The U.S. Space Command has submitted its recommendations for President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for review, a spokesperson for the agency told MeriTalk.
On Jan. 27, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the development of the new missile defense system. The concept aims to “deploy and maintain a next-generation missile defense shield” to protect against hypersonic weapons and other advanced aerial threats, which the order designates as the “most catastrophic threat facing the United States.”
As mandated by the executive order, Hegseth must deliver an analysis identifying existing programs that align with the system’s requirements and pinpoint any gaps that need further research and development. These recommendations are slated to be part of this report which was due on the president’s desk on March 31.
It’s unclear whether the department has delivered the report, but a Defense Department (DoD) spokesperson said, “the department will deliver Golden Dome for America options to the President for his decision in line with the executive order and in alignment with White House guidance and timelines.”
The Golden Dome project remains in its early conceptual phase, as the Pentagon continues to evaluate how to advance what could become the most ambitious missile-defense initiative in U.S. history.
Details of the recommendations have not been shared publicly but at the Space Symposium 40 held on April 8, Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command, highlighted several key factors needed for the efforts.
In his speech kicking off the event, Whiting explained that “space will be foundational to the success of the Golden Dome,” because factors such as accelerating development of new missile tracking satellites like the hypersonic and ballistic sensor tracking system, as well as space-based interceptors, will be key to building the Golden Dome.
Whiting also explained, like other DoD leaders, that while space is integral to the Golden Dome effort it cannot be a Space Force only enterprise. Building a Golden Dome missile shield for America needs to be a “whole-of-department effort,” he said.
“U.S. Space Command is partnering with U.S. Northern Command, Missile Defense Agency, the Space Force and other stakeholders to write an initial capabilities document aimed at defining the capabilities-based requirements that the Golden Dome architecture will need,” Whiting said.
Additionally, DoD is exploring enlisting new types of industry partners to help the agency undertake this monumental project. As part of that effort, the Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Space Force will host a conference from April 20 to May 2 in Huntsville, Ala., to engage nontraditional defense firms on space-based missile interception across all flight phases.