Source: NDTV
Context: US President Donald Trump announced the final design selection for the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence shield.
About Golden Dome:
- What is the Golden Dome?
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- A proposed next-gen missile defence system integrating space-based and terrestrial technologies.
- Conceptualized as a strategic shield for intercepting ballistic and hypersonic missiles at launch.
- Launched By: Announced by Donald Trump in January 2025, under the US Department of defence.
- Objective:
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- To protect US territory from long-range missile threats including ICBMs from rival nations like Russia and China.
- Aims to operationalize space-based weapons for early missile interception — effectively realizing space warfare capability.
- Key Features of the Golden Dome:
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- Space-Based Interceptors: Thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to track and intercept threats at launch phase.
- Satellite-Enabled Targeting: Advanced surveillance, detection, and response systems leveraging AI and real-time data.
- Ground and Sea Integration: Complements satellite systems with radar arrays, sensor grids, and naval/missile units on Earth.
- Inspired by Iron Dome, Beyond in Scope: Unlike Israel’s Iron Dome, it targets long-range, high-altitude, and spaceborne threats, not just short-range projectiles.
- Strategic Scale: Designed to cover the entire continental US, unlike the Iron Dome which defends compact territories.
- Significance:
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- Strategic Superiority: Positions the US ahead in space militarization amidst growing threats from China and Russia.
- Technological Leap: Would become the first true space-based missile defence system if operationalized.
