Trump picks design for $175 bln Golden Dome missile defense shield, names project leader
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had selected a design for the $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense shield and named a Space Force general to lead the effort to build the ambitious defense program aimed at blocking threats from China and Russia.
Trump announced at a White House press conference that US Space Force General Michael Guetlein would be the lead program manager for what the president said would be a $175 billion project, an effort widely viewed as the keystone to Trump's military planning.
Golden Dome will 'protect our homeland,' Trump said from the Oval Office and added that Canada had said it wanted to be part of it.
First ordered by Trump in January, Golden Dome aims to create a network of satellites to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming missiles. The shield could deploy hundreds of satellites for missile detection and tracking.
At a cost of $175 billion, it will take years to implement, as the controversial program faces both political scrutiny and funding uncertainty.
Democratic lawmakers have voiced concern about the procurement process and the involvement of Trump ally Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has emerged as a frontrunner alongside Palantir and Anduril to build key components of the system.
The Golden Dome idea was inspired by Israel's land-based Iron Dome defense shield that protects it from missiles and rockets. Trump's Golden Dome is much more extensive and includes a massive array of surveillance satellites and a separate fleet of attacking satellites that would shoot down offensive missiles soon after lift-off.
Tuesday's announcement kicks off the Pentagon's effort to test and ultimately buy the missiles, systems, sensors and satellites that will make up the Golden Dome.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope
PARIS: Tim Friede was feeling particularly down on the day after the September 11 attacks, so he went to his basement and let two of the world's deadliest snakes bite him. Four days later, he woke up from a coma. 'I know what it feels like to die from snakebite,' Friede told AFP via video call from his home in the small US town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. This experience might put most people off snakes entirely, but Friede simply vowed to be more careful next time. From 2000 to 2018, he allowed himself to be bitten by snakes more than 200 times. He also injected himself with their venom over 650 times. Friede endured this pain because he wanted to achieve total immunity to venom, a practice called mithridatism which should not be tried at home. After a couple of years, Friede started to believe he could be the basis for a better kind of antivenom. The former truck mechanic, who does not have a university degree, long struggled to be taken seriously by scientists. But last month, a study published in the prestigious Cell journal showed that antibodies from his blood protect against a range of snake venom. The researchers now hope Friede's hyper-immunity could even lead to the development of a universal antivenom. This would fill a major need, because currently most antivenoms only cover one or a few of the world's 600 venomous snakes. Up to 138,000 people are killed by snakebites a year, while 400,000 suffer amputations or other disabilities, according to the World Health Organization. These figures are believed to be vastly underestimated because snakebite victims typically live in poorer, remote areas. Friede's first bite was from a harmless garter snake when he was five years old. 'I was afraid, I cried, I ran away,' said Friede, now 57. Then he started bringing snakes home and hiding them in pickle jars. His mother sought counselling, but his interest in snakes persisted. Things escalated after Friede attended a class that taught him how to 'milk' snakes for their venom. How antivenom is made has changed little over the last 125 years. Small doses of snake venom are injected into animals such as horses, which produce antibodies that can be extracted and used as antivenom. However this antivenom usually only works for bites from that particular species of snake — and it includes other antibodies from horse that can cause serious side-effects including anaphylactic shock. 'I thought, well, if they make antivenom in horses, why can't I just use myself as a primate?' Friede said. He started working through the venom from all the deadly species he could get his hands on, such as cobras, taipans, black mambas and rattlesnakes. 'There is pain every time,' he said. For years, the scientists he contacted to take advantage of his immunity refused to bite. Then in 2017, immunologist Jacob Glanville, who previously worked on universal vaccines, turned his attention toward antivenom. Glanville told AFP he had been looking for 'a clumsy snake researcher who'd been bit accidentally a couple times,' when he came across a video of Friede taking brutal back-to-back snake bites. When they first spoke, Glanville said he told Friede: 'I know this is awkward, but I would love to get my hands on some of your blood.' 'I've been waiting for this call for a long time,' came the response, Glanville said. The antivenom described in the Cell paper includes two antibodies from Friede's blood, as well as a drug called varespladib. It offered mice full protection against 13 of the 19 snake species tested, and partial protection for the remaining six. The researchers hope a future cocktail will cover far more snakes — particularly vipers — with further trials planned on dogs in Australia. Timothy Jackson of the Australian Venom Research Unit praised the immunological research, but questioned whether a human needed to be involved, pointing to synthetically developed antibodies. Glanville said the ultimate goal of his US-based firm Centivax was to develop a universal antivenom administered by something like an EpiPen, potentially produced in India to keep the costs down. Friede said he was 'proud' to have made a 'small difference' in medical history. Now working for Centivax, Friede stopped self-inflicting himself with venom in 2018 to save the firm from liability issues. But he hopes to get bitten by snakes again in the future. 'I do miss it,' he said.
Arab News
7 hours ago
- Arab News
Immigration authorities extend activity in Los Angeles area amid street protests
LOS ANGELES: US immigration authorities extended activity in Los Angeles area on Saturday in the wake of protests at an federal detention facility and a police response that included tear gas, flash-bangs and the arrest of a union leader. Border Patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks stood guard outside an industrial park in the city of Paramount, deploying tear gas as bystanders and protesters gathered on medians and across the street, some jeering at authorities while recording the events on smartphones. 'ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are,' a woman announced through a megaphone. 'You are not welcome here.' One hand-held sign said, 'No Human Being is Illegal.' The boulevard was closed to traffic as US Border Patrol circulated through the area. ICE representatives did not respond immediately to email inquiries about weekend enforcement activities. Arrests by immigration authorities in Los Angeles come as President Donald Trump and his administration push to fulfill promises to carry out mass deportations across the country. On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested more than 40 people as they executed search warrants at multiple locations, including outside a clothing warehouse where a tense scene unfolded as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the activity was meant to 'sow terror' in the nation's second-largest city. In a statement on Saturday, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons chided Bass for the city's response to protests. 'Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,' Lyons said in a statement. 'Make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation's immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens.' Protesters gathered Friday evening outside a federal detention center in Los Angeles where lawyers said those arrested had been taken, chanting 'set them free, let them stay!' Other protesters held signs that said 'ICE out of LA!' and led chants and shouted from megaphones. Some scrawled graffiti on the building facade. Federal agents executed search warrants at three locations, including a warehouse in the fashion district of Los Angeles, after a judge found there was probable cause the employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers, according to representatives for Homeland Security Investigations and the US Attorney's Office. Advocates for immigrant rights say people were detained Friday by immigration authorities outside Home Depot stores and a doughnut shop.
Arab News
7 hours ago
- Arab News
SAS digital twins transform manufacturing
SAS is poised to help transform critical processes in the manufacturing industry with enhanced digital twins that combine SAS' powerful AI and advanced analytics with Unreal Engine from Epic Games. With these digital twins, manufacturers like Georgia-Pacific can experiment with new strategies in simulated digital worlds, then take the best approaches and implement them in the real world. One of the world's leading manufacturers of paper and wood-based building products, GP is piloting these enhanced digital twins at its Savannah River Mill, which manufactures napkins, paper towels and toilet tissue. GP is leveraging SAS' technology to optimize its use of automated guided vehicles and other processes.
