Elon Musk's SpaceX is a frontrunner in a race to secure a contract to build Donald Trump's "Golen Dome" missile defence shield, according to reports. Sources have said Mr Musk's space technology company has teamed up with software firm Palantir and drone-maker Anduril to build parts for the scheme.

The US President wants the Pentagon to create a "shield" to defend the United States against a long-range missile strike, described by Mr Trump as "the most catastrophic threat" faced by the country. "Golden Dome" would be similar to Israel's "Iron Dome", but on a much larger scale given the huge difference in size between the two countries. SpaceX, Palantir and Anduril's founders have all been significant supporters of Mr Trump, with Mr Musk having donated millions of dollars to the president's election campaign.

Some sources have told the Reuters news agency that despite "positive signals" to the SpaceX group, the process of decision-making is still in the early stages, with the possibility of changes to the scheme's structure and contractors in the coming months.

Reuters' sources said the three companies have met top officials in the Trump administration and the Pentagon to deliver their pitch. The agency reported the scheme would see the construction and launch of between 400 to 1,000 satellites to detect missiles and track their paths.

Two hundred attack satellites equipped with missiles or lasers would then target enemy missiles, according to reporting of the sources.

A source said to be familiar with the talks has described them as a "departure from the usual acquisition process", with an "attitude" within the national security and defence community" of needing to be "sensitive and deferential" towards Mr Musk due to his government role.

Over 180 companies have expressed an interest in helping to develop "Golden Dome", according to a US official, including startups such as Epirus, Armada and Ursa Major.

The cost of the project could run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, with SpaceX's contribution estimated to total between $6billion and $10billion (£4.5billion - £7.5billion).

Mr Trump signed an executive order for "Golden Dome" in the first week of his presidency, giving the US military 60 days to provide details on what the system might look like.

US Space Command said on April 9 that it had completed options for the scheme, which have been sent to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for approval.

General Stephen Whiting, Head of US Space Command, said last week at an industry event in Colorado: "It’s time that we can clearly say that we need space fires and we need weapons systems. We need orbital interceptors.

"We call these weapons and we need them to deter a space conflict and to be successful if we end up in such a fight."

Former US president Ronald Reagan proposed a similar space defence scheme in the 1980s, known as "Star Wars", but it didn't get off the ground due to costs and technical issues.