Kathmandu. US President Donald Trump has announced new details and initial funding for his Golden Dome missile armor system.
After the successful use of the ‘Iron Dome’ ‘THAAD’ system, the US is going to develop a high-security Golden Dome. The Iron Dome is currently being used by Israel. It works to stop short-range missiles, ballistic missiles. The US is developing technology to cover long-range ballistic missiles and hypersonic missiles and also space-to-air missiles.
This technology has not yet been used by any country. The us announcement has raised security concerns in China and Russia.
President Trump announced on Tuesday that $25 billion has been allocated for the project to be operational in about three years. The project is expected to cost around $175 billion and will be implemented within three years.
Meanwhile, Beijing on Wednesday described the ‘Golden Dome’ as a threat to international security and accused the United States of fuelling the arms race.
“During the election campaign, I promised the American people a state-of-the-art missile defense shield,” Trump said at the White House on Tuesday. I am happy to announce this today. We have officially selected the framework for this state-of-the-art system. Trump added, “Once fully built, the Golden Dome missile will be able to stop it even if it is launched from other countries of the world and launched from space.” “It is also very important for the success and survival of our country,” he said.
He said U.S. Space Forces General Michael Guatlin would lead the effort and expressed interest in joining canada as it wanted to get security. While Trump said its total value was around $175 billion, the Congressional Budget Office estimated it would cost between $161 billion and $542 billion over 20 years to overcome the limited number of space-based interceptors.
“The ‘Golden Dome’ has a broad goal and will deploy next-generation technologies, including sensors and interceptors, to stay in space, sea and land,” he said. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth supported Trump’s plan, saying the system aims to protect his homeland from conventional or nuclear cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones.
Opposition by China and Russia
The Golden Dome scheme comes from Israel’s Iron Dome Air Defense System, which has intercepted thousands of short-range rockets and other projectiles since it came into operation in 2011. The United States faces various missile threats from adversaries but the ‘Golden Dome’ are significantly different from short-range weapons designed to counter Israel’s Iron Dome.
The 2022 Missile Defense Review points to a growing threat from China and Russia. Beijing is reducing its distance from Washington in terms of ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow is modernizing its intercontinental-range missile system and developing advanced precision strike missiles. Washington has announced plans that the threat of drones, which played an important role in the Ukraine war, is likely to increase, as well as ballistic missiles from North Korea and Iran, as well as rockets and missile threats from non-state actors.
Beijing on Wednesday expressed “serious concern” over the plan, saying it would undermine “global strategic balance and stability”. “The United States puts its interests first and is oriented toward seeking its full security, which violates the principle that no country’s security should be at the expense of others,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters at a regular news conference. “This plan increases the risk of space becoming a battlefield, promotes an arms race and undermines international security,” Mao said.
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