Golden Dome, Protect our Home, Star Wars-Syndrome, Executive Order 14186 is Live.
The United States is building a next-generation missile shield. What will it look like?
According to the U.S. Navy, on January 27, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14186, titled The Iron Dome for America. The EO announced a shift in U.S. missile defense policy, expanding the scope of the homeland missile defense mission and directing the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop “a next generation missile shield.”
To this end, just a few days ago, the Pentagon submitted small, medium and large options to the White House for developing “Golden Dome”, but no matter the option selected, it will come at a cost for the government. The Congressional Budget Office indicates that $25 billion has been carved out in next year’s defense budget for the system, but this amount could balloon to $500 billion – over the course of 20 years – to develop a viable Golden Dome.
Lockheed Martin in fact calls this “a Manhattan Project-scale mission, one that is both urgent and crucial to America’s security.”
Overseeing this Manhattan Project-scale mission is not someone like Robert J. Oppenheimer, but is rather being called the “Golden Dome Czar”, a direct reporting program manager who will oversee the development and deployment of the highly complex system. One such czar could be Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, vice chief of space operations at the US Space Force, a four-star general with experience in the procurement of missile defense systems and emerging space-based capabilities.
Of the many responsibilities involved in being the Golden Dome Czar, arguably the most important one is deciding whether working with private contractors is crucial to making the dome a reality. “SpaceX is among the companies vying for a role in developing the Golden Dome and has briefed Trump officials on a possible collaboration with two other contractors: Anduril and Palantir, two sources familiar with the conversations told CNN.”
The parallels between the Golden Dome and President Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” Initiative are striking. Back in the 80s, Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a U.S. strategic defensive system against potential nuclear attacks from the Soviet Union, partially involving militarized satellites. Although funding had initially been approved by Congress in the mid 1980s, debates on the value of the SDI raged, particularly regarding political implications and technical feasibility of the systems—the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union and the negotiations for the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) and the Strategic Arms Reductions Talks (START) ultimately led to the abandonment of the Star Wars initiative.
Given the predecessor military defense policy of Star Wars, as Congress evaluates the Trump Administration’s homeland missile defense plans, the Congressional Research Service indicates that the federal government must consider several core issues:
Definition of "Homeland":
The executive order (EO) lacks a clear definition of "homeland."
The 2022 Biden-era Missile Defense Review defines it as all 50 states, U.S. territories, and D.C.
Congress must decide whether the defense scope includes the entire homeland or only selected high-priority locations.
A full-homeland defense would require more resources and pose greater technological challenges.
Acceptable Level of Risk:
Missile defense cannot guarantee 100% success.
Congress must determine what level of risk is acceptable, as this decision affects system design, cost, and deployment scale.
Timeline and Technological Feasibility:
Some advanced capabilities may now be more viable due to recent tech advances (e.g., remote sensing, miniaturization, lower launch costs).
However, building the Golden Dome at scale will take years and must compete for funding with other defense priorities.
Only then will something of this nature potentially come to fruition.
Takeaways and Resources 🚀
2 Takeaways
History repeats itself: Back in the 1980s, the Star Wars Initiative was ultimately abandoned because of a lack of need. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the unprecedented hegemony of the United States meant that defense system funding waned — is this the appropriate time to pursue a Golden Dome type installation? It might just be, but possibly only if existing conflicts around the world continue to magnify in the coming years.
Perception is key: Another key issue to the Star Wars initiative of the 80s was the perception of the system. Some key opponents of the initiative cited that such a system would only accelerate the existing arms race and might only serve to be devastating for the diplomacy-based approach of resolving tensions with the Soviets. Does the golden dome cast the right perception on the United States from its allies and adversaries? Time will tell.
2 Resources
https://news.usni.org/2025/04/17/report-to-congress-on-golden-dome-program
https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/rd/104253.htm
NASA Photo of the Day 🌔
Explanation: Have you ever seen the band of our Milky Way Galaxy? In a clear sky from a dark location at the right time, a faint band of light becomes visible across the sky. Soon after your eyes become dark adapted, you might spot the band for the first time. It may then become obvious. Then spectacular. One reason for your growing astonishment might be the realization that this fuzzy swath, the Milky Way, contains billions of stars. Visible in the featured image, high above in the night sky, the band of the Milky Way Galaxy arcs. Also visible are the colorful clouds of Rho Ophiuchi on the right, and the red and circular Zeta Ophiuchi nebula near the top center. Taken in late February from Maunakea, Hawaii, USA, the foreground telescope is the University of Hawaii's 2.2-Meter Telescope. Fortunately, you don’t need to be near the top of a Hawaiian volcano to see the Milky Way.
Daily Opportunity Drop 🌌
Check out this role to serve as a junior aerospace engineer at Astrion in MD: https://www.google.com/search?q=aerospace+job&oq=aerospace+joib&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTINCAEQABiDARixAxiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABNIBCDEwMDlqMGo0qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&jbr=sep:0&udm=8#vhid=vt%3D20/docid%3DA9Z2W02E-0tSbT11AAAAAA%3D%3D&vssid=jobs-detail-viewer&sxsrf=AHTn8zoh605t-sYEKVmeeUb6sK_52tM4Vg:1747758363459