President Donald Trump, who has been appointed for a week, surprised many of the world and his policy proprietors by announcing plans to create a missile defense shield called the “American Iron Dome.”
At first, the name reminds me of the Israelian iron dome air defense system. It is designed to intercept low -level targets, rockets, mortar shells, and cruise missiles in short distances. It is adjusted according to Israel’s defense need and size.
However, the US continent is a vast and large coastline that spans four time zones.
Trump’s proposal on January 27 is the founding of “new -generation missile defense shields, trajectory, postponement, advanced cruise missiles, and other next -generation air attacks”. It became clear. Basically, this is an updated version of the former US President Ronal Dragan’s strategic defense initiative or the Star Wars program.
The phrase “Iron Dome” has become a synonym for “Missile Defense Shield”.
This new multi -layered defense system is assumed not only protects the United States, but also protects the troops that have been developed in battle.
Reagan’s missile defense shield dreams were mainly the dream, but billions of dollars were poured into the program.
The questions and current questions at that time are that comprehensive missile shields are external, almost technically possible, and are not practical, so easy -to -use technology is the latest missile. It was possible to blow off the defense system or overwhelm.
However, the science behind missile defense has progressed significantly in 40 years, and missile defense is currently being tested in the battle between Ukraine and Israel, and is becoming more and more effective.
Missile Defense -Possibility Art
Early warnings and intercept systems have already been enforced in the United States, but this is limited, and only the types of attacks that have started with minor nuclear power like North Korea can stop. 。
Large -scale attacks by decisive and competent enemies like Russia and China cannot stop. Missile defense has mature rapidly, as missile guidance and detection progress has increased dramatically in the past decade.
The “hitting a bullet with another bullet” suggests a scale of the development of a missile defense system, except that missiles move at more than 20 times the speed of these speeds. In order for a missile defense shield to be executed, it is necessary to quickly detect and track the entering missiles, and all the information must be relayed to the interceptor battery. After that, the interceptor must be guided by the target and destroy the enemy missile.
This should be as far as possible, especially if possible, especially if these missiles can be very nuclear weapons.
The United States and Israel have poured billions of dollars into their research, often cooperating, and the results are clear.
In a dispute through the sky of Ukraine and Israel, the missile that came in was detected, increasing the frequency, and destroyed it.
The information obtained in actual battles is very valuable for developers. According to the White House, the next generation of missile shields must be protected from “trajectory, polar sound, advanced cruise missile, and pears nearby, and other next -generation air attacks from rogues.” 。
This is a huge work. Modern long -distance missiles come with decoys and other penetration supplements. Those speeds are tremendous at a speed of 25,000 kilometers per hour (15,500 miles / h).
![Topshot-Shawter Water Bay A Missile from a US military horsepower system during a joint army training within the North Australian firing range as part of the largest training Talisman Saber between the Australian Defense Force and the US Army. It will be released. July 22, 2023 (Photo: Andrew Leeson / AFP)](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AFP__20230722__33PP46K__v3__Preview__TopshotAustraliaUsDefence-1738683773.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C484)
Missile defense is partially functioned by predictable possibilities. Because the ball knows how the ball moves in the air with an arc that can be predicted, people can catch the thrown ball.
The polar sound missile is designed to avoid this and take a randomized route to the target, making it more difficult. The cruise missile, which was first developed as an aggressive first strike weapon, flies under the radar cover and arrives almost or without warning.
The tasks created by these types of missiles are enormous, and new networks, abilities and weapons must be effective to stop them.
Enter the US Space Unit
Initially, Trump created during the first term and established in 2019, along with the United States’s strategic and the northern command, will be the essential part of this new missile shield.
The first stage of the missile flight or the “boost stage” ideally, the emphasis is on intercepting missile attacks as soon as possible.
Such an interior requires a space -based radar system network to detect the opened missile heat injection.
This plan also requires a series of space -based interceptors that can destroy missiles in this early stage.
It is still unknown whether this means an interceptor missile or to introduce a space -based laser battery in the orbit.
Space -based laser technology has been greatly advanced since the 1980s, when such weapons were first proposed. However, even more investment and smaller size are required before becoming an executable weapon system.
As the target increases, what is the power to the laser with sufficient strength to destroy a missile from hundreds of kilometers away?
Tactical short -range laser technology is used to intercept Ukraine’s target, but will have a lot of power to destroy the missile coming in. You can use a space -based “exercise killing” missile to attack the entering missile and crush it essentially.
All of these weapons are on orbit, covering a huge area to monitor missile launches and attacks.
The placement, adjustment, and control of this vast network of interceptor and detector is controlled by the Space Army, and now the role of “fighter” is increasing using an active weapon system for enemies.
Move and move the counter
How does the enemy react? Perhaps by boosting their own weapon programs and dramatically accelerating their weapon competition between nuclear power. This technology is already there to easily overwhelm the ability to detect and intercept all firing of the missile defense shield.
Success or failure is a matter of problem because the system is not 100 % effective. How much do you depend on the measures used by US enemies?
Apart from the decoy, there are already basic measures. The surface of the mirror weakens the power of the laser beam for them. The warhead shroud equipped with a liquid nitrogen coolant can hide the temperature of the warhead, so the early warning infrared detector cannot see them.
The technology that tricks the system that is still in the embryo stage is much cheaper than the missile defense shield itself.
Tens of millions of dollars, which were allocated for research, are more hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars, with all US development.
Increase in danger
Aside from huge cost and technical issues, there are other major problems. What is incorporated into the President of Trump is a demand for pursuing the ability to “hit missile attacks before launch”. In other words, the first attack. This allows you to always have a very different spin for what has been charged as a defense weapon system, but has an aggressive component.
This order also calls for technology to “guarantee a safe second strike function.” The United States has already a very robust or retaliation strike ability. The fleet of the nuclear missile submarine can destroy the planet many times with their firepower.
The ability to fight back against the enemy who attacked the United States is supplemented by surviving land missiles, air launch missiles from air bombers, and various other delivery systems.
Why do you need a shield when the US second strike function is guaranteed?
Effective shields break down the balance of mutual destruction or madness several decades ago. Even if all of us are attacked first, we all can destroy each other.
If one party can hide behind an effective missile defense system, this balance will be greatly weakened. This is safe for the first time attacking the new and significant improved missile shield to stop the weakened retaliation reaction.
This balance is particularly dangerous. Because it sends a signal to a competitive partner near the pier and encourages them to take their own measures.
The world is much more dangerous, and the space is about to be more crowded.
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