4 days ago
Pentagon Golden Dome to have 4-layer defence system, slides show
The Trump administration's flagship Golden Dome missile defence system will include four layers — one satellite-based and three on land — with 11 short-range batteries across the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii, according to a US government slide presentation on the project.
The slides, tagged 'Go Fast, Think Big!', were presented to 3,000 defence contractors in Huntsville, Alabama, last week and reveal the unprecedented complexity of the system, which faces an ambitious 2028 deadline set by US President Donald Trump.
The system is estimated to cost $175bn (R3.06-trillion), but the slides show uncertainties loom over the basic architecture of the project because the number of launchers, interceptors, ground stations and missile sites needed for the system has yet to be determined.
'They have a lot of money, but they don't have a target of what it costs yet,' said one US official. So far Congress has appropriated $25bn (R437.69bn) for Golden Dome in Trump's tax-and-spend bill passed in July. Another $45.3bn (R793.09bn) is earmarked for Golden Dome in his 2026 presidential budget request.
Intended as a multilayered missile defence shield for the US, Golden Dome draws inspiration from Israel's Iron Dome, but is significantly bigger due to the geography it will need to protect and the complexity due to the varied threats it will face.
