As far as I know, spending over a hundred billion dollars to build a giant, missile-guided protective “dome” that will probably never work is not something many Americans have ever asked the government to do. Nevertheless, Trump has made it a point to do just this.
In January, Trump initially announced the “Golden Dome,” a project to protect Americans from the “threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks.” The project, which is intended to use a network of satellites to detect and repel aerial attacks on our homeland, was announced via an executive order.
CNN now reports that sources close to the government claim the Defense Department may be able to test the satellite-guided security system as soon as three years from now. The outlet writes:
The Pentagon has scheduled its first major test of the multibillion-dollar Golden Dome missile defense system for just before the 2028 election, according to two sources familiar with the matter, setting an aggressive deadline for military officials to prove they can turn President Donald Trump’s vision for a space-based shield that can protect the entire US into a reality…
…The MDA [Military Defense Agency] is planning to call the test FTI-X, the defense official said. “FTI” stands for Flight Test Integrated, indicating that the test will involve Golden Dome’s many sensors and weapons systems working together to engage multiple targets.
The Golden Dome obviously sounds a lot like Israel’s Iron Dome—which, in addition to sharing a similar name, also enjoys the common denominator of having been built with money from U.S. taxpayers (Israel’s security system has enjoyed at least $1.6 billion in development “support” from America, although the country has enjoyed billions more in missile defense funding). But as Gizmodo reported in April, the challenges of deploying a protective shield over a country the size of the U.S. are far more daunting than those of protecting Israel. And unlike the defenses against rocket attacks that the Iron Dome provides, Trump’s executive order asks for protection from “ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks.” Experts told Gizmodo that this directive amounts to “trying to shoot a bullet out of the sky with a bullet,” and while engineers are working on the Golden Dome, even more advanced weaponry will be developed.
Many conservative voices have cheered Trump’s security initiative. Indeed, the Heritage Foundation, whose Project 2025 has arguably guided much of the policy decision-making in the second Trump administration, has advocated for a modernized defense system. Citing America’s foes (North Korea, Iran, China, and Russia) as potential sources of danger, the organization recently argued that the U.S. should “change how it approaches missile defenses” and that the “next MDR should examine the evolving security environment and identify the requirements for a suitable missile defense architecture for the next 30 years to 40 years.” After Trump’s announcement of the Golden Dome project, the org also wrote a blog supporting the effort.
While all that surely sounds great to America First conservatives, the laws of physics have no political persuasion and could prove a daunting opponent for the Trump administration.
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