OPINION —“The Golden Dome for America technique [President Trump’s proposed nationwide anti-missile defense system] stays centered on reasonably priced and scalable capabilities. Within the short-term, we are going to leverage battle-proven applied sciences and methods to supply rapid protection in opposition to present threats. By bettering, multiplying, and integrating present methods, we are able to area a reputable protection now. Nevertheless, defeating an rising variety of refined, lower-cost offensive threats with a restricted provide of multi-million-dollar [space- and ground-based] interceptors is an economically untenable proposition in the long run.”
That was from the ready assertion of House Command Basic Michael Guetlein, Program Supervisor for the Golden Dome for America mission, who appeared final Wednesday earlier than a Home Armed Providers Strategic Subcommittee listening to held to supply an replace on Golden Dome and different Division of Protection (DoD) missile protection packages together with different senior officers.
In asserting the Golden Dome program on January 27, 2025, Trump, in an Govt Order stated, “The United States will present for the frequent protection of its residents and the Nation by deploying and sustaining a next-generation missile protection protect; the USA will deter — and defend its residents and significant infrastructure in opposition to — any overseas aerial assault on the Homeland; and the USA will assure its safe second-strike functionality.”
Final Could, Trump predicted, “As soon as totally constructed, the Golden Dome might be able to intercepting missiles even when they’re launched from different sides of the world, and even when they’re launched from house, and we can have one of the best system ever constructed.”
Guetlein, simply earlier than the two-hour session ended, once more made clear, price could be an element within the system. “If we can’t do it reasonably priced we is not going to go into manufacturing and that is one thing that others haven’t understood. As a result of we’re wanting on the threats from a multi-domain perspective, to ensure I’ve redundant capabilities, and I haven’t got single factors of failure, so if boost- section intercept from house just isn’t reasonably priced and scalable, we is not going to produce it as a result of we have now different choices to get after it.”
Throughout the listening to, Guetlein and the others made clear what a protracted, pricey and sophisticated course of the Golden Dome will contain.
For instance, when Guetlein was requested what number of American cities are presently protected by Patriot or Terminal Excessive Altitude Space Protection (THAAD) batteries – the U.S. Military’s present ground-based anti-missile models he referred to above — he answered, “As we speak, none.”
I keep in mind again within the 1950-to-1970 Chilly Warfare days when the U.S. Military deployed nuclear-armed Nike surface-to-air missile batteries round main cities akin to Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, and the Florida coast to intercept Soviet missiles or bombers. One instance: again then 19 Nike anti-air websites ringed New York Metropolis.
As I learn Guetlein, Golden Dome would require Patriot and THAAD batteries to be deployed to a whole bunch of U.S. cities to supply the safety President Trump envisioned.
As we speak, a single Patriot battery price $1.1 billion — $400 million for the radar, management station and launchers plus one other $690 million for the interceptor missiles, at some $4 million every. As well as, it takes 90 service personnel to function that Patriot battery. A single battery can shield an space with a 42-mile protection radius, relying on the encompassing terrain, whereas its radar can observe as much as 50 potential targets and interact 5 concurrently.
A Patriot battery acts as a terminal-phase protect in opposition to tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, and superior plane.
The U.S. Military at the moment operates roughly 15-16 Patriot battalions, consisting of some 60 lively batteries, with some 30+ stationed inside the U.S., whereas the remaining are deployed in Europe, the Center East, and the Indo-Pacific area.
A single THAAD battery, designed to intercept short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, usually prices between $1 billion and $2.7 billion. A battery is comprised of six truck-mounted launchers, 48+ interceptors, the AN/TPY-2 radar, and hearth management models. Once more, some 90 personnel are wanted to function a THAAD battery.
As of June 2025, the Military had simply eight THAAD batteries with 4 stationed abroad — in Guam, South Korea, Israel and Center East — and 4 on U.S. Military bases at dwelling.
Supplementing these terminal-phase protection methods, in contemplating this new Golden Dome idea, is the Floor-Primarily based Midcourse Protection (GMD), the one operational U.S. system theoretically designed to defend all the U.S. in opposition to long-range ballistic missiles. Nevertheless, GMD is designed to defend in opposition to restricted ICBM threats from rogue nations akin to North Korea and Iran and never the superior ICBM capabilities of Russia and China.
GMD consists of a space-based and ground-based world community of sensors and radars to detect and observe threats; command, management, battle administration and communications; a fireplace management system that may calculate interception factors; and simply 44 Floor primarily based Interceptors (GBI), 40 at Fort Greely, Alaska, and 4 deployed to Vandenberg Air Power Base, California. President Trump has requested funding for 20 extra GBI interceptors to be deployed in the USA.
Every GBI has price roughly $90 million and the GMD system as an entire has been estimated to have price over $40 billion.
The U.S. Missile Protection Company (MDA) in 2021 awarded Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin contracts to develop a Subsequent Era Interceptor (NGI) as a follow-on to the GBI. In April 2024, the MDA introduced it had chosen Lockheed Martin as the only real prime contractor for the NGI program’s improvement section.
The NGI plan referred to as for the primary new interceptors to be operational by 2028 and the ultimate multi-year contract to be price an estimated $17 billion.
When Guetlein advised the Home subcommittee final week “Golden Dome for America just isn’t a single or static weapon system, however an built-in ‘system of methods,’” these three – Patriot, THAAD and GMD — are the essential methods I consider he was speaking about.
There may be additionally the Navy’s AEGIS shipboard anti-missile system, which additionally offers midcourse and terminal interceptions. However aside from the one land-based AEGIS system in Europe, the rest look like wanted to guard the fleet.
Guetlein defined, “The structure that we’re constructing is a really versatile open structure design system in order that we are able to constantly modernize it because the menace continues to mature. It isn’t a static structure. So we are going to proceed to improve alongside the way in which to get after the menace.”
He claimed his new system “will enhance the variety of threats we are able to defend in opposition to for a fraction of the fee…by constructing a modular, layered, defense-in-depth ‘system of methods’ the place all parts can function independently and, due to this fact, will be changed with out having to rebuild all the enterprise.”
Guetlein stated, “We’re going to ship an operational functionality by the summer time of [20]28 that can have the ability to shield the homeland in opposition to a wide range of threats. The last word goal structure goes to be $185 billion. That is $175 billion as recognized by the President of the USA and an extra $10 billion to speed up some house capabilities that weren’t initially a part of our structure.”
One other Home subcommittee witness, Lieutenant Basic Heath Collins, Director of the Missile Protection Company, launched the concept directed vitality weapons, lasers, would even be a part of the Golden Dome program.
“We’re definitely placing extra consideration into doubtlessly game-changing directed vitality,” Collins stated. “Capabilities in an unmanned air platform is what we’re centered on so we are able to carry that functionality to the sting of the battle and skinny the herd of UAVs [unmanned air vehicles] – doubtlessly air threats and the like. So, we’re very into that and we’re driving by on that experimentation as we as we transfer ahead.”
Talking of Patriot and THAAD, Collins stated , “Now we have some very confirmed methods with unbelievable functionality…We’re all the time driving to determine how you can drive the price of these down. One by the acceleration in portions that we will discuss. We’ll have a
financial savings in these. However these are fairly beautiful and distinctive weapons. As we transfer ahead we’re persevering with to push directed vitality and non-kinetics to alter the fee equation.”
Close to the shut of the listening to, Gen. Guetlein was requested to sum up “in layman’s phrases,” why Golden Dome was the precise possibility to fulfill the present menace.
Guetlein responded partly, “We’re seeing threats coming from the multi-domain surroundings which means they’re coming from air, they’re coming from the ocean, they’re coming from house, they’re coming from land. They [U.S. adversaries] have found out how you can get some low-cost threats in there as properly to problem our depth, our defenses.”
Guetlein concluded, “That is driving a requirement for elevated journal depth [an adequate supply of interceptors] and a requirement for decrease price options to get after these sectors. That is what Golden Dome is specializing in…how you can change that protection equation. And we’re doing that by partnerships with trade, partnerships with academia and partnerships with the nationwide labs.”
I consider the reality is, because the U.S. found throughout the Reagan years, that missile offenses will all the time defeat missile defenses, and whereas an Iron Dome protection will be arrange for a small nation – Israel — no Golden Dome will be established to guard a big nation such because the U.S.
And, mockingly, attempting to create a defensive system will ultimately result in a extra aggressive offensive arms race than exists at the moment.
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