What is the Golden Dome? Trump announces new US missile defence system plan
Golden Dome derives its name from Israel's ‘Iron Dome’ system But it is bound to be a little different.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the ambitious plan for the Golden Dome, America’s new missile defence system.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he expects the system will be “fully operational before the end of my term," which ends in 2029, and have the capability of intercepting missiles “even if they are launched from space.”
It's likelier that the complex system may have some initial capability by that point, a US official familiar with the programme told Associated Press.
Donald Trump has referenced the Golden Dome in a speech earlier this year and has also signed an executive order to that effect
According to experts quoted in an NPR report, space-based interceptors will likely be a key part of the new missile defence system.
How will the Golden Dome be?
Golden Dome is the new missile defence system announced by US President Donald Trump. It derives its name from Israel's ‘Iron Dome’ system, which has been battle-tested in the country’s conflict with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. But it is bound to be a little different.
While the Iron Dome is built to intercept slow-moving missiles and rockets that have a short range, the missile threat to America is vastly different.
A big part of the difference between the two systems is the size of the landmass that needs to be protected. Israel is more than 400 times smaller than the United States, and it's mostly a flat desert that's easy to defend, according to the NPR report.
The missiles that could be used to attack the United States also differ vastly from Hamas rockets. Russia, China and any other country that could launch an attack on the US possess Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, with fast-moving hypersonic speeds and a longer range.
The only way to intercept a hypersonic missile is to build a missile defence with technology placed in space.
According to NPR, the idea is to have satellites in orbit that could spot missiles as they leave the ground and then shoot them at the beginning of their flight. The problem with such a system is that satellites keep moving around the Earth, so the challenge would be to place them over the right spot at the right time. To achieve that, a huge constellation of interceptors would be needed, with some reports putting the number at a whopping 16,000.
It surely could be done, as shown by Donald Trump’s closest advisor, Elon Musk, through his Starlink internet satellites. But it would be an expensive affair.
