Defense News
President Donald Trump’s order for the military to build an advanced homeland missile shield will require a level of government cooperation akin to World War II’s Manhattan Project, a top Space Force official said this week.
“It’s going to take concerted effort from the very top of our government,” Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein said Wednesday. “It’s going to take national will to bring all this together. It’s going to be a heavy lift across all the organizations that are going to be participating.”
In an executive order signed just one week into his second term, Trump directed the Pentagon to start making plans for a “Golden Dome” missile defense capability made up of advanced sensors and interceptors designed to track and neutralize both traditional and high-end missile threats.
In response, the Space Force, Missile Defense Agency, National Reconnaissance Office and other Defense Department agencies have been crafting options for achieving that vision. They plan to provide a response to the White House by the end of March.
Experts and officials have pointed out the technical challenges the Golden Dome presents — particularly when it comes to space-based interceptors. But speaking this week at the National Security Innovation Base conference in Washington, D.C., Guetlein said he thinks the biggest hurdles will be collaboration among the various organizations tasked with contributing to the project.
