Latest news with #hypersonicMissiles
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Space Force general to lead Trump's $175 billion Golden Dome space defense program
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a plan for his ambitious "Golden Dome" missile defense shield this week, stating it will cost $175 billion and take about three years to develop — but some experts say the price tag could be many times higher. The Golden Dome project aims to see the United States design and deploy a next-generation missile defense shield over the entire continental U.S. that will be able to detect, track and intercept hypersonic missiles and other advanced aerial threats. What makes Golden Dome unique is that it will feature space-based interceptors: spacecraft in Earth orbit capable of shooting down missile threats mid-flight. On Tuesday (May 20), Trump and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held a press conference in the White House during which they announced that U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein, Vice Chief of Space Operations, would lead the program. "It is time that we change that equation and start doubling down on the protection of the homeland," Guetlein said during the press conference. Hegseth issued a statement on May 20 that states the Department of Defense is requesting an initial $25 billion of funding as part of Trump's "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" legislation that includes tax cuts and changes to spending. "We look forward to continuing that work with Congress to secure funding for critical capabilities necessary in the FY26 budget request," Hegseth's statement added. "Golden Dome ensures that the American homeland is not left exposed while adversaries develop more advanced and lethal long-range weapons." The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a report on May 5 that estimates the cost to deploy a constellation of space-based interceptors similar to what Trump has outlined in his vision for Golden Dome. According to the CBO, the lowest estimates for developing and deploying such a system are around $161 billion, which sits below Trump's projected costs. The CBO's higher estimates suggest the cost could reach $542 billion, or over half a trillion dollars. In reality, the final price tag could be even higher. During a security summit hosted by Politico this month, U.S. Space Force's Chief of Space Operations General B. Chance Saltzman explained his cost estimates. "I'm 34 years in this business; I've never seen an early estimate that was too high," Saltzman said, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine. "My gut tells me there's going to be some additional funding that's necessary." While Golden Dome is described as a purely defensive system meant to protect the contiguous United States, other nations are already questioning the intention behind the program. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters today (May 21) that the Golden Dome program will "expand the U.S. arsenal of means for combat operations in outer space" and has "a strong offensive nature" that "violates the principle of peaceful use in the Outer Space Treaty." While Russia initially criticized the initiative, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday (May 20) that Golden Dome is "a sovereign matter for the United States" and that the U.S. should be able to build missile defenses if it perceives a threat, according to the Moscow Times. Golden Dome takes its inspiration, at least in name, from Israel's Iron Dome, a missile shield system that has been used since 2011 by the Israel Defense Forces to intercept rockets and artillery weapons. It consists of radar systems that detect and track threats, missile launchers, and a control center that coordinates between the two. Golden Dome also has its roots in an earlier missile defense program proposed by President Ronald Reagan, known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. Reagan introduced the idea in a March 1983 televised address in which he implored the scientific community to help the United States develop space-based defense weaponry that could render the threat from nuclear weapons "impotent and obsolete." RELATED STORIES: — US needs 'orbital interceptors' to win a war in space, Space Command chief says — US needs new space tech or it 'will lose,' Space Force chief says — Boeing to test DARPA's upcoming 'Glide Breaker' hypersonic interceptor The SDI program was given the nickname "Star Wars" by the media due to how outlandish it sounded at the time. But that was before Earth's orbit became militarized, launch costs plunged exponentially thanks to reusable rocket technology, and countries began deploying space-based weapons the likes of which were only found in science fiction when Reagan gave his address. Fast forward four decades and Trump says the Golden Dome project could finally see Reagan's vision become a reality. "We will truly be completing the job that President Regan started forty years ago, forever ending the missile threat to the American homeland," Trump said.
Wall Street Journal
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
A Realistic Path to Trump's ‘Golden Dome'
There is much to like about President Trump's idea for stronger nationwide protection against air and missile threats to the U.S. At present, the country's missile-defense system is based in Alaska and California and optimized to deal only with a North Korean threat. This system likely wouldn't work against maneuvering hypersonic missiles, which numerous potential adversaries are developing. The U.S. also lacks a dedicated territorial defense against air-breathing threats such as cruise missiles and drones. In his March address to a joint session of Congress, Mr. Trump invoked Ronald Reagan's 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative, asserting that the U.S. now has the technology to do what Reagan could only dream about: develop a system in space and on Earth—a 'Golden Dome'—to defend the country from a nuclear missile attack. This week in the Oval Office, the president doubled down on his assertion, and there's evidence to support it. Midrange 'hit to kill' missile interceptors have had many successes on test ranges over the past decade, and Ukraine and Israel have proved their technological capacity to neutralize major missile attacks from Russia and Iran.
National Post
21-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
What is the Golden Dome and does Canada want to be part of it like Trump says?
Inside the Oval Office on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump told the world he'd decided on a design for the Golden Dome, a multilayered missile defence program to counter threats to America, even those coming from foreign-controlled satellites. Article content The president also said that Canada wants in on a system the White House estimates will cost US$175 billion. Article content Here's what you need to know. Article content Article content What is the Golden Dome? Article content Article content The system is needed, Trump said, in order to protect the country from 'hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles and advanced cruise missiles.' He said it would also use 'space-based sensors and interceptors,' marking the first time the U.S. will have weapons in orbit around the planet. Article content It will be overseen by Gen. Michael Guetlein, currently the vice chief of space operations, or Space Force, which Trump launched in 2019 as a stand-alone, sixth branch of the U.S. military. Article content He anticipates the 'next generation technologies across the land, sea and space' to be integrated with the existing defence systems and be up and running by 2029. His second term is set to end that January. Article content 'In about three years, 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're launched from space,' Trump said. Article content Article content According to a U.S. official who spoke with the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, Trump chose from three options developed by military planners in recent months, each with a different price tag depending on the amount of equipment required. It's not clear which option Trump chose. Article content Article content Initial funding for the project is embedded in a massive bill currently making its way through Congress — the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' which, if passed, would kick-start Golden Dome work with $25 billion. Article content Article content A Congressional Budget Office report released in May exploring the cost of maintaining just space-based interceptors for 20 years estimated it at between $161 billion for the 'lowest-cost alternative' and $542 billion for the top tier.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump reveals details of 'Golden Dome' missile defence project
The US president, Donald Trump, has announced that his administration has begun developing the so-called 'Golden Dome' missile defence system, set to be finished before the end of his second term. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump revealed the system will deploy next-generation technologies across the land, sea, and space to defend against hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles, and advanced cruise missiles
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump announces ‘Golden Dome for America' to protect U.S. from ballistic and hypersonic missiles
More than four decades after the Reagan administration's widely derided and mocked push to build a space-based ballistic missile defense system, President Donald Trump is reviving the Pentagon's efforts to protect the continental United States from foreign projectiles with a defense shield he is calling a 'Golden Dome for America.' Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump says the U.S. now has the technology to construct a system to combat not just the intercontinental ballistic missiles that were the subject of the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative, but against space-based and hypersonic missiles as well. 'In the campaign I promised the American people that I would build a cutting edge missile defense shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack, and that's what we're doing today,' said Trump, who added that he was 'pleased to announce' that the U.S. has settled on an 'architecture' for a 'state of the art system' he promised would 'deploy next generation technologies across the land, sea and space, including space based sensors and interceptors.'
