Latest news with #GoldenDome
CNBC
4 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
Investing in Space: Iron Dome's performance could be Golden Dome's opportunity
Israel and Iran resumed fire exchanges at the end of last week, and space and defense enthusiasts have been following the fusillades. Front and center has been the use of drones in this new leg of the conflict and the health of Israel's infamous Iron Dome missile defense system, as it fought off a barrage of drones and missiles. There's an inevitable connection: the Iron Dome's currently doing the job in Israel that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to get done at home through the proposed Golden Dome multi-layered missile defense system — a costly $175 billion concept so cutting edge that lawmakers and analysts have often questioned its viability. On one hand, you have the Congressional Budget Office warning that the project could cost as much as $542 billion. On the other, space and defense companies are chomping at the bit to fast-track Trump's ambitions from executively ordered vision to satellite-touting reality before the 2029 end of his term. "The performance of Israel's multi-tiered missile defense system underscores the urgent need to strengthen U.S. missile defenses. Thus far, Israeli missile defense inventories have kept up with the Iranian threat — buying decisionmakers valuable time to not just defend the goal but to score some," Patrycja Bazylczyk, research associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Defense Project, told CNBC by email. "U.S. policymakers should view this as a nod towards the importance of building inventories well before the fight, in the event of a missile attack from either Russia or China, we will be facing far more complex, and numerous salvos," she added. Like a Hollywood revenant, Golden Dome rose from the ashes of Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative — nicknamed "Star Wars" — that died a long death to a string of arguments over tech obstacles, steep price tags and the potential to kick off a new arms race with the Soviet Union. Unsurprisingly, Russia and China have been the starkest foreign detractors of Golden Dome, which sets out to defend the vast spread of the U.S. homeland from ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles through a web of satellites, sensors and interceptors. The timing isn't ideal — both superpowers doth protest too much at a point when the major arms control deal between Washington and Moscow, the New START treaty, is set to lapse next year without a successor, while U.S. talks on a similar topic with Beijing were suspended in 2024. Within the industry, Golden Dome looks like a mighty fine bone thrown to private space companies faced with severe budget cuts at key U.S. space contractor NASA. For the past few months, defense and space businesses have been vying for a slice of the project's pie, especially after Elon Musk's recent public feud with Trump left SpaceX's potential role in the scheme under question. Take a look at the Paris Air Show — a sprawling affair enveloping Le Bourget Airport in the northeast of the French capital every two years. Around 45% of this year's show is offering a stage to defense and security this year, and the likes of U.S. defense and aerospace manufacturer LockHeed Martin and Boeing used the platform to tout their Golden Dome credentials. "We clearly have a whole number of product lines that will contribute very well, that are going to fit very well with what is necessary to achieve the mission," Lockheed Martin President of Missiles and Fire Control Tim Cahill said, according to Reuters. Golden Dome's progressing, but time will tell if it's here to stay. On June 10, two Republican members of the House of Representatives, Rep. Dale W. Strong (AL-05) and Rep. Jeff Crank (CO-05) announced the formation of a Golden Dome Caucus that will work closely with the Senate's own initiative, in a bid to back Trump's plans. Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee unveiled the draft of its fiscal 2026 defense spending bill that features a cool $831.5 billion top spend line — and a $13 billion allocation for "missile defense and space programs to augment and integrate in support of the Golden Dome effort." That's a respective $8.8 billion and $4.1 billion for missile defense and space programs backing the project, in the fine print. Don't worry, there's a deal to be had: Trump's reassured Canada it can skip a newly upped $71 billion fee to enjoy Golden Dome's benefits — if it just becomes part of the United States. Even better, Washington could end up a trendsetter across the Atlantic. "I don't know about the Golden Dome in the U.S. and so forth, but I do believe that we have to create an integrated … missile defense system, also in the European perspective, and there are initiatives going in that direction," Micael Johansson, CEO of Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab, told CNBC's Charlotte Reed at the Paris Air Show. "We have to have a European setup around that, and we have that capability with all the companies in Europe."
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Trump 'Golden Dome' plan tricky and expensive: experts
President Donald Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" defence system is a plan that will face mammoth technical and financial hurdles, and could increase global insecurity, experts say. Trump announced plans for the space-based system last month, saying it would eventually cost around $175 billion and would be operational by the end of his term in 2029. The planned defence shield's name is a nod to Israel's Iron Dome that has intercepted thousands of short-range rockets since 2011. But the US defence system would intercept much bigger intercontinental threats. The plan comes after a 2022 Department of defence study pointed to advances by China and Russia. Beijing is closing the gap with Washington when it comes to ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow is modernising its intercontinental-range missile systems and developing advanced precision strike missiles, it said. Trump has claimed the "Golden Dome" will be "capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world". But analysts are sceptical. "I'm not holding my breath," said Thomas Withington, an associate fellow at the RUSI defence think tank. "The challenges are so significant at this stage that they may simply be unrealistic to surround in the timeframes that the Trump administration envisages." - 'Poster child for waste' - Thomas Roberts, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said the "Golden Dome" plan was based on being able to detect when a long-range missile was fired. A missile's so-called "boost phase" -- which produces a heat blast that lasts one to two minutes and can be observed from space -- is the best time to deploy defences, he said. "If you had an enormous constellation of interceptors in orbit at all times, they could be readily de-orbited -- or systematically removed from orbit -- to strike an intercontinental ballistic missile," he said. But Todd Harrison, from the American Enterprise Institute, said this would require a massive number of satellites. "It takes about 950 interceptors spread out in orbit around the Earth to ensure that at least one is always in range to intercept a missile during its boost phase," he said. But that means that if an adversary launches a salvo of ten missiles, some 9,500 interceptors would be needed to ensure at least ten are within range. "Given that China has about 350 intercontinental ballistic missiles and Russia has 306 -- not including their sub-launched ballistic missiles -- scaling a space-based interceptor system to meet the threat quickly becomes impractical." The non-partisan US Congressional Budget Office estimates that, just to stop "one or two intercontinental ballistic missiles", the United States would need a constellation of satellites costing between $161 billion to $542 billion. The US military could spend billions of dollars on research only for the next administration to nix the project, Harrison warned. "Golden Dome could become the poster child for waste and inefficiency in defence," he said. The plan also calls for developing satellites able to fire lasers at missiles to avoid too much debris on impact. But a European defence contractor said on condition of anonymity that such lasers are "still beyond what even the Americans are capable of doing". "It's just an excellent way to give the US (defence) industry substantial funding so they can increase their technological lead without necessarily aiming for actual operational deployment," the contractor said. - 'Global arms race'? - Trump's plan is reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan ambition for a Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s, which also sought to place interceptor satellites in space. China and Russia, which both have nuclear weapons, have slammed the latest plan as "deeply destabilising". Nuclear-armed North Korea has called the plan a "very dangerous" threat. Julia Cournoyer, research associate at Chatham House, said the plan was risky as adversaries would likely see it "as an attempt to undermine the logic of nuclear deterrence". "If Washington is perceived to be developing a shield that could one day neutralise a retaliatory nuclear strike, it risks triggering a dangerous global arms race," which would exacerbate rather than reduce risk. Withington said Trump might be hoping to use the plan as leverage for talks with China and Russia. "It may be that the Trump administration is hoping that this would bring both countries to some kind of negotiating table to talk about a reduction of nuclear warhead sizes or to revitalise the arms control agenda," he said. mra/ah/as/gv
Toronto Sun
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Trump 'Golden Dome' plan tricky and expensive: Experts
Published Jun 19, 2025 • Last updated 11 minutes ago • 3 minute read U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for the space-based "Golden Dome" defence system last month. Photo by CHIP SOMODEVILLA / AFP / GETTY IMAGES LE BOURGET, France — U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed 'Golden Dome' defence system is a plan that will face mammoth technical and financial hurdles, and could increase global insecurity, experts say. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Trump announced plans for the space-based system last month, saying it would eventually cost around $175 billion and would be operational by the end of his term in 2029. The planned defence shield's name is a nod to Israel's Iron Dome that has intercepted thousands of short-range rockets since 2011. But the U.S. defence system would intercept much bigger intercontinental threats. The plan comes after a 2022 Department of defence study pointed to advances by China and Russia. Beijing is closing the gap with Washington when it comes to ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow is modernising its intercontinental-range missile systems and developing advanced precision strike missiles, it said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Trump has claimed the 'Golden Dome' will be 'capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world'. But analysts are skeptical. 'I'm not holding my breath,' said Thomas Withington, an associate fellow at the RUSI defence think tank. 'The challenges are so significant at this stage that they may simply be unrealistic to surround in the timeframes that the Trump administration envisages.' 'Poster child for waste' Thomas Roberts, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said the 'Golden Dome' plan was based on being able to detect when a long-range missile was fired. A missile's so-called 'boost phase' — which produces a heat blast that lasts one to two minutes and can be observed from space — is the best time to deploy defences, he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'If you had an enormous constellation of interceptors in orbit at all times, they could be readily de-orbited — or systematically removed from orbit — to strike an intercontinental ballistic missile,' he said. But Todd Harrison, from the American Enterprise Institute, said this would require a massive number of satellites. 'It takes about 950 interceptors spread out in orbit around the Earth to ensure that at least one is always in range to intercept a missile during its boost phase,' he said. But that means that if an adversary launches a salvo of ten missiles, some 9,500 interceptors would be needed to ensure at least ten are within range. 'Given that China has about 350 intercontinental ballistic missiles and Russia has 306 — not including their sub-launched ballistic missiles — scaling a space-based interceptor system to meet the threat quickly becomes impractical.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The non-partisan U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimates that, just to stop 'one or two intercontinental ballistic missiles', the United States would need a constellation of satellites costing between $161 billion to $542 billion. The U.S. military could spend billions of dollars on research only for the next administration to nix the project, Harrison warned. Read More 'Golden Dome could become the poster child for waste and inefficiency in defence,' he said. The plan also calls for developing satellites able to fire lasers at missiles to avoid too much debris on impact. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But a European defence contractor said on condition of anonymity that such lasers are 'still beyond what even the Americans are capable of doing.' 'It's just an excellent way to give the U.S. (defence) industry substantial funding so they can increase their technological lead without necessarily aiming for actual operational deployment,' the contractor said. Trump's plan is reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan ambition for a Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s, which also sought to place interceptor satellites in space. China and Russia, which both have nuclear weapons, have slammed the latest plan as 'deeply destabilizing.' Nuclear-armed North Korea has called the plan a 'very dangerous' threat. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Julia Cournoyer, research associate at Chatham House, said the plan was risky as adversaries would likely see it 'as an attempt to undermine the logic of nuclear deterrence.' 'If Washington is perceived to be developing a shield that could one day neutralize a retaliatory nuclear strike, it risks triggering a dangerous global arms race,' which would exacerbate rather than reduce risk. Withington said Trump might be hoping to use the plan as leverage for talks with China and Russia. 'It may be that the Trump administration is hoping that this would bring both countries to some kind of negotiating table to talk about a reduction of nuclear warhead sizes or to revitalize the arms control agenda,' he said. MMA NHL Canada Toronto & GTA NHL
NZ Herald
13 hours ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Trump ‘Golden Dome' plan tricky and expensive: Experts
President Donald Trump's proposed 'Golden Dome' defence system is a plan that will face mammoth technical and financial hurdles, and could increase global insecurity, experts say. Trump announced plans for the space-based system last month, saying it would eventually cost around US$175 billion ($292.3b) and would be operational by the
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trump's $175 billion ‘Golden Dome' missile shield plan sparks skepticism, warnings of arms race
US President Donald Trump's ambitious plan to build a space-based missile defense system called the 'Golden Dome' is drawing sharp criticism from defense analysts, scientists, and global powers, who warn the $175 billion project could be a technical dead-end and trigger a new nuclear arms race. Trump unveiled the plan last month, vowing that the United States would deploy an orbiting shield to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from adversaries like China, Russia, or North Korea by the end of his proposed second term in 2029. The system, inspired by Israel's Iron Dome, would be far more complex, designed to shoot down much larger, faster threats from across the globe. 'Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world,' Trump claimed. But defense experts are deeply skeptical. 'I'm not holding my breath,' said Thomas Withington, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). 'The challenges are so significant at this stage that they may simply be unrealistic within the timeframes that the Trump administration envisages.' Space lasers and satellite swarms The proposed system would rely on detecting missiles during their 'boost phase' — the initial minutes after launch when the rocket is most visible from space. But to successfully intercept a single ICBM during this window, hundreds of interceptor satellites would need to be in constant orbit. 'It would take about 950 interceptors in orbit to ensure at least one is always in range,' said Todd Harrison from the American Enterprise Institute. 'To counter a salvo of 10 missiles, you'd need nearly 9,500 interceptors.' The US Congressional Budget Office has estimated that even a limited version of the system, designed to stop just one or two ICBMs, would cost between $161 billion and $542 billion. The plan also includes space-based lasers to destroy missiles without generating debris. But European defense contractors say such capabilities are 'still beyond what even the Americans are capable of doing.' 'It's just an excellent way to give the US defense industry substantial funding,' one anonymous contractor told reporters, 'without necessarily aiming for actual deployment.' Risk of a global arms race Critics also warn of geopolitical fallout. Analysts say the system could threaten the principle of mutually assured destruction, which underpins global nuclear stability. 'If Washington is perceived to be developing a shield that could one day neutralize a retaliatory nuclear strike, it risks triggering a dangerous global arms race,' said Julia Cournoyer, a research associate at Chatham House. China, Russia, and North Korea have already condemned the plan. Beijing and Moscow called it 'deeply destabilizing,' while Pyongyang labelled it 'very dangerous.' The concept echoes Ronald Reagan's 1980s Strategic Defense Initiative, which also envisioned satellite interceptors but was ultimately scrapped due to cost and feasibility concerns. Still, some speculate Trump may be using the proposal as a bargaining chip in future arms control talks. 'It may be that the Trump administration hopes to bring China and Russia to the table to negotiate nuclear reductions or revive arms control dialogue,' said Withington.
