On 27 January 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the establishment of the “Iron Dome” missile defence system, later renamed the “Golden Dome”, aimed at protecting US territory from potential missile attacks launched by adversaries. The nature of this “Golden Dome” system, its prospects, and its impact on the global security landscape have since become subjects of significant international attention.

Overview of the “Golden Dome” missile defence system

The United States’ “Golden Dome” missile defence system is developed on the foundation of the existing National Missile Defence (NMD) network, further enhanced with cutting-edge technologies, particularly a constellation of low-orbit satellites, to create superior capabilities in countering missile threats from air, sea, land, and even outer space. The system is designed to provide comprehensive protection for the entire territory of the United States.

According to defence analysts, the “Golden Dome” missile defence system is far more complex in design than any of its predecessors, as it employs a four-layer integrated defence architecture. The first layer is the space-based detection and target-locking network, which utilises radar systems, low-orbit satellites, and other surveillance devices to provide early warning of enemy missile launches, enabling prompt tracking and interception.

The remaining three layers are ground-based and consist of radar systems, interceptor missiles, and potentially laser defence components. These four layers are intricately linked to form a robust, multi-tiered defensive shield designed to protect the United States from missile attacks by adversaries. The US military community views the Golden Dome as a large-scale and highly sophisticated system, distinguished by several notable features: it integrates technologies from hundreds of satellites orbiting the Earth; is equipped with advanced sensors and modern interception technologies; and possesses the ability to detect and neutralise enemy missiles immediately after launch. The system can identify and intercept an adversary’s missile attack across all four stages: pre-launch, post-launch, mid-course trajectory, and terminal phase before impact. Moreover, the “Golden Dome” missile defence system will be continuously upgraded in technology and developed in phased stages.

In fact, the concept of a missile defence system to protect the United States was first proposed in the 1980s by President Ronald Reagan through the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), widely known as the “Star Wars” Initiative. This was an ambitious plan aimed at building a network of satellites, or employing laser beams and other advanced means, to intercept Soviet nuclear missiles before they could reach US territory. To realise this vision, President Reagan called upon scientists across the nation to “apply their remarkable talents” in pursuit of a “vision for the future that offers hope.” However, scientists later acknowledged that such a complex and technically demanding programme would be almost impossible to complete by the end of the twentieth century. Consequently, the initiative was eventually shelved due to its exorbitant cost, technological limitations of the time, and restrictions imposed by the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union.

When launching the development of the “Golden Dome” missile defence system, US President Donald Trump declared that Washington was completing the mission initiated by President Ronald Reagan forty years earlier, thereby ending once and for all the missile threat to the United States. He further stated that the “Golden Dome” was inspired by Israel’s “Iron Dome” system, which the United States had helped to develop since 2011. “We helped Israel build a highly effective defence system,” he affirmed, “and now our technology has advanced even further.”

These statements reflect the ambition and determination of the White House to establish a missile defence system far more advanced and efficient than Israel’s Iron Dome. According to various estimates, Israel’s Iron Dome system has successfully intercepted around 90% of incoming enemy missiles during conflicts, most recently during the large-scale missile attack from Iran.

President Donald Trump announces the plan for Golden Dome missile defence system (Photo: qdnd.vn/Reuters)

Prospects

According to defence researchers, the United States’ plan to develop the “Golden Dome” missile defence system is highly feasible, though its implementation will depend on several critical factors.

First, in terms of technology. Lieutenant General Heath A. Collins, Director of the Missile Defence Agency (MDA), stated that within the next five years, the United States is expected to achieve significant advances in emerging technologies such as space-based interceptors, directed-energy systems, and hypersonic flight technologies. These breakthroughs would enable the integration of additional defence layers into the Golden Dome. In particular, progress in radar, infrared, and space-based technologies could allow the United States to develop a new-generation integrated missile defence system featuring innovative capabilities at a sustainable cost. Moreover, the Golden Dome could also leverage existing US defence assets, including the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, Aegis-class naval vessels, F-35 stealth fighters, and Patriot missile batteries, as foundational components. However, the Trump administration faces several major challenges in implementing the Golden Dome project, such as: (1) Large scale of coverage: Unlike Israel’s Iron Dome which protects an area representing less than 1% of the United States’ territory, the Golden Dome must be capable of intercepting long-range ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, and unmanned aerial vehicles across a vastly larger area; (2) The system must effectively neutralise nuclear-armed ballistic missiles that travel faster and higher than conventional ones, reaching multiple times the speed of sound; (3) The existing Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) system can only provide limited protection against a small-scale intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) attack. Despite these challenges, US Deputy Secretary of Defence Steven J. Morani asserted that while the Golden Dome presents a tremendous technical challenge, the Department of Defence is actively collaborating with leading technology companies to address these issues and bring the system to fruition.

Second, in terms of finance. According to aerospace experts, the revolution in cost efficiency has made it possible for the United States to construct a more viable missile defence shield, potentially even less expensive than producing nuclear offensive weapons. Estimates indicate that the cost of manufacturing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is approximately 162 million USD, whereas producing a single interceptor missile costs around 1 million USD. In addition, the rapid growth of private space companies has contributed to significantly reducing the costs of deploying missile defence systems into orbit. In July 2025, the US Congress allocated 25 billion USD for the construction of the “Golden Dome” through the so-called “Big and Beautiful Act”. Furthermore, President Donald Trump proposed an additional 45.3 billion USD for the project in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Under the initial plan, the Golden Dome project was estimated to cost 175 billion USD, with completion targeted for 2028 and operational readiness set for January 2029, just before the end of President Trump’s second term. However, several US officials have noted that although a substantial budget has been approved, specific expenditure details remain unclear. This uncertainty stems from the fact that the number of launch sites, interceptor missiles, ground stations, and deployment locations has yet to be determined, and the overall structural framework of the plan still requires further clarification and refinement.

Third, in terms of institutional framework. Researchers have observed that although the “Golden Dome” project is a policy priority during President Donald Trump’s second term, its success will require coordination across multiple levels of government and bipartisan support from both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Recently, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth instructed a review of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget plan to redirect funding from older programmes towards President Trump’s new strategic priorities. Meanwhile, several members of both chambers of Congress have established the “Golden Dome Caucus”, proposing the allocation of billions of dollars to support the development of this initiative. This caucus is expected to serve as a crucial platform within Congress for policy advocacy, financial mobilisation, and defence capability enhancement in advancing the Golden Dome project.

Implications

Following the launch of the “Golden Dome” initiative, the White House asserted that the system’s sole purpose was to “protect the United States from foreign missile threats.” However, major powers have viewed it differently, regarding the move as one that disrupts the global balance of power and heightens the risk of potential confrontation.

According to defence experts, the Golden Dome is an advanced and multifaceted system, capable not only of intercepting incoming missiles but also of conducting pre-emptive strikes or neutralising enemy missiles immediately after launch. This capability has raised serious concerns among several major powers, potentially sparking a new global arms race. In response, the United States’ rivals and other countries may feel compelled to increase their defence expenditure, possibly focusing on: the development of new missile systems and nuclear weapons, the creation of technologies capable of penetrating missile defences, or the construction of indigenous missile defence systems adapted to their financial capacities and security needs. Russia and China were the first to publicly criticise the Golden Dome. In a joint statement issued on 8 May 2025, both countries stressed that the system “undermines global stability and blurs the distinction between strategic offensive and defensive weapons”, a principle regarded as fundamental to maintaining global equilibrium. They also warned that the Golden Dome’s focus on developing strike capabilities to destroy missiles at the moment of launch could transform outer space into a new theatre of armed conflict.

However, research experts argue that the United States’ prioritisation of building a strategic missile defence system could generate the necessary pressure to bring Russia and China back to the negotiating table on limitations for missile and nuclear offensive weapons, driven by their shared concerns over America’s missile defence capabilities. In this context, the “Golden Dome” could serve as a negotiating lever, strengthening nuclear deterrence and compelling the United States’ adversaries to reassess their own nuclear strike capabilities. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Russian President remarked that the development of the Golden Dome might lead to the resumption of strategic stability dialogues among major powers, thereby laying the groundwork for potential arms control agreements. History has also shown that the expansion of strategic weapon systems by great powers during the Cold War ultimately resulted in arms control treaties aimed at managing and reducing such arsenals. Therefore, the prospects and implications of the Golden Dome for both the regional and global security landscape remain issues that warrant close and continued observation.

Dr NGUYEN HONG QUANG, Department of American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs