Just as promised during the election campaign, US President Donald Trump wants to install a new missile defense system to protect the US from threats by air and even outer space.

The "Golden Dome" would cost at least $175 billion (€154 billion) and is to be completed by the end of Trump's term of office in January 2029, Trump explained earlier this week.

According to the Pentagon, the US faces a growing threat from Russia and China. Critics, however, warn of the enormous costs and an unrealistic timeframe.

Democratic lawmakers have also expressed concerns about the procurement process and the possible involvement of SpaceX, the company owned by Trump's ally Elon Musk.

The project has already caused international uproar. The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused President Donald Trump of undermining "global strategic balance and stability".  

Canada has shown interest in joining the US in its Golden Dome plan.

How would the Golden Dome function?

The Israeli Iron Dome, which intercepts short and medium-range rockets and artillery shells, is said to be the model for the American Golden Dome. The Israeli system has been in use since March 2011. It comprises a radar unit, a control center and a missile launcher.

In contrast to Trump's Golden Dome, however, the Iron Dome was designed to protect a small territory. It is a mobile system that can be deployed in many places.

On the other hand, the US version is said to be capable of defending against intercontinental missiles with nuclear weapons.

The defense project builds on US plans from the time of former President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989). Reagan had wanted a missile defense shield based on the sci-fi film series "Star Wars", in which interceptor systems were to be placed in space.

"The Golden Dome will progressively protect our nation from aerial attacks from any foe," US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Within the last four decades, our adversaries have developed more advanced and lethal long-range weapons than ever before, including ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles capable of striking the homeland with either conventional or nuclear warheads," he added.

Yet, it remains to be seen how the Golden Dome will work.

A Greek "Iron Dome"?

In addition to the US, other countries have adopted the Iron Dome as a model, or at least used it as an effective media catchphrase for their defense systems.

"We need to differentiate between the Iron Dome, which is a short to medium-range range system — it became a brand name like Coca Cola that now everybody uses as it is highly successful," Shachar Shohat, an Israeli retired Brigade General, told the military news magazine Defense News in February.

In late 2024, Greece for example, announced that it would significantly expand its defense budget and build a protective shield similar to the Israeli Iron Dome against drones and missiles. Athens argued that the progress of the European Sky Shield air defense system was too slow.

However, the Greek "Iron Dome" differs from the Israeli mobile missile defense system as the threat is different, explained Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias. Greece must, above all, defend itself against drone attacks.

Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told the US magazine Newsweek in October 2023 that several countries have shown interest in the Iron Dome system over the past decade. "Romania and Cyprus in 2022; Azerbaijan in 2016; South Korea in 2012; India in 2010; and Singapore in 2009. But India and South Korea ultimately did not go ahead with those plans, and in the other cases, there is no confirmation of actual orders or deliveries," he said.

Europe's Sky Shield

At a European level, an Iron Dome comparison has already been made. In 2022, the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) was created as a European air and missile defense project. Sky Shield aims to procure short, medium and long-range defense systems in a coordinated process to fend off all airborne threats. According to Germany's Federal Ministry of Defense, 23 countries have joined the initiative.

This article was originally published in German.