Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's space industry leader SpaceX and two partners have reportedly become leading contenders to secure a significant role in US President Donald Trump's "Golden Dome" defense initiative.

The aerospace corporation is joining forces with data analytics firm Palantir and autonomous systems developer Anduril to compete for essential components of Golden Dome, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing six people familiar with the matter.

"Golden Dome" is the Trump administration's effort to rebrand broad proposals for creating a missile defense system similar to Israel's Iron Dome.