What is Donald Trump's proposed 'Golden Dome' missile defence system and how would it work?

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced a scheme for an American-made "Golden Dome" defense strategy that would protect nan state from nan threat of overseas rocket attack. 

Trump claims this will beryllium nan first task to put US weapons successful space and would beryllium operational by nan extremity of his word successful 2029. 

Pete Hegseth, nan US Secretary of Defense, told journalists that nan Golden Dome is simply a "generational finance into nan information of America". 

This is what we cognize truthful acold astir nan Golden Dome project, including who is moving connected it and what weapons could beryllium involved. 

What could nan Golden Dome do?

Once finished, Trump claims nan Golden Dome will beryllium capable to sprout down hypersonic, ballistic, and precocious cruise missiles, and drones, moreover if they are launched from nan different broadside of nan world aliases from space. 

The dome - described arsenic nan "best strategy successful nan world" by Trump - will person a occurrence complaint of "near 100 per cent," he claimed. 

An anonymous root told nan Associated Press that nan Golden Dome would person crushed and space-based capabilities that will beryllium capable to observe and extremity missiles astatine each 4 awesome stages of a imaginable attack: detection, interception astatine nan earliest shape of flight, stopping them midcourse, aliases halting them arsenic they descend to a target. 

The US authorities has besides been processing 3 options, including space-based interceptors, nan root said.  

Some of nan early systems are expected from existing accumulation lines. Senators astatine nan property convention earlier this week named L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, and RTX (formerly Raytheon), arsenic imaginable contractors. 

L3Harris announced successful April that it expanded a works successful nan authorities of Indiana to activity connected "on-orbit technology" for nan Golden Dome.  

Lockheed Martin said connected its website that their extremity is to present nan first Golden Dome defenses by nan extremity of 2026. 

It besides lists immoderate of nan existing weapons that could beryllium portion of nan project, for illustration nan Command Control Battle Management Communications strategy (C2BMC), which nan institution says lets commanders make synchronised decisions astir rocket attacks successful immoderate shape of flight.  

Trump earmarked an first $25 cardinal (€22.16 billion) for nan Golden Dome task successful his projected taxation break bill, which was approved by nan US House of Representatives connected Thursday, pinch nan full costs of nan task coming successful astatine an estimated $175 cardinal complete 3 years (€155 billion). 

A study from nan US Congressional Budget Office, connected nan different hand, put nan costs of only nan space-based interceptors that could beryllium utilized for nan strategy astatine either $161 cardinal (€142.7 billion) for nan lowest costs replacement aliases $542 cardinal (€480.33 billion) for a precocious costs option. 

Where other has a multi-layered defense system?

Trump said that nan Golden Dome would create caller technologies but would besides merge immoderate that it already has, which could see associated weapons developed pinch nan Israelis for their layered defense system. 

Commonly known arsenic nan "Iron Dome," Israel’s strategy is tin of detecting incoming occurrence and deploying only if nan projectile is headed towards a organization halfway aliases delicate subject aliases civilian infrastructure. 

Israel uses a operation of nan Arrow, David’s Sling, and nan Iron Dome to protect itself from long, medium, and short-range missiles.

The Arrow weapons strategy is simply a family of interceptive missiles that "surveils, detects, tracks and kills" incoming attacks "far distant from their target," pinch a afloat automated power system, according to an Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI). It was developed by nan IAI successful practice pinch nan US' Boeing. 

David’s Sling, nan medium-range defense strategy developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and nan US’ RTX, offers "hit-to-kill" defense against ballistic missiles, force planes, and drones. The Iron Dome past useful exclusively to deter nan short-range threats. 

Israeli officials opportunity nan strategy isn’t 100 per cent effective but still in installments it arsenic having played a captious domiciled successful nan country’s defense from various rocket and rocket occurrence from Iran and militia group successful nan Israel-Hamas conflict launched connected October 7, 2023. 

Europe is besides moving connected its ain version. In 2022, 21 European countries launched nan European "Sky Shield" Initiative, whereby they agreed to cooperate successful really defence systems are procured, maintained, and really to support each other. 

Any weapons procured for nan Sky Shield will past beryllium folded into an existing NATO ngo that "protects Alliance territory… against immoderate aerial aliases rocket threat aliases attack," according to nan organisation. 

Some countries, for illustration Germany, person signed contracts pinch nan Israelis aliases nan Americans for nan Arrow rocket strategy arsenic portion of Sky Shield.