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TMI BlogTrump announces he's selected final 'Golden Dome' space missile defenses that would cost billionsX X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Trump announces he's selected final 'Golden Dome' space missile defenses that would cost billions X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fice, Trump said he expects the system will be “fully operational before the end of my term," which ends in 2029, and have the capability of intercepting missiles “even if they are launched from space.” It's likelier that the complex system may have some initial capability by that point, a U.S. official familiar with the program said. Trump also announced that Gen. Michael Guetlein, who currently ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... serves as the vice chief of space operations, will be responsible for overseeing Golden Dome's progress. Golden Dome is envisioned to include ground- and space-based capabilities that are able to detect and stop missiles at all four major stages of a potential attack: detecting and destroying them before a launch, intercepting them in their earliest stage of flight, stopping them midcourse in th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e air, or halting them in the final minutes as they descend toward a target. For the last several months, Pentagon planners have been developing options — which a U.S. official described as medium, high and “extra high” choices, based on their cost — that include space-based interceptors. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail plans that have not been made public. The difference i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the three versions is largely based on how many satellites and sensors — and for the first time, space-based interceptors — would be purchased. The Congressional Budget Office estimated this month that just the space-based components of the Golden Dome could cost as much as USD 542 billion over the next 20 years. Trump has requested an initial USD 25 billion for the program in his proposed tax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... break bill now moving through Congress. The Pentagon has warned for years that the newest missiles developed by China and Russia are so advanced that updated countermeasures are necessary. Golden Dome's added satellites and interceptors — where the bulk of the program's cost is — would be focused on stopping those advanced missiles early on or in the middle of their flight. The space-based weapo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ns envisioned for Golden Dome “represent new and emerging requirements for missions that have never before been accomplished by military space organizations,” Gen. Chance Saltzman, head of the U.S. Space Force, told lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday. China and Russia have put offensive weapons in space, such as satellites with abilities to disable critical U.S. satellites, which can make the U.S. vu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lnerable to attack. Last year the U.S. said Russia was developing a space-based nuclear weapon that could loiter in space for long durations, then release an burst that would take out satellites around it. Trump said he had not yet spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the program, “but at the right time, we will,” he told reporters at the White House. But there's no money for the Gol ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... den Dome project yet, and the program overall is “still in the conceptual stage,” newly confirmed Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told senators Tuesday. While the president picked the concept he wanted, the Pentagon is still developing the requirements that Golden Dome will need to meet — which is not the way new systems are normally developed. The Pentagon and U.S. Northern Command are still dra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fting what is known as an initial capabilities document, the U.S. official said. That is how Northern Command, which is responsible for homeland defense, identifies what it will need the system to do. The U.S. already has many missile defense capabilities, such as the Patriot missile batteries that the U.S. has provided to Ukraine to defend against incoming missiles as well as an array of satelli ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tes in orbit to detect missile launches. Some of those existing systems will be incorporated into Golden Dome.
Trump directed the Pentagon to pursue the space-based interceptors in an executive order during the first week of his presidency. (AP) HIG HIG X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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