U.S. Department of Defense
Senior Defense Department officials met with the Senate Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee in Washington, May 13, 2025, to discuss Golden Dome, a next-generation missile defense shield aimed at protecting the U.S. from evolving aerial threats.
The initiative, created by an executive order from President Donald J. Trump, Jan. 27, 2025, was announced amid rising concerns over sophisticated missile threats from adversaries such as China and Russia. A Defense Intelligence Agency report released earlier this month warned that these threats are expanding.
Unlike traditional intercontinental ballistic missiles, new systems such as cruise missiles and maneuverable hypersonic glide vehicles challenge current U.S. defenses. Golden Dome would include a layered network, combining sensors, interceptors, and command and control technologies to counter them.
Inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, officials acknowledged that Golden Dome is an ambitious undertaking and would require scaling the Iron Dome concept to a national level.
