2 months ago
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President Donald Trump's plans for the space-based "Golden Dome" missile defense system to defend the United States has been sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's desk for review. Trump has previously spoken about making a missile defense system similar to Israel's "Iron Dome" in order to defend the country.
The system, which would be based in space, was put into motion by Trump during his first week in office. If the project is carried out, it would be the first space-based weapons system to have the ability to destroy missiles launched from ground-based operations, per ABC News.
Trump signed an executive order in January for a potential system to be drawn up, and gave the military 60 days to provide recommendations for the defense system. Trump said in the executive order, "The United States will provide for the common defense of its citizens and the Nation by deploying and maintaining a next-generation missile defense shield."
The defense system is planned to defend the country "against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries" and will be made up of "space-based interceptors capable of boost-phase intercept."
General Stephen Whiting, the head of US Space Command, said in a speech at an event earlier this week in Colorado, “It’s time that we can clearly say that we need space fires, and we need weapons systems. We need orbital interceptors. We call these weapons, and we need them to deter a space conflict and to be successful if we end up in such a fight."
There have been multiple options that have been looked at and developed in order to fit the order from the White House, but Space Command has not talked about the specifics of the plan and what the defense system will look like or cost overall.
The Trump White House has said that the defense system will incorporate missile systems that the US is already using and combine them with our new space capabilities.
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