Trump Wants America to Have Its Very Own Iron Dome

U.S. president Donald Trump has followed through on his earlier pledge to develop a homegrown “Iron Dome-like shield” for missile defense in America. Trump signed the executive order (EO) this week, tasking Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to build a plan to protect the homeland against “ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries” in two months’ time.

The EO continues, “Over the past 40 years, rather than lessening, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons has become more intense and complex with the development by peer and near-peer adversaries of next-generation delivery systems and their own homeland integrated air and missile defense capabilities.”

The actual Iron Dome that is currently in action is the Israeli air defense system designed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. For more than a decade, the impressive Iron Dome has been instrumental in the Jewish state’s defense against incoming projectiles ranging from missiles, rockets, and UAVs. Since Israel is surrounded by hostile adversaries, the ongoing protection the Iron Dome provides is paramount to the nation’s survival. Since the Gaza-based terror group Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, massacre, Iran’s proxy groups throughout the region have waged barrages targeting Israel. The frequent number of attacks intercepted by the Iron Dome have saved thousands if not hundreds of thousands of civilian lives.

The nitty-gritty of the Iron Dome

The Iron Dome is comprised of three essential components. First, it possesses radars that detect, identify, and track incoming missiles. According to Rafael, the Iron Dome’s radar is effective over distances of 2.5 to 43.5 miles. Once a projectile has been detected by the radar, its threat level is then accessed based on direction, speed, and other specs. If the projectile is deemed to be a threat, the air defense system’s operators continue to track the object by radar. Typically, the Iron Dome has a mere minute or less to respond to such an attack. Overall, the Iron Dome is estimated to successfully intercept and take out roughly 90 percent of incoming projectiles. Considering this impressive number, Trump’s interest in the air defense system makes sense.

A U.S. Iron Dome would be costlier

As explained in a Breaking Defense report, many Israeli air defensive capabilities have been constructed with American development dollars but have not “flowed back to the U.S. in any meaningful way.” Israel is approximately the size of the state of New Jersey, so producing a similar system large enough to cover the continental United States would be a much costlier project. Based on Trump’s previous pledge surrounding a potential U.S. Iron Dome system, the air defense apparatus will likely be American-made.