Trump announces “Golden Dome” space rocket -defense

Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump has announced the concept that he wants for his future Program to defend Golden Dome rockets -a multi -layered, 175 -billion dollar system that brings us weapons into space for the first time.

Trump said on Tuesday from the Oval Office, he expects the system to “be fully functional before the end of my term”, which ends in 2029 and the ability to “even start the rockets from space”.

It is likely that the complex system will have a certain first capability at this point, said a US official, who is familiar with the program.

Trump, who is sitting next to a poster that shows the continental US gold and artistic representations of rocket interceptions, also announced that General Michael Guetlein, who is currently acting as Vice -Boss for Space Operations, will be responsible for monitoring Golden Dome's progress.

Golden Dome is intended to include ground and space-based skills that can recognize and stop the rockets in all four main phases of a possible attack: to recognize and destroy them before a start, to catch them in their earliest flight phase, to stop them in the air or to stop them in the last few minutes as they get down towards one goal.

In the past few months, Pentagon planners have developed options that the US official describes as medium-sized, high and “extra high” selection of their costs, which also include room-based interceptors. The officer spoke on the condition of anonymity in detailed plans that were not published.

The difference in the three versions is largely based on how many satellites and sensor and sensor and room-based interceptors would be bought for the first time.

The Congress's budget office estimated this month that only the room-based components of the Golden Dome components could cost up to $ 542 billion in the next 20 years. Trump has requested an initial $ 25 billion for the program in his Proposed tax extermination bill Draw through the congress now.

The Pentagon has been warning for years that the latest rockets of China and Russia have progressed so far that updated countermeasures are necessary. The additional satellites and interceptors of Golden Dome – where the majority of the program is – would concentrate on stopping these advanced rockets early or in the middle of their flight.

The space weapons intended for the golden dome, which “represent new and emerging demands on missions that have never been achieved by military room organizations,” Gen. Chance Saltzman, head of the US dream team, said the legislators at a hearing on Tuesday.

China and Russia have put offensive weapons into space, such as satellites with skills to deactivate critical US satellites that the United States can susceptible to attacks.

Last year the USA said Russia developed a room -based nuclear weapon This could be seen for long time in space and then released a burst that would take satellites out for it.

Trump said on Tuesday that he had not yet talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the Golden Dome program.

There is still no money for the project, and Golden Dome is “still in the conceptual stage”, is Newly confirmed air force secretary Troy Mink told the senators during a hearing on Tuesday.

While the president has selected the concept he wanted, the Pentagon still develops the requirements that Golden Dome has to meet – which is not the way new systems are normally developed.

The command of the Pentagon and the US Northern still design such a well -known document for original functions, said the US official. This is how the Northern Command, which is responsible for the defense of home, identifies what the system needs.

The United States already has many rocket defense skills such as that Patriot rocket batteries that the United States made available to Ukraine to defend themselves against incoming rockets and a number of satellites in orbit to recognize rocket starts. Some of these existing systems are integrated into Golden Dome.

Trump instructed the Pentagon to follow the room -based interceptors in a version in the first week of his presidency.

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The authors of Associated Press, Seung Min Kim and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed the reporting.