① After President Trump took office, he strongly promoted the Department of Defense to build the 'Gold Dome' space-based missile defense system; ② This concept is quite similar to President Reagan's 'Star Wars' program from the 1980s, with a limited degree of reliability; ③ Recent reports indicate that Musk's SpaceX is in a leading position in the project bidding.
According to the latest news on Thursday, the world's richest man Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp, SpaceX, has become the main competitor for the bidding of the USA's new generation space-based missile defense project 'Gold Dome'.
It's clear from the name that 'Gold Dome' is a major military infrastructure project that President Trump insisted on promoting after taking office. In the executive order signed on January 27, he referred to missile attacks as 'the most catastrophic threat facing the USA.' Unlike Israel's 'Iron Dome,' Trump explicitly pointed out the need to build a space-based defense system, which has allowed SpaceX to stand out among its competitors.
It is reported that SpaceX is collaborating with AI super stock, defense security software company Palantir, and drone manufacturer Anduril to jointly bid for the construction of core components of the defense system.
Informed sources reveal that these three companies recently met with senior government and Department of Defense officials, proposing a plan to deploy 400 to 1,000 Satellites around the Earth. In addition to detecting missiles and tracking trajectories, there will be a fleet consisting of 200 Satellites equipped with missiles or laser weapons to intercept target missiles.
Reportedly, SpaceX, specializing in the field of Satellites and rocket launches, is bidding for the 'guardian layer' of the defense system, which involves establishing a Satellite system to detect missile activity in space. Over the past five years, SpaceX has launched hundreds of spy Satellites, and existing 'Starlink' Satellites can be modified for this project, giving the company a competitive advantage.
Multiple informed sources have also indicated that SpaceX is not expected to participate in the weaponization of Satellites.
There are two main obstacles in front of SpaceX: First, SpaceX (and several tech companies) lacks experience in fully delivering military defense systems. The other is the company's own idea: they propose to act as a 'subscription service' provider in this defense system, allowing the U.S. military to pay on a periodic basis.
Sources reveal that this operation can bypass some defense procurement procedures, thus accelerating system deployment. Although it does not violate regulations, it will bind the USA military to subscription services for a long time, resulting in a loss of control over the continued development of the system. Therefore, some Department of Defense officials are also concerned that adopting a 'subscription service' for such a significant defense project is indeed too rare.
It is reported that the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the USA Space Force's Space Operations, Gaitlain, participated in discussions regarding whether SpaceX could be a partial system owner. Other alternatives include the USA government fully owning and operating the system, or the government controlling ownership but having contractors responsible for operations, among others.
USA officials revealed that Steve Van Berg, co-founder of CyberLease Capital Management and current Deputy Secretary of Defense, will be a key decision-maker for the 'Gold Dome' project. He has also invested in the supersonic missile industry, although he has no connections with SpaceX.
Some experts believe that the total cost of establishing the 'Gold Dome' could reach hundreds of billions of dollars. The USA Department of Defense has set a multi-phase delivery schedule, starting in 2026 and gradually implementing the system after 2030.
Faced with such a large L, traditional defense contractors like Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin will also participate in the competition. Reports indicate that over 180 companies have expressed their interest in participating in the construction of the 'Gold Dome' to the USA Department of Defense.
By the way: Is Trump's idea feasible?
Trump's idea is based on the reality that the USA's ballistic missile defense system does indeed fail to intercept large-scale nuclear missile attacks.
Currently, the USA's missile defense system relies on ground-based midcourse defense systems. According to the USA Arms Control Association's Statistics, its failure rate is nearly half, making it almost unreliable in large-scale combat.
The problem is that the space-based ballistic missile defense system that Trump proposed might not be so reliable.
First of all, there have been attempts in the USA to do the same thing. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan announced the launch of the 'Strategic Defense Initiative', which was derisively called the 'Star Wars' program. Ultimately, this project was scrapped after spending hundreds of billions of dollars.
From an economic perspective, to realize Trump's vision, hundreds of satellites would hardly be enough.
Last month, a study published by American physicists stated that to attempt to intercept a simultaneous launch of 10 intercontinental ballistic missiles, approximately 0.016 million interceptors would need to be deployed as part of a defensive network; such a system would require tens of thousands of low Earth orbit satellites. Moreover, space-based defense systems are more vulnerable to attacks from anti-satellite weapons, which are also much cheaper.
Finally, from a strategic perspective, this action by the USA is also a cost-inefficient step: assuming that this system is effective, it would undermine the current stability of nuclear deterrence. Currently, the main nuclear deterrent forces of the USA can still retaliate after enduring a first strike. What would happen to the Earth if other nuclear powers come to believe that this system has sufficient interception capability?
Editor/lambor
