How Donald Trump's new $175 billion Golden Dome will work following chilling warning to rest of the world
Here is everything you need to know about Donald Trump's ambitious Golden Dome project.
In case you missed it, the US President unveiled the $175 billion (£129 billion) plans, which involves stationing missiles in space, earlier this week during an Oval Office briefing about national safety.
The bold defence move shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, given that a great deal of Trump's presidential vision hangs on national security concerns and ramping up defence spending.
However, this hasn't stopped the project from receiving a mixed reaction, with some people claiming it's a 'scheme' to give more money to Elon Musk.
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While others have compared images of the plans to the giant glass dome dropped over Springfield in 2007's The Simpsons Movie.
But what exactly is the Golden Dome – and how will it work?
What is Trump’s Golden Dome?
Revealed by the US leader on Tuesday (20 May) the Golden Dome would shield the United States from missile attacks launched by hostile nations.
An extensive missile defence system, the project would also allow America to shoot down projectiles fired from both land and space.
"I'm pleased to announce that we have officially selected an architecture for this state-of-the-art system that will deploy next-generation technologies across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors," Trump said.
"Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space."
Trump has promised to have the project to be 'fully operational' before he leaves office in 2029, with companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Elon Musk's SpaceX believed to be in the running to secure the contract.
Trump has claimed the project will cost around $175 billion (£129 billion), however some predict the final bill could be in the trillions.
How will the Golden Dome work?
Images displayed on boards in the White House meeting may resemble a giant glass dome plonked over North America, but in reality the proposed Golden Dome would be a little more sophisticated.
Exact details about how the Golden Dome would work are yet to be confirmed, however it's believed the defence system would utilise a network of satellites to track any incoming threats and shoot them down with either a 'space-based interceptor' or land missiles.
Think something similar to Israel's Iron Dome - a land-based system which tracks and intercepts missiles heading for populated areas with a 90 percent success rate - except this version is 'golden'... because why not.
Why does the US need the Golden Dome?
In a previously released executive order, the White House described the most 'catastrophic' threat to the existence of the US being 'ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks'.
America already has an air defence system in place, including the ground-based Patriot system and the joint US-Canada aerospace warning system, NORAD.
However US defence officials want to protect against future military advancements from potential US adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran.
These include: hypersonic missiles, which travel faster than the speed of sound and can be manoeuvred, and fractional orbital bombardment systems (FOBS), which use a low-Earth orbit to reach a target.
An attack from either above system would be difficult for current air defence systems to reliably intercept.
"This is a Very Dangerous World," read a slogan under a depiction of the Golden Dome. "We're going to protect our citizens like never before!"
How has the world responded to Trump’s Golden Dome?
China and Russia have already responded to the Golden Dome plans... and they're not too happy.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said the East Asian nation was 'seriously concerned' by the development, adding that proposed plans violated 'the principle of peaceful use in the Outer Space Treaty'.
"The United States, in pursuing a 'U.S.-first' policy, is obsessed with seeking absolute security for itself," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said (via Reuters).
"This violates the principle that the security of all countries should not be compromised and undermines global strategic balance and stability. China is seriously concerned about this."
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Kremlin has suggested the move would force 'resumption of contacts on issues of strategic stability'.
"This base must be recreated both in the interests of our two countries and in the interests of security throughout the planet," Dmitry Peskov said.
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, World News
Brenna Cooper