[Text/Observer Network Xiong Chaoyi] In January this year, U.S. President Trump first ordered the launch of the so-called "Golden Dome" (Gold Dome) plan to build a satellite network for detecting, tracking, and intercepting incoming missiles. This defense system may deploy hundreds of satellites to carry out missile detection and tracking missions.

According to a Reuters report on May 20th, Trump announced at the White House on the same day that he has selected a design scheme for the $17.5 billion "Gold Dome" missile defense system and appointed General Michael Guetlein of the U.S. Space Force as the chief project manager of the plan. The report said that this plan is widely regarded as the "cornerstone" of Trump's military plan, aimed at countering what it calls "threats from China and Russia."

On May 20th local time, Trump listened to Defense Secretary Hekseth's speech about the "Golden Dome" missile defense system in the Oval Office of the White House. Visual China

According to reports, when announcing the project, Trump specifically mentioned former U.S. President Reagan's proposed space-based missile defense system (also known as the "Star Wars Program"). He said, "Ronald Reagan envisioned this plan many years ago, but the technology was not mature at that time."

Trump stated that the "Gold Dome" would "protect our homeland," and added that Canada has expressed interest in becoming part of it. Regarding this, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Carney did not comment.

Trump claimed that the project would be completed by January 2029, just before the end of his current term. Alaska will be an important part of the project, and Florida, Georgia, and Indiana will also benefit from it. However, industry experts are skeptical about this timeline and budget scale. This plan faces political review pressure and uncertainty regarding funding security.

"The new data point of $17.5 billion is worth noting - but the key question is the implementation cycle, which may take ten years." Tom Karako of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that the project can achieve technical breakthroughs by leveraging Silicon Valley and the United States' professional advantages in software, while integrating existing missile defense system resources.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated this month that the total cost of the "Gold Dome" plan over 20 years could reach up to $831 billion.

Reuters reported that the funding scale of the "Gold Dome" has not yet been truly confirmed. Republican lawmakers proposed allocating $25 billion from the total $150 billion defense budget as start-up funds for the plan, but this budget is linked to a controversial reconciliation bill, facing significant resistance in the U.S. Congress.

"Unless the reconciliation bill is passed, the funding for the 'Gold Dome' may not be implemented," said an industry executive following the plan: "This will put the entire project schedule at risk."

Lockheed Martin's concept diagram of the "Gold Dome" anti-missile system Lockheed Martin

In addition, some Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns about the procurement process and the involvement of SpaceX, which is affiliated with Trump's allies. Currently, SpaceX, along with two other companies, Palantir and Anduril, has become a major bidder for building key components of the system.

Kevin Cramer, a Republican senator from North Dakota, said at the event held at the White House that the new autonomous space-age defense ecosystem is more related to Silicon Valley than "big metal." He added, "So it's exciting that everyone can participate in the competition." By "big metal," he referred to traditional defense contractors.

Reuters pointed out that the concept of the "Gold Dome" originates from Israel's land-based "Iron Dome" defense system, which can intercept missile and rocket attacks. However, the "Gold Dome" that Trump intends to promote is much broader in scope, including a large number of surveillance satellites and specialized attack satellite formations, which will strike offensive missiles shortly after launch to carry out interception operations.

Trump's announcement at the White House on the same day marked the official start of the plan by the Pentagon, which will soon begin testing and final procurement of the missiles, operational units, sensor equipment, and satellite constellations that make up the "Gold Dome" system.

Reportedly, most of the initial systems of the plan will come from existing production lines. Attendees at the press conference revealed that L3Harris Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Raytheon Company are expected to become the main contractors for this massive project.

Among them, L3Harris has invested $150 million to expand its production base in Fort Wayne, Indiana, specifically for producing hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensor satellites. These satellites were originally part of the Pentagon's space sensing network construction project, aiming to enhance the detection and tracking capabilities of hypersonic weapons through space-based sensors. After modification, they can be adapted to the "Gold Dome".

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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506688075393696306/

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