Latest news with #missiledefense
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Rocket Lab signs $460 million deal with US missile tracking tech company
An Army Tactical Missile System being tested in December 2021, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Photo: AFP / John Hamilton / US Army The headline of this story has been updated to remove the suggestion that Rocket Lab will build a missile defence system as part of the deal. California-based Rocket Lab says it has done a deal with a company capable of helping build the Golden Dome missile defence system. It has signed up to buy the parent holding company of Arizona firm Geost for $460 million. Geost develops electro-optical and infrared technology used in missile warning and tracking, surveillance and reconnaissance, Rocket Lab said. These were "core capabilities" for the likes of the Pentagon's proposed constellation of low-orbit satellites, as well as for the Dome, the company said on its website . The aim of the Dome is to create a shield that can shoot down all sorts of missiles including nuclear warheads. US President Donald Trump last week put the cost of the Golden Dome at $300 billion, but many analysts say it will cost much more. Critics have said it risks undermining global security by fuelling a new arms race involving space. Sir Peter Beck said the Geost deal positioned Rocket Lab as a "disruptive prime" - meaning major - contractor to US national security. "Rocket Lab was founded to disrupt the traditional space industry and we're doing just that," Beck said on the firm's website. "By bringing these mission critical payloads in-house, Rocket Lab enhances its ability to rapidly deliver integrated spacecraft systems purpose-built for US national security," the website said. The acquisition to be settled later this year would take the company's staff numbers to 2600 in factories and at test and launch sites in New Zealand, California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Toronto and Arizona. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Golden Dome? ReArm Europe? Canada negotiating military relationships amid trade war, sovereignty concerns
U.S. President Donald Trump says it would cost Canada at least $61B to join his Golden Dome missile defence system. 'You can only control what you can control.' Those were the words from newly minted Defence Minister David McGuinty Wednesday morning on his way into a cabinet meeting after a reporter asked him to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's US$61 billion price tag to join the Golden Dome. 'What we can control here now is decisions around strengthening our sovereignty and our security,' he said. The Golden Dome, a name that plays off Israel's Iron Dome, is a project Trump told the Pentagon to pursue. It would employ ground- and space-based weapons to destroy missiles mid-flight. Canada had expressed interest in joining the project , but a price had never been publicized – at least, not until Tuesday, when Trump laid out his terms on Truth Social: US$61 billion, or C$84.3 billion. In the 2024 federal budget, Canada's Department of National Defence was projected to spend just C$44.2 billion in 2025-26. Trump offered another price, though not a monetary one: Canada would pay billions so long as it stays 'a separate, but unequal, Nation.' But if it allowed the U.S. to consume it, the Golden Dome would be free. He claimed Canada is considering it. 'Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one,' the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement to CTV News responding to the post. McGuinty told CTV News Canada is continuing its negotiations with the White House – Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc was there this week, he said – as well as the European Union. Minister of National Defence David McGuinty Minister of National Defence David McGuinty makes an address at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries annual defence industry trade show CANSEC, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Pompeo: 'I don't know the source of that number' Mike Pompeo, Trump's former secretary of state, said he wasn't sure where that $61 billion figure came from, but estimated it was a 'low' estimate. He also said it he thought it's worth the investment. Pompeo took questions from reporters during CANSEC, a military technology convention in Ottawa. He was also asked if Canadians should feel that their sovereignty is under threat, given Trump's suggestion Canada should no longer exist as a country. 'No,' he said. 'Canada is going to do all the things necessary to protect its sovereignty. I'm sure of it.' Mike Pompeo talks Canada Mike Pompeo, former U.S. Secretary of State, takes questions at a media availability following his off-the-record keynote at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries annual defence industry trade show CANSEC, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Europe is re-arming. Canada wants in In an interview with CBC News Tuesday evening, Carney said his government wants to join ReArm Europe by Canada Day. The European initiative would leverage loans and investments into domestic defence industries. It was launched after Trump temporarily suspended U.S. military aid supporting Ukraine's defence in its ongoing war with Russia. Carney wants to diversify Canada's military spending. 'Seventy-five cents of every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That's not smart,' he told CBC News in an interview. 'What's better: if we spend more at home, if we have diversified partnerships,' he said, adding that increased activity with the Europeans could have 'big benefits' for Canadian jobs. Prime Minister Mark Carney Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Speaking to CTV News outside CANSEC, McGuinty said he would be at NATO next week in Brussels, and the prime minister will meet the consortium at the end of June. 'Discussions continue,' he said. McGuinty was asked whether entrance into ReArm would come at the expense of Canada's partnership on the Golden Dome. 'There are a lot of moving parts as Canada repositions itself, strengthens its Canadian Armed Forces, reasserts its sovereignty and security,' he responded. Inside the conference, Pompeo was asked if he was concerned Ottawa's procurement could shift to Europe if Canada no longer sees the U.S. as a reliable partner. 'I always worry about that, at one level,' he said. 'Conversely, the United States is the security partner for Canada.' Turning to ReArm, Pompeo said the U.S. welcomes a renewed emphasis on European defence spending. 'I wish the Europeans would have armed, like, 50 years ago,' he said. With files from Lynn Chaya and The Canadian Press
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Golden Dome? ReArm Europe? Canada negotiating military relationships amid trade war, sovereignty concerns
U.S. President Donald Trump says it would cost Canada at least $61B to join his Golden Dome missile defence system. U.S. President Donald Trump says it would cost Canada at least $61B to join his Golden Dome missile defence system. Trump says it would cost Canada $61B to join Golden Dome system 'You can only control what you can control.' Those were the words from newly minted Defence Minister David McGuinty Wednesday morning on his way into a cabinet meeting after a reporter asked him to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's US$61 billion price tag to join the Golden Dome. 'What we can control here now is decisions around strengthening our sovereignty and our security,' he said. The Golden Dome, a name that plays off Israel's Iron Dome, is a project Trump told the Pentagon to pursue. It would employ ground- and space-based weapons to destroy missiles mid-flight. Canada had expressed interest in joining the project , but a price had never been publicized – at least, not until Tuesday, when Trump laid out his terms on Truth Social: US$61 billion, or C$84.3 billion. In the 2024 federal budget, Canada's Department of National Defence was projected to spend just C$44.2 billion in 2025-26. Trump offered another price, though not a monetary one: Canada would pay billions so long as it stays 'a separate, but unequal, Nation.' But if it allowed the U.S. to consume it, the Golden Dome would be free. He claimed Canada is considering it. 'Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one,' the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement to CTV News responding to the post. McGuinty told CTV News Canada is continuing its negotiations with the White House – Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc was there this week, he said – as well as the European Union. Minister of National Defence David McGuinty Minister of National Defence David McGuinty makes an address at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries annual defence industry trade show CANSEC, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Pompeo: 'I don't know the source of that number' Mike Pompeo, Trump's former secretary of state, said he wasn't sure where that $61 billion figure came from, but estimated it was a 'low' estimate. He also said it he thought it's worth the investment. Pompeo took questions from reporters during CANSEC, a military technology convention in Ottawa. He was also asked if Canadians should feel that their sovereignty is under threat, given Trump's suggestion Canada should no longer exist as a country. 'No,' he said. 'Canada is going to do all the things necessary to protect its sovereignty. I'm sure of it.' Mike Pompeo talks Canada Mike Pompeo, former U.S. Secretary of State, takes questions at a media availability following his off-the-record keynote at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries annual defence industry trade show CANSEC, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Europe is re-arming. Canada wants in In an interview with CBC News Tuesday evening, Carney said his government wants to join ReArm Europe by Canada Day. The European initiative would leverage loans and investments into domestic defence industries. It was launched after Trump temporarily suspended U.S. military aid supporting Ukraine's defence in its ongoing war with Russia. Carney wants to diversify Canada's military spending. 'Seventy-five cents of every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That's not smart,' he told CBC News in an interview. 'What's better: if we spend more at home, if we have diversified partnerships,' he said, adding that increased activity with the Europeans could have 'big benefits' for Canadian jobs. Prime Minister Mark Carney Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Speaking to CTV News outside CANSEC, McGuinty said he would be at NATO next week in Brussels, and the prime minister will meet the consortium at the end of June. 'Discussions continue,' he said. McGuinty was asked whether entrance into ReArm would come at the expense of Canada's partnership on the Golden Dome. 'There are a lot of moving parts as Canada repositions itself, strengthens its Canadian Armed Forces, reasserts its sovereignty and security,' he responded. Inside the conference, Pompeo was asked if he was concerned Ottawa's procurement could shift to Europe if Canada no longer sees the U.S. as a reliable partner. 'I always worry about that, at one level,' he said. 'Conversely, the United States is the security partner for Canada.' Turning to ReArm, Pompeo said the U.S. welcomes a renewed emphasis on European defence spending. 'I wish the Europeans would have armed, like, 50 years ago,' he said. With files from Lynn Chaya and The Canadian Press
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Defence minister says cost of Trump's proposed missile defence project still unknown
Minister of National Defence David McGuinty gestures as he arrives for a meeting of the federal cabinet in West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA — Defence Minister David McGuinty says that Canada still doesn't know what it would cost to join U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed 'Golden Dome' missile defence program. On Tuesday, in a social media post, Trump said it would cost Canada $61 billion to join as a sovereign country but nothing at all if it became a U.S. state. Trump claimed that Canada is 'considering the offer.' When asked about Trump's comments, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he won't negotiate in public. Trump announced plans for a complex missile defence system modelled after Israel's 'Iron Dome' earlier this month and claimed it would cost $175 billion. The Congressional Budget Office says that the space-based components alone could cost more than half a trillion dollars over the next 20 years. With files from Kelly Malone in Washington. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Trump says ‘Golden Dome' would cost Canada US$61 billion – or free if it joins US
US President Donald Trump said Canada would need to pay US$61 billion to join the 'Golden Dome' system he has proposed to boost missile defence with space-based interceptors. But the president needled Ottawa by saying he would be willing to protect Canada for free if the nation opted to join the United States, his latest suggestion that the northern neighbour would benefit from being absorbed by the US. '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 said in a social media post on Tuesday. 'They are considering the offer!' Trump last week detailed his ambitious effort to build a shield to protect the US from threats including ballistic missiles, hypersonics and advanced cruise missiles, saying that it would be fully operational by the end of his term. The technology for Trump's plan was unproven, particularly using space-based interceptors to knock down incoming ballistic missiles. The president has said the project would cost US$175 billion overall and Congress was seeking US$25 billion to begin work on the endeavour. The Congressional Budget Office, though, found the US may have to spend as much as US$542 billion over 20 years to fully develop and launch the space-based interceptors.
