Trump's "Iron Dome" plan faces uncertainties as candidate system mass production is postponed.

On May 9, Jin10 reported that the U.S. Army has postponed its decision on whether to approve full production of Lockheed Martin’s $2 billion air defense radar system until next year. This system is viewed as a candidate for the “Iron Dome” defense umbrella proposed by the Trump administration. The U.S. Army had previously stated that it planned to make a full-speed production decision on Lockheed’s “Sentinel A4” radar in October, but the timeline has now been pushed back to between July and September 2026 for more rigorous combat testing. This delay is significant because the full-speed production phase is an important milestone for defense contractors and is also the most profitable phase of weapon programs.