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USA Today
24-06-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Does the US need a Golden Dome air defense system?
On a special episode (first released on June 23, 2025) of The Excerpt podcast: How might the Golden Dome missile defense system proposed by President Donald Trump protect the US from missile strikes? Tom Karako with the Center for Strategic & International Studies joins The Excerpt to discuss air defense systems. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@ Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here Dana Taylor: Hello and welcome to USA TODAY's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. In May, President Donald Trump shared his vision for protecting the US from the threat of nuclear strikes by drones and ballistic cruise and hypersonic missiles. The idea, a Golden Dome, which would cover the country with three layers of air defenses following the launch of missiles in Iran. The idea of having a robust defense system here at home is getting more attention. Here to share his insight on missile defense and nuclear deterrence is Tom Karako, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Thanks for joining me, Tom. Tom Karako: Great to be with you. Dana Taylor: What is the architecture of a national missile defensive system or Golden Dome look like? Would this be primarily space-based technology or is there more to it than that? Tom Karako: Yeah, there's certainly more to it than that. And again, it's important to keep in mind that we have a handful of systems already in place today to defend the United States against, especially the rogue state ICBM threat in particular. That's called the ground-based midcourse defense system. But you specifically asked about the architecture, so I think it's important to recognize there that there's a number of sensors, there's space sensors, there's lots of ground-based radars, and the very beginning of the kill chain here is the first, the detection of a missile launch. The tracking of that, the figuring out, is this a threat and where is it going, that's primarily a sensor and computing a problem. Then figuring out, okay, we have certain interceptors, how does one create a fire control solution? How does one tell them where to go at what moment to be at a particular point in space to kill this thing? And then of course, we have the ground-based interceptors up in Alaska that are there to kill this. But as you note, this is not just about the rogue state ballistic missile threat. As we've seen in Ukraine and the Middle East, there's all kinds of other threats. So I would say that the Golden Dome Initiative that was in that executive order from January is long overdue. These are weapons of choice, as we see again on a daily and weekly basis in these various global conflicts, and so the cruise missiles, the forthcoming, and really the present, hypersonic missile threats and other things perhaps space to ground fires, lots of these things in addition to the UAVs that are plentiful and proliferated, all of these things are threats that we have become accustomed to seeing over there. But these are things that are going to unfortunately be coming to a theater near you to us in our homeland as well. And so the operation Spiderweb thing that Ukraine did, putting things into Russia, we have to imagine it's not going to take a whole lot of imagination to imagine those kinds of attacks applied to, for instance, our military bases or our ports, our airfields, things like that. So everybody has to look up. We can't take air superiority for granted anymore and so it's going to be a spectrum air and missile defense capabilities to contend with this spectrum of air and missile threats. Dana Taylor: I was going to ask, are there specific current or projected threats that justify the need for a Golden Dome missile shield? Tom Karako: I think we see them in the headlines every day. The very robust, say Russian and Chinese, first and foremost, cruise missile threats, ballistic missile threats. Why are we concerned about them? Why can't we just rely upon nuclear deterrents? The answer is the availability of non-nuclear strategic attack, the kinds of things that a country might think they can get away with short of a nuclear reprisal. That's a big problem now and again, the last several national defense strategies for both the Biden Administration and the previous Trump Administration identified China and Russia as our principle challenges. We're not dealing with the rogue states first and foremost. Counterterrorism is not our top priority at the moment. It is fundamentally the major peer, near peer threats from the bigs, that we have to worry about. And again, missiles are weapons of choice. They're not a boutique problem, they're not a future problem. It's very much a today problem. Dana Taylor: The idea of mutually assured destruction rose during the Cold War between the US and Russia. The theory that should either side strike first, they too would be annihilated proved to be effective. How much of a deterrent is American might? Tom Karako: The paradigm that I think serious defense planners, again on a bipartisan basis, really over the past decade plus, have come to is that while it's important to have that deterrence by punishment, whether nuclear punishment or otherwise, that the threat again of that non-nuclear strategic attack is so significant based on the supply and the demand globally for these precision guided munitions that can have very serious effects without any nuclear weapons at all. That problem set also requires the prospect of deterrence by denial, which is to say, denying an adversary their objectives, not just blustering or threatening to respond if they should attack. Dana Taylor: We've recently seen the limitations of Israel's Iron Dome. Some Iranian missiles have successfully pierced Israel's air defense systems. Can you break down how the Iron Dome works, what went wrong, and if the proposed Golden Dome can mitigate those risks? Tom Karako: So I think you're probably talking about the many, many hundreds of missiles that have been coming in to Israel in the first instance over the past week, but also of course, those really big attacks on April 14 and in October of 2024. No weapons system is perfect, no weapons system is non-finite in its capacity in its numbers. So I think the beginning of wisdom here is to recognize that there will always be a leaker. That's just in the nature of things. There's no perfect tactical aircraft. There's no perfect sidearm that is not going to fail occasionally. What I would say actually is that in the 400 or so ballistic missiles that have been fired in the last week here in June of 2025, it's been remarkably good shooting. It's been astonishing to me that so few have gotten through. Then likewise on April 14 of last year, when something like 550 plus projectiles coming at Israel simultaneously from multiple trajectories from Yemen, and from Iran, from other places, UAVs, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles all designed to arrive simultaneously. It was, I think, nothing short of a miracle that as many were intercepted last year as they were. So what I would say is that Israel's layered defense, of which the Iron Dome system is just one layer, in fact, the lowest layer, most of the big things are either going to be caught by the family of interceptors, they are 2 Arrow 3 or David's Sling for some of the medium range stuff. The Iron Dome system, per se, is not going to be engaging the long-range threats. It's also important to note that the United States has been engaged in the Red Sea operations and in the direct defense of Israel. The United States has two THAAD batteries deployed in Israel right now, and they have been busy. They have been busy shooting down a number of these threats so it's a very much a combined operation between the United States and Israel in terms of taking out these longer range threats. But you're right. There was a couple weeks ago, I think, at least one major missile that got through before the current kerfuffle. And again, I see that as primarily in the nature of things. Nothing is perfect. The good news is, of course, that we're talking about the non-nuclear attack as opposed to nuclear attack and so that's, I think, is important to put that in context. Dana Taylor: To what impact could the creation of a missile shield have on our relationships with both our allies and adversaries or their takeaways here from Israel's Iron Dome? Tom Karako: Yeah. Here again, I think it's important to contrast, especially the caricatures of the Cold War about, let's just say, Reagan's aspirations on SDI, Strategic Defense Initiative. In that context, there were some allies that were hypothesizing, well, what if the United States comes up with some impenetrable shield? What's their interest and commitment going to be on an extended deterrence level for coming to the aid of say, the European allies? Well, there's a couple of problems with that. One is nothing is perfect, and I think those kind of assumptions get way ahead of the capability gap. What I would say is, in practice, the prospect of even a limited degree of protection, say for the US homeland is first and foremost bolstering American and allied broad defense and deterrence commitments. If you're able to be blackmailed, if you're able to be coerced, if you're able to have your military forces decapitated because you don't have any deterrence by denial act of missile defenses, that's a problem. hat's a problem for your deterrence and extended deterrence commitments globally. This is why the demand signal for active air missile defense, this is no longer an American idiosyncrasy by any means, putting in addition to the Russian and the Chinese significant investments here. Just take a look at what all of our allies are doing. There's a massive rush for air missile defense capability in Europe led by Germany called the Skyshield Initiative, but to Poland, Sweden, the Swiss, and probably the United Kingdom here soon as well. So it's not an American idiosyncrasy. Everybody kind of realizes that you need to have some kind of defense, albeit limited, to slow things down, because ultimately it contributes to deterrence. It contributes to nuclear deterrence, it contributes to conventional deterrence so that the bad guys don't get an idea pop into their head, that they can come up with something like a fait accompli and get away with it very easily. So it raises the threshold for aggression by making it harder for them to do something at a lower level. Dana Taylor: As you know, the President has set an ambitious timeline. Trump has said the system, "...should be fully operational before the end of my term," which would be in 2029. Is that realistic? Tom Karako: Here's where I am going to make a comparison to SDI and to Reagan, which was that Reagan said that this is something that might not be accomplished in his lifetime. And yay verily, we are over 40 years later now, and it has yielded very significant results, but it has taken time. So I think that it's important to see the Golden Dome Initiative, not as a program, not as a system, but rather as an umbrella for a lot of initiatives and a lot of efforts to get after these various weapons of choice. And so it's going to be an ongoing thing. You'll probably see them snap the chalk line and say at the end of the term that there's some kind of defensive capability. Some things can be accomplished in the near term, I think they will be. But there's going to be a lot of things that are going to take longer, and that's okay. Dana Taylor: I want to turn now to the price tag. In May, a report from the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that a bare-bones version capable of intercepting one or two ballistic missiles would cost at least $161 billion over two decades. How much might a fully realized Golden Dome cost, and do you see this as a good allocation of available defense spending? Tom Karako: So I think it's real important to understand what the Congressional Budget Office report did and what it didn't do. They were not tasked to cost the Golden Dome Initiative at all. What they were asked to do by Congress was to update a previous estimate of what a particular set of assumptions for space based interceptors might be. And so that is a particular component, a particular piece of a potential future architecture for Golden Dome, and there's a number of different assumptions in terms of what the interceptors cost on that. The only variable that they updated on that was the launch cost. The good news is that launch costs have come down dramatically for space. That's why you see thousands of Starlink satellites and lots of other companies, Amazon, et cetera, that have thousands of satellites and so that's the number, that's the scope that one might need for a space-based interceptor layer, an overlayer, as it were for the other things. But I think it's real important to understand what those numbers are and what they're not, and that that's probably not the best guide to what we're going to be spending on this. The president said in his Oval Office remarks... He threw out the number 175 billion, but the question is over how many years? That could be over 10 years. If it was over five years, that would be 35 billion a year and it just depends on what is being counted and what is not. So I think it's real important to take a look at what Congress is actually authorizing and appropriating and not kind of, I would say, pie-in-the-sky numbers that don't necessarily correspond with reality. The good news is you can do a lot for $25, $35 billion a year. $25 billion is the number that's in the reconciliation bill working its way through Congress. And you can do a lot for that to address all these disparate threats, and frankly, we should be. Dana Taylor: Finally, we live in a world with increasing threats running the gamut from pandemics to foreign disinformation campaigns. Do you have any concerns that a Golden Dome may give Americans a false sense of security? Tom Karako: First of all, we're not going to be able to defend everything, and it's going to require senior military and political leaders to be upfront about the fact that the threat is so wicked. The threat is so difficult that you're not going to have a perfect Astrodome to defend everything. And it's about picking and having a preferential defense. Think about the Super Bowl. Every year, the Super Bowl gets a special bubble of air defense over it. And I think what I would say is that where we're heading is a handful domes over a handful of places persistent throughout the year as opposed to just for the big game. So keeping expectations in check is going to be important, and again, as we see on a daily and weekly basis in the headlines, these are weapons of choice. These are what our adversaries and frankly we reach for first in a conflict is long-range standoff capability. And so I think understanding that is going to help to make sure that we don't have a false sense of security because it's a tough world. Dana Taylor: It's good to have you on The Excerpt, Tom. Thank you. Tom Karako: Thank you. Dana Taylor: Thanks for our senior producers, Shannon Rae Green and Kaely Monahan for their production assistant. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts at Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor, Taylor Wilson, be back tomorrow morning with another episode of USA TODAY's The Excerpt.
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Business Standard
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Israel running low on air defence, missiles as tensions escalate with Iran
Concerns over the sustainability of Israel's defence system are rising as the country is reportedly running low on its defensive long-range missile interceptors, The Wall Street Journal reported. This comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran, with both sides engaging in intense missile strikes and air raids for six consecutive days. The report, citing a US official, stated that concerns are now being raised over Israel's ability to defend itself from Iran's long-range ballistic missiles if the conflict does not end soon. The US has been aware of the capacity problems for months and has been strengthening Israel's defence systems on the ground, at sea, and in the air, the report states. The Pentagon has sent more missile defence assets to Israel since its latest escalation with Israel. However, concerns have now surfaced about the US' depleting stock of interceptors. Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, "Neither the US nor the Israelis can continue to sit and intercept missiles all day." "The Israelis and their friends need to move with all deliberate haste to do whatever needs to be done, because we cannot afford to sit and play catch,' he added. Israel-Iran conflict On June 13, Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion' against Iran, targeting nuclear sites in its capital city Tehran. After Israel's military strikes killed several Iranian leaders, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) chief Hossein Salami, Iran retaliated and launched military strikes targeting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. On Tuesday (local time), US President Donald Trump asked Iran for "unconditional surrender" and claimed that the US knows where Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding, adding that even though he is an "easy target, he won't be killed just now". Khamenei responded by issuing a warning to Israel. "The battle begins," Khamenei said, adding Ali returns to Khaybar — a reference to the 7th-century conquest of the Jewish town of Khaybar by the first imam of Shia Islam.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
12 days of defence left? Israel's $285 million-a-night shield races against the clock as Iran unleashes hypersonic barrage
Israel is rapidly depleting its stock of Arrow missile interceptors , raising urgent questions about the sustainability of its missile defence against Iran. A senior U.S. official, quoted in The Wall Street Journal, confirmed that Israel's supply of the advanced Arrow system — used to intercept high-altitude ballistic missiles — is running low. The conflict, now in its sixth day, has seen Iran fire over 400 ballistic missiles, part of a wider arsenal estimated at 2,000. Israel has intercepted most of these using its multi-layered missile defence network, which includes the Iron Dome, David's Sling, Arrow, and U.S.-supplied systems like Patriots and THAAD. But that shield is now showing signs of fatigue. 'Neither the U.S. nor the Israelis can continue to sit and intercept missiles all day,' said Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'The Israelis and their friends need to move with all deliberate haste to do whatever needs to be done, because we cannot afford to sit and play catch.' Pentagon steps in as cost soars Washington has been aware of the supply shortage for months. In response, the Pentagon has quietly ramped up missile defence support, deploying assets on land, sea, and in the air. U.S. Navy destroyers have joined intercept operations in the region, supplementing Israel's overworked systems. Live Events But intercepting missiles isn't cheap. Israeli financial daily The Marker estimates nightly missile defence operations cost up to 1 billion shekels ($285 million). Each Arrow interceptor alone costs around $3 million. A source briefed on U.S. and Israeli intelligence told WSJ that without American resupply or escalation, Israel may only have enough interceptors left for 10 to 12 more days — assuming Iran maintains its current pace of fire. 'The system is already overwhelmed. Soon, they may have to choose which missiles to intercept,' the source said. Breaks in the shield That strain is becoming visible. On Friday night, Iranian missiles breached defences and struck near Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Two days later, another projectile hit an oil refinery near Haifa, forcing a shutdown. Verified videos on Tuesday showed further impacts close to Israel's intelligence complex north of Tel Aviv. So far, Israel has reported 24 deaths and over 600 injuries since the latest wave of hostilities began. The IDF issued a brief statement in response to questions about its missile supplies: 'The IDF is prepared and ready to handle any scenario. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on matters related to munitions.' Israel Aerospace Industries , which manufactures the Arrow system, has not responded to media queries. Offensive push and civil fallout While defences strain, Israel is also on the offensive. On Wednesday, over 50 Israeli fighter jets struck targets in Tehran in broad daylight. According to the IDF, the attacks focused on a centrifuge production site linked to uranium enrichment and several military manufacturing facilities. That same morning, the IDF intercepted seven Iranian drones aimed at Israeli airspace. Civil aviation has also been affected. Israeli airline El Al landed its first 'Safe Return' evacuation flight from Cyprus at Ben Gurion Airport under strict security protocols. Warnings were issued repeatedly in the Golan Heights, where alerts for hostile aircraft rang out across Wednesday morning. High stakes, harsh words Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei escalated rhetoric, posting on social media, 'Force must be used against the Zionist terrorist entity. We will not show leniency toward the Zionists.' Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump added fuel to the fire, stating, 'It would be easy for the superpower to locate and eliminate Iran's leader.' Although the Pentagon has not officially confirmed U.S. involvement in Israeli strikes, Washington's defence posture in the region has grown noticeably more active. While Israeli strikes have reportedly damaged Iran's missile launch sites, military bases, and oil facilities, much of Tehran's missile stock remains hidden, likely in underground silos. Israeli officials claim one-third of Iran's launchers have been destroyed and say they now enjoy air superiority over Iranian skies. But intelligence suggests over half of Iran's missile inventory is still intact. And among them is the Fatah-1, an advanced missile Iran claims can evade current defence systems. Tehran's Revolutionary Guards say some of these weapons fly at hypersonic speeds, making interception even harder. In short, Israel faces a narrowing window — either replenish its missile defences or brace for the cost of letting some threats through. The next few days may determine which path it takes.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Is Israel's famous Iron Dome failing against Iranian missiles? This report may explain the shocking reality
Israel may be running dangerously low on its stock of Arrow missile interceptors, The Wall Street Journal reported, quoting a senior United States official. The warning comes on the sixth day of full‑scale conflict between Israel and Iran, which has seen an unprecedented wave of ballistic missile launches at Israeli targets. IDF says air defences still holding The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have not confirmed any shortage. 'The IDF is prepared and ready to handle any scenario. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on matters related to munitions,' the military said. Washington quietly reinforces Israel The American report says the United States has been aware of the inventory strain for months. In response, the Pentagon has sent Patriot and THAAD batteries, while U.S. Navy destroyers are helping intercept incoming missiles from the sea, air, and land. Iranian barrages add pressure Israel's Arrow system, built by Israel Aerospace Industries, intercepts long‑range ballistic missiles. Iran has fired hundreds of missiles in recent days, including the Fatah‑1, which Tehran claims can evade existing defences and fly at hypersonic speeds. Expert urges quick action Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned against relying only on interception. 'Neither the US nor the Israelis can continue to sit and intercept missiles all day. The Israelis and their friends need to move with all deliberate haste to do whatever needs to be done, because we cannot afford to sit and play catch," Karako said. Live Events MORE STORIES FOR YOU ✕ « Back to recommendation stories I don't want to see these stories because They are not relevant to me They disrupt the reading flow Others SUBMIT Israeli jets strike back In daylight raids, the IDF flew more than 50 fighter jets against targets in Tehran. Israeli officials said the strikes hit a centrifuge production facility for uranium enrichment and other military plants. Drone alerts over Golan Heights The IDF reported seven drones launched from Iran on Wednesday morning. All were intercepted before they crossed into Israeli airspace, triggering repeated alerts in the Golan Heights. Israeli carrier El Al conducted its first 'Safe Return' evacuation flight from Cyprus, landing at Ben Gurion Airport under heightened security measures. Hard‑line statements escalate rhetoric Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote online: 'Force must be used against the Zionist terrorist entity. We will not show leniency toward the Zionists.' U.S. President Donald Trump responded that it would be 'easy' for the superpower to locate and eliminate Iran's leader. The Pentagon has not confirmed direct American involvement in combat operations.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Middle East crisis: Is Israel running out of missile interceptors? Bombshell report claims defence system nearing breaking point as war with Iran escalates
Israel's Arrow anti-missile defence system Israel may be running dangerously low on its stock of Arrow missile interceptors, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal that cites a senior US official. The warning comes as Israel faces an unprecedented volume of ballistic missile attacks from Iran in the sixth day of full-blown conflict between the two countries. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has not confirmed any shortage and maintains that its air defence systems are successfully intercepting most incoming missiles. 'The IDF is prepared and ready to handle any scenario. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on matters related to munitions,' the military said in a statement. However, the American report suggests that the US has been aware of the problem for months and has quietly bolstered Israel's defences with additional ground, sea, and air-based systems. The Pentagon has deployed assets including the Patriot and THAAD missile defence systems, while US Navy destroyers are assisting in intercept operations. Israel's own Arrow system, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, plays a critical role in intercepting long-range ballistic missiles. But with Iran firing hundreds of missiles in recent days, including the advanced Fatah-1 which Tehran says can escape current defence systems, pressure on Israel's Arrow missile stock is growing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim these missiles move at hypersonic speeds, making them harder to stop. Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that US and Israel cannot intercept missiles forever. 'Neither the US nor the Israelis can continue to sit and intercept missiles all day. The Israelis and their friends need to move with all deliberate haste to do whatever needs to be done, because we cannot afford to sit and play catch," Karako said. Meanwhile, Israel has launched a new wave of attacks on Tehran in broad daylight, using over 50 fighter jets. The IDF said these strikes targeted a centrifuge production facility in Tehran used to enhance uranium enrichment and multiple other military production sites. In response, alerts for hostile aircraft were triggered multiple times on Wednesday morning in the Golan Heights. The IDF reported intercepting seven drones launched from Iran, preventing them from reaching Israeli territory. The escalating crisis has also affected civil aviation. Israeli airline El Al landed its first 'Safe Return' evacuation flight from Cyprus at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday morning, amid tightened security protocols. Adding fuel to the fire, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted on social media: 'Force must be used against the Zionist terrorist entity. We will not show leniency toward the Zionists.' US President Donald Trump has said it would be "easy" for the superpower to locate and eliminate Iran's leader. US involvement in the conflict is possible but has not been officially confirmed by the Pentagon.
