Anduril is betting on space defense with the acquisition of ExoAnalytics.
Today the defense technology startup founded by Palmer Luckey announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ExoAnalytic Solutions, a national security company specializing in space situational awareness and missile defense. The company has not disclosed the financial terms of the deal. The acquisition comes as Anduril positions itself for a role in President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense project, an initiative to build a space shield capable of intercepting ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles, reports Reuters.
After all, the first step to fighting a war in space is knowing what is happening tens of thousands of kilometers above the planet, notes TechCrunch.
ExoAnalytic operates a network of 400 telescopes worldwide, which it uses to track spacecraft in high orbits above the planet. The company’s engineers develop software that converts these observations into situational awareness tools for U.S. national security agencies, which monitor adversary spacecraft and coordinate American resources in orbit.
The company’s technology could therefore help Anduril win government contracts supporting Golden Dome.
All the details.
ANDURIL’S STRATEGY
Under the agreement, ExoAnalytics will be directly integrated into Anduril, not operated as a separate subsidiary.
“This is a company we have worked closely with for several years on various programs, and they are experts in space domain awareness and missile defense,” said Anduril’s vice president of engineering, Gokul Subramanian. The defense technology company aims to improve the Department of Defense’s visibility in space, which is becoming a “war domain,” Subramanian emphasized. “We believe the [Department of Defense] deserves the best catalog of everything happening in space, both for commercial and government investments,” he told reporters. “We want to be part of that solution for the military.”
WHAT EXOANALYTICS DOES
Founded in 2008, ExoAnalytic has evolved from missile defense algorithms to building a global network of telescopes that track thousands of objects in orbit, Reuters reconstructs.
As mentioned at the beginning, the company owns and operates over 400 telescope systems distributed worldwide, giving it what Anduril described as persistent, high-fidelity knowledge of deep space on a global scale. ExoAnalytic is also a leader in modeling and simulation for classified space programs for national security and provides software and expertise for missile warning and missile defense.
According to TechCrunch, there is another potential aspect of the acquisition: the computer vision algorithms developed by ExoAnalytic to identify satellites in orbit are also useful for interceptors trying to track and address incoming threats. Anduril itself received a contract from the Pentagon at the end of 2025 to begin developing a space missile interceptor.
SHORT-TERM PROJECTS
As Bloomberg recalls, Anduril’s space activity, announced in 2024, focuses on using artificial intelligence-based technologies to track and defend orbital assets, such as national security satellites. “This business unit has grown among the fastest of any other Anduril unit and, given my position, we will continue to invest heavily in this sector and grow it further,” Subramanian told reporters during a briefing.
Anduril plans to launch three spacecraft this year as internally funded research and development projects, which will build on the expertise gained with the acquisition. Subramanian stated that ExoAnalytic’s experience in space data processing will be used in an infrared tracking satellite it plans to launch this year in collaboration with Apex Space. The space tracking data will be used to conduct two high orbit missions, scheduled for launch this year in collaboration with Impulse Space and Argo Space, respectively.
AIMING FOR GOLDEN DOME CONTRACTS
Finally, the acquisition of ExoAnalytics comes as defense technology companies like Anduril compete to acquire capabilities to win contracts for President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome and military reindustrialization projects.
Last May Trump announced that the Golden Dome program will require an initial investment of $25 billion, with a total cost of $175 billion over time. The declared goal is to develop a satellite network to detect, track, and potentially intercept incoming missiles.
