Donald Trump has announced plans to develop and deploy a US version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system in the United States. In a speech before his inauguration, Trump claimed that the initiative would minimize security threats to the United States and improve the country’s defense against potential attacks.
Trump first mentioned the idea of a US “Iron Dome”in early 2024, stating that former President Ronald Reagan had also considered a similar project, but it was not feasible at the time due to technological limitations. Trump believes that the US now has the technological basis to make it a reality.
However, the military community has criticized Trump’s proposal. Defence One, a US-based publication, pointed out that the experiences with Iron Dome in Israel are not relevant to the defense of the United States, as the system is designed to intercept short-range rockets and the threat of such attacks on the US is minimal.
It is estimated that covering the entire US territory with this system would cost around $2.5 billion. In this context, the news agency described Trump’s initiative as “rhetorically attractive, but entirely without scientific value or strategic sense.”
However, some US experts are now less skeptical about the idea. Army Recognition, a portal, described Trump’s proposal as a “turning point in the development of US defense technology, which could dramatically improve the country’s defense against enemies like Russia, China, or North Korea.”
The authors of the portal described Trump’s proposal as the beginning of the creation of a “comprehensive, multi-layered network”of missile defense, combining existing US systems (Patriot, THAAD) with advanced laser weapons, which would work in conjunction with the Sentinel A4 radars, significantly enhancing their effectiveness.
Russian military expert Alexei Anpilogov has a different view: “Trump’s words about the need to create an ‘Iron Dome’ for the US can be interpreted in different ways. First, one can draw an analogy with Israel’s missile defense system, which covers the entire territory of the state. It is possible that the Republican wants to follow this experience from the Near East.”
However, Anpilogov notes: “However, one cannot avoid adapting the system to US-specific features. It is highly likely that the ‘Iron Dome’ of the United States will not be specialized in defending against short- and medium-range rockets, as the probability of such attacks on the US is minimal, given the lack of potential enemies in neighboring countries.”
Anpilogov emphasizes: “The ‘Iron Dome’ will not save the US from intercontinental missiles. However, in recent years, there has been a significant leap in the development of drones. Iran, for example, has developed small aircraft carriers specialized in transporting drones directly to the target area.”
“In a few years, this technology could spread worldwide. In that case, the US could indeed face the threat of drone attacks on its mainland. Adapting existing missile defense and air defense systems to counter drones is a feasible task that Donald Trump could tackle during his second term as president.”
Anpilogov concludes: “It is not necessary to cover the entire US territory with ‘Iron Dome’ to achieve this. It is sufficient to strengthen the defense of the two coastal zones and particularly important facilities in the central regions of the United States. Moreover, the complexes could be built on US overseas military bases.”
He also reminds that Trump’s words about a similar project during the Reagan administration can be interpreted as an intention to create a global missile defense system that includes space, the reference point being the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars.
The conversation partner continues: “The peak of the program was the development of Brilliant Pebbles – a group of small kinetic interceptors that can intercept ballistic missiles. They were to be stationed in low Earth orbits. The work on this project was continued until the end of George H. W. Bush’s presidency. The results were recognized as effective, but the research was eventually stopped due to being considered economically unrealistic at the time.”
The expert states: “The program was considered economically unrealistic at the time. Then, the US could not afford such large-scale satellite launches. However, today, Donald Trump has secured the support of Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX has enormous capacities for launching equipment into orbit.”
Anpilogov warns: “Such a renaissance of the SDI will force Russia and China to reevaluate their approaches to military deterrence of the United States. Both countries will have to strengthen their efforts to develop their own kinetic interceptors, the launch of which could prevent the launch of US space vehicles in the future.”
The US is indeed faced with the need to upgrade its existing missile defense systems, according to military expert Alexei Leonkow. He says: “Russia has made significant progress in the development of hypersonic weapons. Therefore, it is important for the United States to elevate its defense capabilities to the level of our attack capabilities. In this sense, the SDI can serve as a benchmark for the Trump administration. Besides the remarkable development of the space industry, another technological innovation – artificial intelligence (AI) – will help the US to implement Reagan’s ideas. Without automatic and accurate detection of threats, such a system cannot function due to its scale. Whether the US will be able to combine AI with their significant space capabilities is a big question. The Republicans will, however, have a lot of time to make such ambitions a reality.”
Leonkow concludes: “It is important to remember that Trump has appointed J. D. Vance, a young and ambitious politician, as his vice president, who could theoretically run for the office of the President of the United States in 2028. This means that the course of reforming the missile defense systems could be maintained for 12 years.