What Happened
Layered Shield Against Ballistic Missiles May Complicate Adversary Planning
The US Golden Dome initiative, launched by President Trump in 2025, aims to develop a sophisticated, layered shield against ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles. The program, analogous to Israel’s Iron Dome, could include space-based sensors, interceptors, and non-kinetic capabilities, such as directed-energy weapons. However, concerns about its cost, estimated to be upwards of $1.2 trillion over two decades, and potential risks, including the possibility of prompting adversaries to increase missile inventories, have been raised. The initiative’s effectiveness and potential impact on US homeland defense are still being assessed, as reported by Global Security Review.