Inaugurated for a week, President Donald Trump surprised the world and many of his policymakers by announcing plans to call the “American Iron Domes” that would call the plan to create a missile defense shield.
At first, the name reminded me of Israel’s iron dome air defense system. It is designed to intercept and destroy low-level targets, rockets, mortar shells and cruise missiles over short ranges. It is tailored to Israel’s defensive needs and size.
However, the US is vast and has a large coastline spanning four time zones.
On January 27th, Trump was advocating for the creation of a “new generation missile defense shield, ballistics, high-sonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aviation attacks for the United States.” It has been revealed in. Essentially, this is an updated version of former US President Ronald Reagan’s strategic defense initiative, or the “Star Wars” program.
The phrase “Iron and Dome” has become a synonym for “missile defense shield.”
This new multi-layered defense system is expected to not only protect the United States, but also to protect future deployed troops in the battle.
Reagan’s dream of missile defense shields was largely as it was, but billions of dollars have been poured into the program.
The problem at the time and present is that the comprehensive missile shield is prohibitive in price, almost technically possible and in reality it is not practical, so easily available technology is the latest missiles. It meant that you could blow or overwhelm your defense system.
However, the science behind missile defense has progressed significantly in 40 years, and missile defense is now being tested in battles between Ukraine and Israel and is becoming more and more effective.
Missile Defense – The Art of Possibilities
The US already has early warning and intercept systems in place, but this has limited capabilities and can only halt attacks of the kinds of attacks launched by minor nuclear forces, such as North Korea. .
It cannot stop large-scale attacks by decisive and capable enemies like Russia or China. Missile defense has matured rapidly as advances in missile guidance and detection have increased dramatically over the past decade.
The analogy of “slashing a bullet with another bullet” suggests the scale of the challenges for developing missile defense systems, except that missiles travel at more than 20 times these speeds. For missile defense shields to be viable, incoming missiles must be detected and tracked quickly, and all of that information must be relayed to the interceptor battery. The interceptor will then be led to the target and must destroy the enemy’s missiles.
This should be as far from the territory as possible, especially considering these missiles can be very nuclear armed.
The US and Israel have poured billions of dollars into research and often collaborate, and the results are clear.
Invading missiles were detected and frequency was increased in the conflict between Ukraine and Israeli.
The information obtained in real combat is invaluable to developers. Next-generation missile shields must be protected from “ballistic, polar, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation air attacks from peers, nearby peers and rogue enemies,” according to the White House. .
This is a huge task. Modern long-range missiles come with decoys and other penetration aids. Their speeds are incredible at 25,000 km/h (15,500 mph).
Missile defense works in part by predictability. A person can catch a thrown ball because the ball knows how to move through the air with a predictable arc.
The polar missile is designed to avoid this and take a randomised path to the target, making it much more difficult to intercept. First developed as an offensive first strike weapon, the cruise missile flies under the radar cover and arrives at the target with little or no warning.
The challenges these types of missiles create are enormous, and new networks, capabilities and weapons need to be effective to stop them.
Join the US Space Force
Initially created during Trump’s first term and founded in 2019, the US Space Force, along with the US Strategic and Northern Command, will become an integral part of this new missile shield.
Ideally, the first stage of missile flight, or “boost stage,” the emphasis is on intercepting missile attacks as quickly as possible.
Such interception requires a network of space-based radar systems to detect the heat vent of just-launched missiles.
The plan also calls for a series of space-based interceptors that could destroy missiles during this early stage.
It remains to be seen whether this means interceptor missiles or introducing space-based laser batteries into orbit.
Space-based laser technology has advanced significantly since the 1980s when such weapons were first proposed. However, more investment and miniaturization is required before it becomes a viable weapons system.
As the target moves at an increasing speed, what powers the laser with enough strength to destroy missiles from hundreds of kilometers away?
Tactical short-range laser technology is being used to intercept Ukrainian targets, but the force required to destroy incoming missiles will be enormous. Space-based “movement killing” missiles can also be used to attack and essentially crush incoming missiles.
All of these weapons are in orbit and cover huge areas to monitor missile launches and attacks.
The placement, coordination and control of this vast network of interceptors and detectors was controlled by the Space Force, and now the role of “fighters” is increasing with weapon systems active against the enemy.
Move and move the counter
How will the enemy react? Perhaps by boosting their own weapons programs and dramatically accelerating the arms race that already exists between nuclear-responding forces. This technology is already there to easily overwhelm the ability to detect and intercept every launch of missile defense shield.
Success or failure becomes a matter of degree because the system is not 100% effective. How heavily relies on measures used by the US enemy.
Apart from decoys, there are already basic measures. The mirror surface weakens the power of the laser beam targeting them. Warhead shrouds equipped with liquid nitrogen coolant can hide the temperature of incoming warheads, so early warning infrared detectors cannot see them.
Techniques that trick systems that are still in the embryonic stage of development are much cheaper than the missile defense shield itself.
The thousands of dollars allocated for the study are likely to be hundreds of millions of millions of dollars at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, due to all developments by the US.
Increased risk
Apart from the enormous costs and technical challenges, there is another major problem. What is embedded in Trump’s executive order is a demand to pursue the ability to “beat missile attacks before launch.” In other words, it’s the first attack. This puts a very different spin on what has always been billed as a defensive weapon system, but it has an offensive component.
The order also calls for technology to “ensure secure second strike capabilities.” The United States already has a very robust second or retaliatory strike ability. A fleet of nuclear missile submarines can destroy planets many times with the firepower they have.
The ability to counterattack enemies that attack the US is supplemented by surviving land missiles, air-launched missiles from airborne bombers, and various other delivery systems.
Why do we need a shield when the US second strike function is guaranteed?
An effective shield breaks down the balance of decades-old fears based on mutually guaranteed destruction, or madness. Even if we were all attacked first, we could all destroy each other.
This balance will be greatly weakened if one party can hide behind an effective missile defense system. This is safe to say that if you attack first, a new and significantly improved missile shield can stop weakened retaliation reactions.
This change in balance is particularly dangerous. Because it signals to competitors near the peer, urging them to take their own measures.
The world is becoming far more dangerous and space is about to be more crowded.
