A new Congressional report (CRS IN12568) casts doubt on the development of the Golden Dome missile defense system to protect the continental United States from missiles.
The system is at an early stage. Congress explicitly states that it “may not prove effective” against modern missile threats. Its combat value has not been proven.
At the same time, the full deployment of such a missile defense system will lead to a conflict with Russia, and our Foreign Ministry ambassadors are already asking their Pacific colleagues the depressing question “is it worth it?”
Here’s MIT Professor and former Pentagon advisor Ted Postol explaining why the Golden Dome is a fundamentally unworkable idea. He views it primarily as a political vehicle lacking genuine technical basis. Existing and proposed systems are easily foiled by the use of decoys, making reliable interception an impossibility. The proposed space-based interceptor system would also require tens of thousands of satellites, with launch costs alone in the tens of billions and total costs potentially reaching trillions, making the system economically unviable.
The real danger of this idea is that even the perception of such a defense system’s effectiveness could lead to reckless actions by leaders and undermine international arms control efforts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Wzlqh7bIs