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Golden Dome (missile defense system)
Missile defense system From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Golden Dome is a proposed multi-layer defense system for the United States, intended to detect and destroy various foreign threats—including ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles—before they launch or during their flight. The system would employ a global constellation of satellites equipped with both sensors and space-based interceptors.[2] The architecture has been viewed as similar to the Brilliant Pebbles concept of the 1980s.[3][4] If implemented, it would mark the first time in history that space-to-ground weapons are maintained in orbit.[2]
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Overview
On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the United States Armed Forces to construct a missile defense system.[5] It has been compared to the Iron Dome air defense system in Israel, as well as the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was proposed by former President Ronald Reagan in 1983.[6][7]
The White House has called the program both a dome and a shield,[8] potentially misnomers in that the system would rely on thousands of space-based weapons or "interceptors" distributed around the entire Earth, rather than a fixed dome positioned over the United States.[9] Interceptors are kept staged near the edge of the atmosphere, where they must maintain quick orbits to avoid falling back to Earth. Their rapid motion allows only a small fraction to be positioned in the right place to act on any given threat, a flaw that critics argue makes the concept less efficient than traditional regional missile defenses such as Iron Dome.[10][11] Beyond intercepting other missiles, Trump said in 2019 that space-based weapons would be "obviously" used for offensive purposes as well.[12]
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History
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On 23 March 1983, US President Ronald Reagan announced his decision to launch a major new R&D program (later called SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)) to see if it might be feasible to deploy effective missile defenses at some point in the future.[13]
The modern groundwork for Golden Dome was laid by the former Deputy of Technology of SDI and USD (R&E), Michael D. Griffin, who formed the Space Development Agency in 2017 during the first Trump Administration.[14]
Griffin long advocated for reusable launch vehicles to make the mass launching of weapons into space economically feasible. While the original Strategic Defense Initiative's attempts at this were short-lived, with the DC-X failing after a series of test flights, Griffin later encouraged and promoted funding of commercial reusable launch vehicles, which have since proven successful.[15][16]
Golden Dome was extensively advocated for in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, stating that SpaceX's development of Starlink proves that a space-based "overlayer" of thousands of networked satellites and interceptors is now possible.[17] During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly mentioned the missile shield concept, often to mixed reception.[18]
In May 2025, four months after the beginning of Trump's second presidency, forty-two members of US Congress formally requested the DoD Inspector General to review Elon Musk’s involvement in Golden Dome.[19] They cited concerns over deviations from standard acquisition processes and a dome subscription model that could "give Musk undue influence over national security." Another key conflict of interest involves four-star General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, former head of U.S. homeland missile defense, who now reports directly to Musk at SpaceX.[20] Michael D. Griffin, founder of the Space Development Agency behind Golden Dome, has also faced scrutiny.[21] After traveling to Russia with a young Musk in 2001 to study ICBMs, Griffin steered $2 billion in NASA contracts to Musk's newfound space company.[16] SpaceX has since secured missile-tracking satellite contracts through Griffin's SDA as part of its Starshield program. Griffin also helps lead Castelion, that seeks to mass-produce hypersonic weapons.[22]
In April 2025 the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) determined that Golden Dome applied to its oversight responsibility, as they are required by law to analyze testing plans for defense programs with procurements above $3 billion. Days later, Elon Musk's DOGE ('Department of Government Efficiency') investigated the office and slashed its resources. A defense official told CNN that they believed DOGE wanted to prevent DOT&E conducting independent oversight of Golden Dome.[23]
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Announcement
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Perspective
On May 20, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for a new space-based missile defense system called the "Golden Dome." Intended to shield the United States from long-range and hypersonic missile threats, the system draws inspiration from Israel's Iron Dome but is significantly broader in scope.[24][25]
Trump stated the project would be completed within three years and cost approximately $175 billion. General Michael A. Guetlein of the U.S. Space Force has been appointed to lead the initiative. A down payment of $25 billion for Golden Dome was included in a Republican reconciliation spending bill.[26] The Congressional Budget Office estimated that it could cost between $161 billion and $542 billion over 20 years,[25][27] while Republican Senators involved in the program predicted the end cost would be "trillions of dollars."[28] General Guetein was officially nominated as Golden Dome's direct reporting program manager in June 2025[29] and confirmed by the Senate in July 2025.[30] He assumed the position on July 21, 2025.[31]
Defense contractors, including SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril and Lockheed Martin are reportedly vying for involvement, while experts have expressed doubts over the timeline, feasibility, and cost.[32][33] Specific technical details and deployment plans have not yet been released.[34]
Lockheed Martin stated that their goal would be to deliver the system by the end of 2026, leveraging Space-Based Interceptors and hypersonic interceptors.[35]
Canadian participation
On February 6, 2025, Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Blair expressed a willingness for participation in the Golden Dome project.[36] During the May 2025 announcement, Trump stated that Canada had "called us and they want to be a part of it," with Canadian representatives saying they were negotiating their possible participation as part of larger trade and security negotiations.[37]
Following King Charles III's May 2025 visit to Canada and Throne Speech to open Canada's 45th Parliament, Trump stated that Canada could either choose to pay $61 billion to be included in the Golden Dome program, or it could join for free by becoming the U.S.' 51st State.[38][39][40] The Office of the Prime Minister of Canada rejected this offer and said no to becoming the 51st state.[41]
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Architecture components
The executive order called for the architecture to include plans for the following eight components at minimum:[42]
- Defense against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and next-generation aerial attacks
- Deployment of the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor layer
- Deployment of proliferated space-based interceptors capable of boost-phase intercept
- Deployment of terminal-phase intercept capabilities to defeat countervalue attacks (Glide Phase Interceptors (GPIs))
- Deployment of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA)'s Custody Layer
- Deployment of capabilities to defeat missile attacks prior to launch ("left of launch" preemptive strike capabilities)[43]
- Deployment of a secure supply chain for all components
- Deployment of non-kinetic capabilities to augment kinetic attacks
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Assessment
Marion Messmer, a senior research fellow at London-based Chatham House, said that the Golden Dome's challenges were much greater than the ones that Israel's Iron Dome had to face as it had a much larger territory[44] to cover and more types of missiles it had to defeat. Shashank Joshi, defence editor at the Economist, said while the US military would take the plan very seriously, it was unrealistic to think the system would be completed during Trump's term, and that its cost would take up a large part of the defense budget.[45] Patrycja Bazylczyk, a missile defense expert at the CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), said that the Golden Dome signaled a reorientation of US missile defense policy towards countering Russia and China, versus existing systems geared towards North Korea.[46] The Arms Control Association has noted that the Putin regime has been working to ensure it can overcome the threat of a future U.S. space-based interceptor network by developing anti-satellite weapons, undersea torpedoes, hypersonic glide vehicles, and nuclear-powered cruise missiles. Beijing, meanwhile, may respond by increasing its nuclear-armed ballistic missile force.[47] China's Forces has four services (one of them the Rocket Force) and four arms (one of them the Cyberspace Force).
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International reactions
Canada: Canada's ambassador to the United Nations compared U.S. President Donald Trump's Golden Dome to a protection racket after Trump said America's northern neighbor must either pay $61 billion to join the program or could agree to annexation (in which case inclusion would be free). Ambassador Bob Rae also noted that "threats to sovereign integrity are prohibited" under the Charter of the United Nations.[48]
China: On 21 May 2025, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning criticized the Golden Dome plan, claiming it "violates the principle of peaceful use of space in the Outer Space Treaty". She called on the US to “give up developing and deploying [a] global anti-missile system” which risked “turning space into a war zone”.[49][50]
New Zealand: New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins expressed support for the Golden Dome missile system, saying "I don't see it as an attack mechanism. It's a defence mechanism. And if people did not feel they needed to defend themselves, they wouldn't waste the money on it." Trump had earlier noted the space-based system would be "a very big part of our defense and, obviously, of our offense" and capable of striking foreign assets even before they launch.[51] The New Zealand-founded and California-based Rocket Lab had recently acquired the Arizona company Geost, which is involved in the Golden Dome project.[52]
Russia: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "the United States' Golden Dome project undermines the foundations of strategic stability as it involves the creation of a global missile defense system."[53] On 8 May 2025, China and Russia made a joint statement criticizing the proposal's rejection of the "inseparable interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms", its "left-of-launch" capabilities, and its "orbital deployment of interception systems".[54] On 21 May 2025, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov instead stated that the plan was a "sovereign matter" for the US, and that the legal framework of defunct US-Russia nuclear arms treaties "must be recreated both in the interests of our two countries and in the interests of security throughout the planet".[55]
North Korea: On 27 May 2025, North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the proposal as representing "an outer space nuclear war scenario". It denounced "undisguised moves for space militarization" and argued regional stability requires "the symmetry of the matchless power".[56]
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Controversy
Article I of the Outer Space Treaty states that space is "the province of all mankind" and forbids placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit. Some permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have expressed objections to the Golden Dome program, citing inconsistencies with this principle. The program’s use of space for attacking targets on the ground (“left of launch” preemptive strike capabilities)[43] has led to discussion over the legality under international law.[57] [43] [49] [50] [58] [59]
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See also
References
Further reading
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