On Tuesday, Donald Trump shared plans for a “Golden Dome” missile shield system he claims will protect the country against any foreign missile attacks. He says the project should be complete by the end of his term. The defense shield will cost an estimated $175 billion, and he says it should be complete within three years. Trump claims that Canada wanted to be a part of the planned system.
Campaign Promise
“In the campaign, I promised the American people I would build a cutting-edge missile defense, Trump said from the White House. “Today, I am pleased to announce we have officially selected architecture for this state-of-the-art system.” If the project comes to fruition, it will mark the first time that the United States has put a weapon into space that could potentially be fired to stop a missile in flight.
Gen. Guetlein Put In Charge
Trump announced that Gen. Michael Guetlein will oversee the Golden Dome operation. Gatlin is currently the deputy chief of space operations. Reportedly, the planned Golden Dome will include ground- and space-based capabilities. It will be able to detect missiles during four different stages of attack. It will reportedly be able to destroy a missile before it launches and intercept it shortly after launch, as well as stop it minutes before it hits its target.
According to The Independent, “The Congressional Budget Office estimated this month that just the space-based components of the Golden Dome could cost as much as $542 billion over the next 20 years. Trump requested an initial $25 billion for the program in his proposed tax break bill, now moving through Congress.”
Pentagon: Golden Dome Necessary
The Pentagon believes the system is necessary because China and Russia have such advanced missile systems that countermeasures have become necessary. The bulk of the costs for the Golden Dome will come from the cost of satellites and interceptors to stop the missiles right after launch or mid-launch.
The Golden Dome’s envisioned weapons “represent new and emerging requirements for missions that have never before been accomplished by military space organizations,” Gen. Chance Saltzman, head of the US Space Force, said on Tuesday. Congressional Republicans had proposed a budget of $25 billion from this year’s budget for the project, which signals that construction could begin soon.
Expert: Projects “Big Issues”
Despite Trump’s confidence in the project, some experts believe the “Golden Dome” could have “big issues.” Brookings Institution’s director of research in foreign policy programs, Michael O’Hanlon, argues that the cost of the “Golden Dome” would be immense 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 said. He adds that lasers themselves pose a cost issue due to being sent into space with large amounts of fuel, as well as giant mirrors used to focus the laser energy so it could destroy a missile.
“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.
