novel in defense acquisition. However, a big systems project delivered fast and at an affordable cost is more uncommon. The Trump administration’s transformational vision for continental missile defense, called Golden Dome, has the opportunity to be notable not only for its innovative approach to defending the United States, but for implementing a 21^st century approach to agile acquisition leveraging emerging AI-powered digital engineering principles and Agent Based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS).