Kerby Anderson

The Trump administration recently unveiled their plans for the Golden Dome. I was intrigued by the response to this new missile defense system. As you would imagine, Russia and China condemned the plans. Most Americans didn’t have much to say about the plans.

Go back a few decades, and nearly everyone criticized a similar plan. It was called the strategic defense initiative (SDI) and dubbed by critics as “Star Wars.” I remember prominent scientists like Carl Sagan ridiculing the idea that a defense missile could be fired into space to destroy an incoming missile from the Soviet Union. It is much harder to criticize the science behind the Golden Dome now that everyone has seen how effective Israel’s Iron Dome has been.

Allen Zang argues that the Golden Dome is “America’s Answer to China’s Space Weapons.” He points to the irony of China condemning this defense system because it is turning “outer space into a new arena for armed confrontation.” Of course, such condemnation is deeply hypocritical. “The Golden Dome is a defensive system, developed in response to the rapid expansion of military space programs by China and other adversarial powers. Its purpose is to serve as a shield, designed to intercept a range of inbound threats, including ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles.”

Let’s put a few facts on the table. In just the last six years, China has tripled the number of intelligence satellites they have put in orbit.  China’s military has also been exploring the use of what are called “fractional orbital bombardment systems.” This technology was used during the Cold War to evade early warning radars.

Contrary to what Russia and China are saying, this defensive shield is not destabilizing. It is deterrence against the military intentions of these two enemies.