The Trump administration’s recently released National Defense Strategy reaffirmed its commitment to building a “Golden Dome” capable of stopping any “advanced aerial attacks” on the U.S., including conventional and nuclear-armed cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles, as well as drones.
President Donald Trump himself recently invoked the project to justify why the U.S. needs Greenland, much to the chagrin of America’s NATO allies. Yet, more than a year after Trump announced the initiative, the Golden Dome remains a futile and dangerous fantasy.
The administration has described it as a “system-of-systems” that will integrate America’s various missile defense capabilities, supplement them through a vast network of Space-Based Interceptors (SBIs), cost a hefty US$175 billion and be completed by 2029.
Yet progress on the Golden Dome has already stalled, sparked skepticism across the defense industry and drawn Congressional criticism for its opacity.
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