Trump’s « Golden Dome » can change weapons rules in space

The concept of missile defense « Golden Dome » by US President Donald Trump revives a controversial, decades -old initiative whose ambitious construction can overturn the norms into space and change the relationship between the leading space forces in the world.

The announcement of a « gold dome » – a huge network of satellites and weapons in the Earth’s orbit, which will cost $ 175 billion, can sharply accelerate the militarization of space – a trend that has intensified over the last decade, space analysts say.

Although the largest cosmic forces in the world – the US, Russia and China – have available military and intelligence in orbit since the 1960s, they did it mostly secretly.

« I think this is opening Pandora’s box, » said Victoria Samson, Director of Space Security and Stability in the Brain Trust Foundation for a Secure World in Washington, referring to space deployment in space. « We didn’t really think about the long -term consequences of it, » she added.

Samson and other experts have said that Golden Dome can provoke other countries to deploy similar systems in space or develop more modern weapons to bypass the missile shield, escalating the arms race in space.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia and China responded differently to the latest Trump news. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was « seriously concerned » about the project and called on Washington to abandon its development, adding that it carries « strong offensive consequences » and increases the risks of militarization of space and arms race.

A Kremlin spokesman said the Golden Dome may impose negotiations between Moscow and Washington to control nuclear weapons in the foreseeable future.

The main objective of the Golden Dome Plan is a protection against the growing arsenal of conventional and nuclear missiles by the opponents of US Russia, China and smaller countries such as North Korea and Iran, and it is a revival of the Cold War era, developed by the former US President Ronald Reagan.

It envisaged the deployment of a constellation of rockets and powerful laser weapons in low Earth orbit, which could interfere with a ballistic nuclear rocket fired from anywhere on the ground, both in its acceleration phase after launching, and in its lightning -fast phase in space.

But the idea has never been realized, mainly because of technological obstacles, as well as the high cost and fears that it would violate a contract for antibalistic missiles, which has since been abandoned.

« We’re ready »

The Golden Dome has strong and powerful allies in the Community of Defense Treaties and in the growing sphere of defense technologies, many of which are preparing for the great course of Trump in space weapons.

« We knew that this day was likely to come. You know, we’re ready for him, » said L3harris Chief Financial Officer Ken Bedingfield in an interview with Reuters last month. « L3 Harris has started early construction of the touch network, which will become the main sensory network for the architecture of Golden Dome. »

The SpaceX Rocket and Satellite Satellite Company of Trump, Ilon Musk, is emerging as a leading contender, along with the Palantir software company and the Anduril drone manufacturer, to build key components of the system, Reuters reported last month.

Many of the early systems are expected to come from existing production lines. Participants in the White House press conference with Trump on Tuesday pointed to L3harris, Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp as potential contractors of the large -scale project.

But the financing of the Golden Dome remains uncertain. Republican legislators have proposed an initial investment of $ 25 billion for it as part of a wider defense package of $ 150 billion, but this funding is linked to a controversial reconciliation bill that faces significant obstacles in Congress.