Golden Dome and the Execution Authority Gap

This white paper examines the architectural challenges of the U.S. Golden Dome missile defense initiative, arguing that integrating sensors, interceptors, communications, and command systems alone is insufficient to ensure lawful and authorized military action. The paper introduces the concept of the Execution Authority Gap—the need for an independent, enforceable authorization boundary between operational decision-making and irreversible action. It explains how distributed, machine-speed defense systems must continuously validate authority despite changing operational conditions, degraded communications, delegation limits, and multi-vendor environments. The paper recommends treating execution authority as foundational infrastructure that is independently verifiable, contractually required, and tested across the entire defense architecture.