Latest news with #IronDomeforAmerica
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First Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Golden Dome for America: Will it trigger arms race in space?
Donald Trump has taken inspiration from Israel's Iron Dome which has proved its worthiness in recent times against missiles launched from Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis read more Daniel Gold, an Israeli engineer and military leader, was head of the Israeli Directorate of Defence Research & Development (DDR&D) between 2003 and 2010 and was instrumental in developing Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, along with few other scientists. Possibly, it was he who had suggested the name Iron Dome. During the first hundred days of Trump 2.0, it appeared that the US President was keen to repeat the same model for developing a new missile defence system for the US. In January 2025, he announced that the US would develop an American Iron Dome. In this connection, on January 28, 2025 he signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to develop a comprehensive missile defence system. The executive order called the system 'Iron Dome for America'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In February 2025, the US Missile Defence Agency hosted an Industry Day to explore how the industry can contribute to this project. Subsequently, on 24 February an advisory was sent to defence contractors, the programme was found as 'Golden Dome for America'. Possibly, this change in name could have happened since the name 'Iron Dome' is a registered trademark owned by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defence Systems. Also, the US version is designed to operate on a much larger scale, protecting the entire US territory (there is a proposal to also give the cover to Canada) from advanced missile threats. It is envisioned that the existing missile defence systems would have limitations since with time, new missile technologies are getting developed and in future the missile threats are expected to grow in scale and sophistication. There is a concern that China and Russia are actively designing missile systems to exploit gaps in the US defences. Beijing's success with the hypersonic missile technology is known. They have also established a near-space command to deal with various aspects of hypersonic technology. Moscow is modernising its intercontinental-range missile systems and developing advanced precision strike missiles. They are using drones as an important tool in their ongoing military campaign in the Ukraine theatre. Russian hypersonic weapons are now battle tested systems since they have used hypersonic missiles like Kinzhal on targets in Ukraine. It is obvious that Trump has taken inspiration from Israel's Iron Dome which has proved its worthiness in recent times against missiles launched from Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis. However, systems like Iron Dome have limited expanse, it needs to be noted that the geographic size of the US is about 448 times bigger than Israel. With regard to potential missile threats against Israel, they are unlikely to originate from multiple directions, and the incoming missiles are generally not expected to feature state-of-the-art technology. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump has mentioned that he is keen to have a system that would consist of next-generation technologies across land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors. The idea is to develop a system that is capable of intercepting missiles launched from any part of the world, or launched from space, say by using systems like fractional orbital bombardment systems (FOBS). This proposed Golden Dome is also expected to stop missiles that are moving towards the target with the hypersonic speeds (more than five times the speed of sound). The Trump administration has estimated the total cost of the entire system to be approximately around $175 billion. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that deploying space-based interceptors to counter a limited number of intercontinental ballistic missiles would cost between $161 billion and $542 billion over a period of 20-years. This system is expected to create a network of satellites, for the purposes of detect, tracking and potentially intercept incoming missiles. Possibly, that is why the head of the US Space Force is handling this project. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In fact, President Trump is reviving an idea that was proposed more than four decades ago by a former US President. In the 1980s, the then-President Ronald Reagan had conceptualised a missile defence architecture to guard against any nuclear attacks. On March 23, 1983, in a nationally televised address, he had announced the need for pioneering research into a national defence system that could render nuclear weapons obsolete. This proposal became famously known as the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI). At its core, the SDI programme aimed to develop a space-based missile defence system capable of protecting the US from a large-scale nuclear attack. While SDI spurred the development of various advanced technologies, the exact vision conceptualized by Reagan never fully materialised. During the last four decades the US has developed a range of missile defence systems like the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence System, Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), ground-based interceptors, air defence systems, and various short-range and aerial anti-ballistic missile systems. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It is important to mention that the Golden Dome is not directly an upgrade of the existing THAAD missile system. THAAD is a terrestrial-based missile defence system, while the Golden Dome is a broader, more comprehensive space-based system. In essence, It could be said that the Golden Dome builds upon existing missile defence systems like THAAD but also expands its capabilities to include space-based surveillance and interception, making it a more comprehensive and advanced system. What President Trump has conceptualised is a significant idea from the standpoint of US national security. However, the question remains: is it technologically feasible? While a definitive answer is difficult, it can be broadly argued that, given the existing technological capabilities of the US, turning such a concept into reality is not entirely impossible. The real challenges are likely to arise from financial and political considerations. Perhaps the most concerning aspect of this initiative is the risk that it could trigger an arms race in space, as states may begin deploying weapons in the space. This would increase the likelihood of heightened military competition among major powers. Russia, North Korea, and China have already expressed strong opposition to this Golden Dome initiative. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The author is Deputy Director General, MP-IDSA, New Delhi. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Canada Standard
6 days ago
- Politics
- Canada Standard
Trump claims Canada would need to pay 61 bln USD to join
WASHINGTON, May 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that Canada would need to pay 61 billion U.S. dollars to join his proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense system. "I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State," Trump wrote on Truth Social post. Trump announced Tuesday the 175 billion U.S. dollar missile shield project, appointing U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein to lead what Trump described as a "Manhattan Project-scale" initiative. The system is designed to create a comprehensive network of satellites capable of detecting, tracking, and intercepting incoming missiles. The project represents a substantial evolution from what was initially announced as the "Iron Dome for America" in the Trump administration's first week, before being renamed "Golden Dome" by the Pentagon in February. Trump's post comes on the same day as the throne speech was delivered in Canada's Parliament by King Charles III, the head of state for both Canada and the United Kingdom, "during which he asserted Canada's sovereignty and Prime Minister Mark Carney committed his government to joining a major European defence rearmament plan," reported Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday. Carney told the broadcasting network's Power & Politics program in an interview following the speech that he hopes Canada will be able to join ReArm Europe by July 1, a step aimed at reducing the country's dependence on the United States for weapons and munitions, according to the report. Trump has repeatedly threatened Canadian sovereignty, expressing a desire to annex Canada and turn it into the 51st U.S. state. Carney told Trump earlier this month during an Oval Office meeting that Canada is "not for sale."
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Can Donald Trump build the 'Golden Dome' over the US?
Warheads raining down from beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Faster-than-sound cruise missiles striking US infrastructure. Sky-high nuclear blasts. These are just some of the nightmarish scenarios that experts warn could come true if the US's dated and limited defence systems were overwhelmed in a future high-tech attack. Even a single, relatively small nuclear detonation hundreds of miles above the heads of Americans would create an electromagnetic pulse - or EMP - that would have apocalyptic results. Planes would fall out of the sky across the country. Everything from handheld electronics and medical devices to water systems would be rendered completely useless. "We wouldn't be going back 100 years," said William Fortschen, an author and weapons researcher at Montreat College in North Carolina. "We'd lose it all, and we don't know how to rebuild it. It would be the equivalent of us going back 1,000 years and having to start from scratch." In response to these hypothetical - but experts say quite possible - threats, US President Donald Trump has set his eyes on a "next generation" missile shield: the Golden Dome. But while many experts agree that building such a system is necessary, its high cost and logistical complexity will make Trump's mission to bolster America's missile defences extremely challenging. An executive order calling for the creation of what was initially termed the "Iron Dome for America" noted that the threat of next-generation weapons has "become more intense and complex" over time, a potentially "catastrophic" scenario for the US. Patrycja Bazylczyk, a missile defence expert at the Washington DC-headquartered Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the BBC that existing systems are geared towards intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, such as those used by North Korea. But powerful nations like Russia and China are also investing in newer technologies that could strike not just neighbours, but adversaries an ocean away. Among the threats publicly identified by US defence officials are hypersonic weapons able to move faster than the speed of sound and fractional orbital bombardment systems - also called Fobs - that could deliver warheads from space. Each - even in limited numbers - are deadly. "The Golden Dome sort of re-orients our missile defence policy towards our great power competitors," Ms Bazylczyk said. "Our adversaries are investing in long-range strike capabilities, including things that aren't your typical missiles that we've been dealing with for years." The White House and defence officials have so far provided few concrete details about what the Golden Dome - which is still in its conceptual stages - would actually look like. Speaking alongside Trump in the Oval Office on 20 May, defence secretary Pete Hegseth said only that the system will have multiple layers "across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors". Trump added that the system will be capable of intercepting missiles "even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched in space", with various aspects of the programme based as far afield as Florida, Indiana and Alaska. In previous testimony in Congress, the newly named overseer of the programme, Space Force General Michael Guetlein, said that the Golden Dome will build on existing systems that are largely aimed at traditional ICBMs. A new system would - add multiple layers that could also detect and defend against cruise missiles and other threats, including by intercepting them before they launch or at the various stages of their flight. Currently, the US Missile Defence Agency largely relies on 44 ground-based interceptors based in Alaska and California, designed to combat a limited missile attack. Experts have warned that the existing system is woefully inadequate if the US homeland were to be attacked by Russia and China, each of which has an expanded arsenal of hundreds of ICBMs and thousands of cruise missiles. "[Current systems] were created for North Korea," said Dr Stacie Pettyjohn, a defence expert at the Center for a New American Security. "It could never intercept a big arsenal like Russia's, or even a much smaller one like China's." The Congressional Research Office, or CBO, has said that "hundreds or thousands" of space-based platforms would be necessary to "provide even a minimal defence" against incoming missiles - a potentially enormously expensive proposition. Trump first revealed his concept for the Golden Dome during a joint address to Congress in March, when he said that "Israel has it, other places have it, and the United States should have it too". The president was referring to Israel's "Iron Dome" system, which the country has used to intercept rockets and missiles since 2011. Israel's Iron Dome, however, is designed to intercept shorter-range threats, while two other systems - known as David's Sling and the Arrow - combat larger ballistic missiles such as those that have been fired by Iran and the Houthis in Yemen. Ms Bazylczyk described the Iron Dome as geared towards "lower tier" threats, such as rockets fired from Gaza or southern Lebanon. The Golden Dome would go beyond that, to detect longer range missiles as well, she said. To accomplish that, she said it will need to combine different capabilities. "And I'll be looking out for the command and control system that can weave all of this together," she said, noting that such a thing does not currently exist. Creating that system will be an incredibly complicated - and costly - proposition. In the Oval Office, Trump suggested that the Golden Dome could be completed by the end of his term, with a total cost of $175bn over time, including an initial investment of $25bn already earmarked for it. His estimate is far out of sync with the CBO's, which has put the potential price tag at $542bn over 20 years on the space-based systems alone. Experts have said the total cost could eventually soak up a large chunk of the massive US defence budget. "I think that's unrealistic," said Dr Pettyjohn. "This is complicated, with multiple systems that need to be integrated together. Every one of those steps has its own risks, costs and schedules." "And going fast is going to add more cost and risk," she added. "You're likely to produce something that isn't going to be as thoroughly evaluated... there are going to be failures along the way, and what you produce may need major overhauls." The creation of the Golden Dome has also sparked fears that it may lead to a new "arms race", with US foes gearing up their own efforts to find ways to overwhelm or circumvent its defences. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, for example, told reporters that the plan "heightens the risk of space becoming a battlefield". Those involved in researching worst-case scenarios and US defence policy downplay these concerns. Potential foes, they argue, are already investing heavily in offensive capabilities. "The Golden Dome aims to change the strategic calculus of our adversaries," said Ms Bazylczyk. "Improving homeland air and missile defences reduces the confidence of a potential attacker in achieving whatever objectives they seek." "It raises the threshold for them to engage in this attack," she added. "And it contributes to overall deterrence." Even a partially completed Golden Dome, Mr Fortschen said, could prevent a nightmare scenario from taking place. "I will breathe a lot easier," he said. "We need that type of system. The Golden Dome is the answer." Trump unveils plans for 'Golden Dome' defence system What we know about Russia's Oreshnik missile North Korea says new hypersonic missile will 'contain' rivals
Barnama
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Barnama
Trump Unveils US$175 Bln "Golden Dome" Missile Shield Project
U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement regarding the Golden Dome missile defense shield in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., (Credit: Reuters) SACRAMENTO (US), May 21 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- United States (US) President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a US$175 billion missile defence system dubbed the "Golden Dome," describing it as a "Manhattan Project-scale" initiative, Xinhua reported. US Space Force General Michael Guetlein has been appointed to lead the project. During the Oval Office announcement, flanked by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Guetlein, Trump revealed that the project would be completed within three years and would protect the entire continental United States, including Canada, from aerial threats. bootstrap slideshow "It is a great day for America," Trump declared, seated beside a poster showing the continental US painted gold with artistic depictions of missile interceptions. "This design for the Golden Dome will integrate with our existing defence capabilities and should be fully operational before the end of my term." The ambitious system is designed to create a comprehensive network of satellites capable of detecting, tracking, and intercepting incoming missiles. Trump touted the system would be "capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space." The project represents a substantial evolution from what was initially announced as the "Iron Dome for America" in the administration's first week, before being renamed "Golden Dome" by the Pentagon in February, possibly due to trademark concerns with Israel's existing Iron Dome system. Guetlein previously served as the vice chief of space operations with the US Space Force and has extensive experience in missile defence and space-based capabilities.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How achievable is Trump's Golden Dome plan?
Seven days after his inauguration, Donald Trump issued the 'Iron Dome for America' executive order to create a cutting-edge defense system that protects the U.S. from long-range missile attacks. Trump revealed Tuesday that his administration has settled on a design for the massive system, adding that it will be operational within three years. The president appointed Michael Guetlein, the current vice chief of space operations, to lead the project. 'Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space, and we will have the best system ever built,' Trump said from the Oval Office. The idea evokes the concept of Israel's missile defense system, but there would be several key differences between the U.S. ally's Iron Dome and Trump's so-called 'Golden Dome'. The Golden Dome would have to cover a much larger area, for starters. The Golden Dome will also have to be a lot more comprehensive, with several different systems that can locate, track and stop any kind of aerial attack the U.S. might face, according to Wes Rumbaugh, a fellow in the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. By comparison, Israel's Iron Dome is a system designed to specifically protect against just short-range rockets and artillery shells. Congressional Republicans recently proposed allocating $25 billion from this year's budget for the project, further signaling that construction could begin soon. Here's what you need to know about Trump's plan — and why some experts warn it has some 'big issues': Trump's executive order outlines some straightforward aspects to his Golden Dome plan, like an updated missile threat risk assessment or a list of strategic locations where it'd be best to defend against missile threats proactively. But the most significant component is also the most complicated: a network of 'space-based interceptors,' such as lasers, that would be able to stop or destroy warheads shortly after they're launched. This harkens back to President Ronald Reagan's infamous space-based missile defense system, nicknamed 'Star Wars' by critics. Officials building any space-based interceptor system would need to ensure every possible attacker and target are covered — you can't have Florida covered but not California. But this means building a massive web of interceptors to ensure they're always in the correct position, which Michael O'Hanlon, director of research in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, argues would be costly and 'hugely inefficient.' 'You've got to be pretty confident you're going to get everything, or at least knock everything off course,' O'Hanlon tells The Independent. O'Hanlon also says lasers themselves also pose a cost issue, because those would have to be sent into orbit with large amounts of fuel and giant mirrors that can focus the laser's energy enough to destroy a warhead. 'This translates into each one of your defensive space-based lasers being the equivalent of the Hubble telescope,' he says. Rumbaugh believes the Golden Dome is feasible on a purely technical level, but other factors will determine whether it ever gets built. By building up such strong defensive systems, the U.S. could provoke an adversary into further strengthening their offense, sparking a global arms race. This could trigger a feedback loop where officials make the country 'less secure and certainly more impoverished,' O'Hanlon said. 'If you really try to make this comprehensive against even a Russian nuclear attack, then you're reigniting all the age-old debates about the likelihood of just triggering an arms race where defense continues to be more difficult and expensive than offense,' O'Hanlon added. Other challenges will include budget and scale. Rumbaugh said some have compared the Golden Dome to the Manhattan Project, America's top-secret effort to construct an atomic bomb during World War II. O'Hanlon similarly estimates the project would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. 'Even if you just sized [the system] to today's Russian nuclear arsenal, and you wanted to build a multi-layer capability that Trump has talked about, that is already enormously expensive,' O'Hanlon said. 'I think I calculated something in the range of $500 billion, and that was just for a limited part of it.' Collaboration and resource-sharing may also prove difficult and the details are still unclear, Rumbaugh added. How will the Missile Defense Agency, the Space Force, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and various other agencies work together to manage the Golden Dome? That remains unclear. Even if the idea seems farfetched, O'Hanlon says the U.S. does need to expand its missile defense capabilities. 'I think that there could be some benefits to even a limited, partially effective missile defense system, whether it's defending against the North Korean threat that's continued to grow, or a future Iranian threat, or a threat of a limited strike by Russia or China,' he said. The Independent has contacted the White House for comment. O'Hanlon offers that a scaled-back version of Trump's plan could be beneficial overall to U.S. national security. 'I think there is value in doing more than we've done already,' he added.
