He's planning something big again: Donald Trump wants to build a new missile defense system that will protect the United States from threats from the air and even from space. The missile shield, called "Golden Dome", will cost at least $ 175 billion and should be completed by the end of his term in January 2029, Trump explained. According to the Pentagon, the United States faces a growing threat from Russia and China.
However, critics warn of huge costs and an unrealistic time frame. Democratic lawmakers also expressed concerns about the procurement process and the possible involvement of SpaceX, a company owned by Trump ally Elon Musk.
The project has also sparked international outrage, with China criticizing the project as threatening "global strategic balance and stability."
How will the shield work?
The Golden Dome is modeled after Israel's Iron Dome. The Israeli system has been in use since March 2011 and intercepts short-range rockets and artillery shells. It consists of three components: a radar device, a control center, and a missile launcher. The big difference with Trump's Golden Dome is this: Israel's Iron Dome provides protection against short-range missiles over a relatively small area and is a mobile system that can be deployed in many places.
The American version of the anti-missile system should be able to stop intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear weapons. The United States has had such plans since the time of President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989). He wanted to create an anti-missile shield inspired by the film series "Star Wars", whose interception systems are located in space.
Trump's space project aims to create a network of satellites that can detect, track and possibly intercept missiles launched by, for example, Russia or China. Such a missile shield could consist of hundreds of satellites for detecting and tracking missiles.
According to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the planned shield is designed to "defend the homeland from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles - whether conventional or nuclear". However, it is still unclear what technologies the new defense system will use.
In addition to the US, there are other countries that take the Israeli "Iron Dome" as an example, or at least use this name to designate their similar air defense systems. In this regard, retired Israeli Brigadier General Shahar Shohat told Defense News magazine that "Iron Dome" in the meantime, it had become a "trademark like "Coca Cola" that everyone now uses because it is very successful".
The Greek "Iron Dome"
At the end of 2024, Greece announced that it would significantly expand its defense budget and build an anti-missile shield similar to the Israeli one to protect against drones and missiles. Since the threat is different, the Greek "Iron Dome" differs from the Israeli mobile missile defense system: protection against drone attacks is a priority for Greece, as Defense Minister Nikos Dendias explained.
Other countries are showing interest in the "Iron Dome" system itself - Romania, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, South Korea, India and Singapore. According to Pieter Wezeman, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India and South Korea ultimately did not implement these plans, and in the other cases there is no data on actual orders or deliveries.
Europe's Sky Shield
A comparison with the "Iron Dome" is also being made in Europe. With the "European Sky Shield" initiative (ESSI for short), a European project for air and missile defense was created in 2022. The goal is the coordinated supply of short-, medium- and long-range defense systems to repel all threats from the air. According to the German Defense Ministry, 23 countries have so far joined the project.
Sky Shield follows "the same logic" like the Israeli air defense system, says the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Austrian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Bruno Hofbauer. Both missile shields aim to combat air threats on several levels.
Author: Stephanie Höppner