Trump's Golden Dome plan could launch new era of weapons in space
US President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defence concept revives a controversial, decades-old initiative whose ambitious construction could upend norms in outer space and reshape relations between the world's top space powers.
The announcement of Golden Dome, a vast network of satellites and weapons in Earth's orbit set to cost $175bn (R3.13-trillion), could sharply escalate the militarisation of space, a trend that has intensified over the last decade, space analysts say.
While the world's biggest space powers — the US, Russia and China — have put military and intelligence assets in orbit since the 1960s, they have done so mostly in secrecy.
Under former President Joe Biden, US Space Force officials had grown vocal about a need for greater offensive space capabilities due to space-based threats from Russia and China.
When Trump announced his Golden Dome plan in January, it was a clear shift in strategy, one that emphasises a bold move into space with expensive, untested technology that could be a financial boon to US defence contractors.
The concept includes space-based missiles that would launch from satellites in orbit to intercept conventional and nuclear missiles launched from Earth.
"I think it's opening a Pandora's box," said Victoria Samson, director of space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation think tank in Washington, referring to deploying missiles in space. "We haven't truly thought about the long-term consequences for doing so."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
an hour ago
- TimesLIVE
Explosions heard over Qatar capital Doha after Iran threat to retaliate for US strikes
Explosions were heard over Qatar's capital Doha on Monday, a Reuters witness reported, shortly after a Western diplomat said there had been a credible Iranian threat against the US-run al Udeid airbase in the Gulf Arab state since midday. The diplomat spoke soon after Qatar announced it had closed its air space temporarily to ensure the safety of residents and visitors. Earlier, the US embassy in Qatar had advised Americans to shelter in place, out of what it said was 'an abundance of caution'. Iran has issued threats to retaliate against the US after US bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on the country's underground nuclear installations over the weekend, while President Donald Trump openly raised the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled. Earlier on Monday, Israel struck a jail for political prisoners in Tehran in a potent demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim squarely at the pillars of Iran's ruling system. Two US officials said Washington assessed that Iran could carry out attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East soon, though the US is still seeking a diplomatic resolution that would see Tehran forgo any reprisal. Despite Iran's threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices largely held steady, suggesting traders doubted the Islamic Republic would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Tehran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps.
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Trump warns against rising oil prices following Iran attack
In a photo released by the White House via X, US President Donald Trump is seen in the Situation Room of the White House on June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Image: AFP President Donald Trump demanded that energy producers push down crude prices following US military strikes on Iran, amid fears that an escalating Middle East conflict and supply disruptions could extend the recent surge on oil markets. 'EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON'T DO IT!' Trump posted Monday on social media. In a subsequent post, Trump urged the Energy Department to 'DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!' Energy Secretary Chris Wright responded in a post on X that 'we're on it.' Iran has warned that Trump's decision to join Israel's military offensive with attacks on its three main nuclear sites would trigger retaliation. Tehran could close the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf that carries about a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade. Although concern has focused on that chokepoint, any possible retaliation could affect other infrastructure key to the region's oil processing and shipment. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Roughly 70% to 75% of the crude, condensate and refined products that come out of the Gulf flow through some nine facilities, which could be bottlenecks, said Colby Connelly, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. Higher prices for oil - as well as the gasoline and jet fuel made from it - would squeeze US consumers whose bank accounts have been stretched in recent years by inflation, a development that could inflict political pain on Trump and Republicans. If the strait is shut to shipping, crude could soar past $130 (R2 350) per barrel, according to a Bloomberg Economics estimate. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier Monday that the US is 'actively and closely monitoring this situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian regime would be foolish to make that decision.' Global oil benchmarks are roughly 10% higher than they were immediately before Israel attacked Iran earlier this month. But Monday saw markets erase initial gains, as fears began to fade of an immediate disruption of supplies. Brent crude initially surged to $81.40 a barrel, but later dropped below $77. Trump's directive for more US drilling cannot, on its own, spur more oil and gas development. US oil executives have shown little appetite in recent years to dramatically boost output, with the price of West Texas Intermediate at times falling below the cost of production at some sites. Oil companies generally are plotting investment decisions in the US based on long-term price forecasts - not the temporary spike spurred by the attacks on Iran and the fear of supply disruption in the Mideast. Well before the American attack, Trump administration officials discussed the potential for oil supply disruptions that could drive up prices for crude, as well as options for countering any surge, according to people familiar with the matter. The current climb reflects 'the market pricing in the potential for disruption' and not a reaction to any actual loss in supply, Connelly said. Even so, 'there are impacts that are beginning to be felt elsewhere in the world, and the macroeconomic outlook will feel that the longer this goes on, even if there is no actual loss of supply.' Trump's post suggests the emerging oil-price impacts - which could ripple across the economy - are weighing on him. For weeks before the conflict, Trump had praised the fall in oil prices, even to the chagrin of the executives who helped bankroll his 2024 presidential campaign. Yet Trump has limited options to help contain the price impacts at home. While he could tap the US emergency oil stockpile, that reserve has been depleted to about 400 million barrels of crude, about half its capacity. Analysts warn even a strategic release of emergency crude would do little to offset the loss of potentially millions of barrels of crude daily through the Strait of Hormuz, should Iran retaliate by seeding its narrow shipping lanes with naval mines to disrupt traffic. BLOOMBERG
eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
Where is Iran's uranium? Questions abound after US strikes
After President Donald Trump bragged US strikes had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities, officials cautioned it was still too soon to assess the impact on the country's nuclear programme. Many questions remain after Sunday's strikes, especially about the whereabouts of Iran's sensitive stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent -- a short step from the 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon. - Where is Iran's enriched uranium? - The US attacks, carried out by B-2 stealth bombers, targeted three Iranian nuclear sites: Isfahan and Iran's main enrichment plants in Fordo and Natanz. While significant damage has been reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has voiced concern about Iran's stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium. Tehran has an estimated 408.6 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent, according to the UN nuclear watchdog, whose inspectors last saw that stockpile on June 10. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs. IAEA head Rafael Grossi on Monday demanded access to Iran's nuclear sites, saying the agency needs to "account for" the uranium stockpile. Concerns about the fate of the sensitive stockpile have loomed large. On June 13, the day Israel began its Iran offensive, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the IAEA, announcing the implementation of "special measures to protect nuclear equipment and material". Days before the US attacked, satellite imagery showed vehicles near Fordo's entrance. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had "interesting intelligence" on the matter, declining to elaborate. Israel announced Monday it had carried out strikes to block access routes to Fordo. "It will be difficult if not impossible to track down all of Iran's 60 percent enriched uranium, stored in small canisters that are easily transportable by car," Kelsey Davenport, an expert with the Arms Control Association, told AFP. "They (Iranians) no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium, and that was really the goal there," US Vice President JD Vance told ABC News. He added the Trump administration would deal with the uranium "in the coming weeks". - Can Iran still make a nuclear bomb? - Analysts have been treading carefully when addressing this issue. Before the attacks, Iran had about 22,000 centrifuges -- the machines used to enrich uranium. Many of them were damaged when Natanz was hit, the IAEA head said. Grossi also said "very significant damage" is expected to have occurred at Fordo, "given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges". Experts however say that it is unclear how many centrifuges Iran has, with some of them believed to be stored at unknown locations. With "60 percent enriched uranium and a few hundred advanced centrifuges, Iran still has the capability to weaponise, and now there is more political impetus to dash for a bomb", said Davenport. - What are the proliferation risks? - Before the conflict, the IAEA said it had "no indication" of the existence of a "systematic programme" in Iran to produce a nuclear weapon. But without access to nuclear sites, the agency no longer has oversight. Grossi warned Monday that the "global non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security... could crumble and fall", urging parties to return to diplomacy. Iran ratified the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) in 1970, committing it to declare its nuclear material to the IAEA. But it has recently begun preparing the grounds for a possible withdrawal from the treaty, accusing the agency of acting as a "partner" in Israel's "war of aggression". Reza Najafi, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, said Monday the "unlawful act of aggression" by the United States had "delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow" to the non-proliferation regime. "I do think there is a major risk that Iran withdraws from the NPT and expels inspectors, or simply does not provide them with access to key sites," said Eric Brewer of the US research institute Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). He added that Iran could also "over time, build (a) covert" programme like North Korea, which withdrew from the NPT in 2003 and went on to become a nuclear-armed power. By Anne Beade
