Syllabus:

GS3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Context: 

The United States President Trump has announced that he has selected a $175bn design for the multilayered Golden Dome missile defence programme.

More on the News

• The programme aimed at countering aerial threats “even if they are launched from space”.

• The Trump administration made General Michael Guetlein of the US Space Force in-charge of the project.

• The president announced $25bn initial funding for the project that will cost $175bn and will be completed by the end of his current term in 2029.

The Golden Done

• The Golden Dome is a multilayered defence system that will deploy "next-generation technologies across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors."

• This plan is modelled after the Iron Dome that protects Israel — a land mass smaller than Vancouver Island — and aims to be more robust and hundreds of times bigger.

Key Features of the Golden Dome

• Space-Based Interceptors:

• System to include thousands of small satellites in Earth's orbit.
• These satellites would detect and intercept enemy missiles moments after launch.
• Represents a shift from space for surveillance to space as an active defense platform.

• Inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, but far more ambitious.
• Iron Dome: Ground-based, short-range interceptor system with radar; used mainly against threats from Hamas and Hezbollah.
• Golden Dome: Intended to protect the vast US territory against long-range threats (ICBMs) using space-based technologies.

Technological & Strategic Background

• Historical Precedents:

• Concept is not new—similar systems were envisioned during the Cold War by the US and USSR.
• Closely resembles Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” initiative (Strategic Defense Initiative, 1980s).

• US Defense Needs:

• US faces potential intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) threats that follow suborbital trajectories and re-enter at hypersonic speeds, making satellite tracking and interception a logical necessity.
• Ground-based systems alone are inadequate for such long-range, fast-moving threats.