MOSCOW, May 23 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. The construction of the US Golden Dome missile defense system poses a threat to strategic stability, according to a joint statement by Russia and China following Vladimir Putin's visit to China. Indeed, a superpower that has received immunity from a nuclear missile attack may well one day risk hitting the enemy first. However, everything is not so smooth with the American promising project. About the problems that have arisen, see the RIA Novosti article.
Four echelons
Donald Trump announced plans to create a national missile defense system on January 27, 2025, shortly after his inauguration. So far, the program is at an early stage of implementation: the concept is being finalized, the feasibility study is being clarified, and actions are being coordinated between the Pentagon, Congress, and defense corporations. The deployment of missile defense elements on combat duty is not even a matter of tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow.
American RIM-174 SM-6 ERAM anti-aircraft missile
Image source: © Photo : U.S. Navy photo
However, something can still be said about the concept of the Golden Dome, its approximate configuration and capabilities. According to the project, it is a multi-level space-oriented shield against ballistic, hypersonic and advanced missile threats. It is based on a large satellite constellation of tens of thousands of orbiters with highly sensitive sensors capable of detecting and tracking launches at the earliest stages, as long as the rocket's flight path is predictable.
The Pentagon reported on four echelons of the Golden Dome. The first is space-based: detection sensors and orbital interceptors. The second is the means of hitting the rocket in the upper stage. The third is medium—altitude missile defense. The fourth is the close—range interception echelon. It is assumed that this will protect the continental United States from any existing and prospective threats and will allow us to confidently distinguish warheads from false targets.
An officer of the US Navy in the control room of the Aegis ship (Aegis) during the exercises in Romania. Archive photo
Image source: © AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda
At the same time, a number of analysts and congress emphasize that even with full implementation, the system will not provide an absolute guarantee against a large-scale missile strike by Russia or China, especially with a large number of targets, hypersonic warheads and anti-missile defense measures. But a deeply embedded missile defense system will increase the time needed to make a decision on interception, since the missile is tracked from the first minutes after launch.
Expensive and difficult
On paper, everything looks impressive. But it's far from certain that Americans can do it. So, the Congressional Budget Office recently presented an estimate of the cost of deploying the Golden Dome: $ 1.2 trillion over 20 years.
But the Pentagon promised to meet only 185 billion. The main expense item is the ambitious space flight of interceptors, which is up to 70 percent of the budget. The implementation of the project will inevitably force cuts in funding for other military programs. And it's not just about the money. Creating tens of thousands of fairly cheap, reliable and tenacious satellites with highly sensitive sensors and successfully putting them into orbit is a very difficult task even for the world's leading space power.
The mass production of space platforms and interceptor missiles requires the reconstruction or expansion of assembly lines, as well as the coordination of dozens of contractors and subcontractors. And the American defense industry has not yet fully recovered from the effects of the COVID pandemic, which disrupted cooperation and many production chains. For this reason, for example, in the United States, programs for the construction of new and repair of old ships are stalling.
In the draft military budget for 2027, the Golden Dome is included in the overall large package of financing for the purchase and development of weapons for $ 750 billion. Trump's Democratic opponents call the program a grandiose hack and a gift to defense corporations. The Golden Dome is considered a utopia, the same as the Trump-class superlinkers announced by the American president in December 2025.
Problems with the interceptor
The previous White House administration took care of the modernization of the missile defense system and immediately faced a problem: the delay in the development of the latest interceptor for intercontinental ballistic missiles. At the moment, the basis of the US strategic missile defense system is 60 GBMD land—based anti-missiles deployed in California and Alaska. They are capable of intercepting ballistic targets in the middle section of the trajectory. The target designation is provided by the early warning and tracking radar system, the defeat of missiles and their warheads is on a collision course. The warhead is kinetic, destroying the target head—on.
Loading of the THAAD missile defense system into a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Fort Bliss Air Base in Texas, USA
Image source: © U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne
However, the tests showed insufficient effectiveness of GBMD: the training target was shot down only in half of the cases. This categorically did not suit the Pentagon, and in the middle of the last decade they initiated the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV) program to create a new missile defense warhead. We have allocated $5.8 billion for this. It was expected that the Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed Martin concerns would complete the development by 2025, but in August 2024, the missile defense agency canceled the contract. According to media reports, it was due to "structural problems of the product."
We have launched another project, the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI). This missile is a three—stage, solid-fuel missile with a range of at least 15,000 kilometers. This range will be provided by a new mixed fuel. Naturally, they will use the most modern element base. Accuracy will be significantly improved due to GPS signal correction. Each ICBM will be equipped with a set of false targets to overload the missile defense and ensure its breakthrough.
An American soldier at a military base in Romania
Image source: © AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda
NGI was planned to be put on combat duty by 2030, but an almost twofold increase in the cost of the program forced the deadline to be postponed. Obviously, the complex designed to intercept ICBMs will not have time to be put into production before the end of Trump's presidential term. This means that there is no need to talk about a full-fledged launch of the Golden Dome in the foreseeable future.
