


Russia and China already possess thousands of weapons that could be used to hit the U.S. homeland, which President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” will ideally intercept once it’s operational.
The ultimate objective of the president’s plan is for the military to build a multilayered aerial defense of the homeland against threats from a range of strategic weapons, including ballistic, hypersonic, and advanced cruise missiles fired from a variety of different platforms. It will also need to protect from the weapons both currently in adversaries’ arsenals as well as those coming from emerging technological advancements.
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The Chinese military has about 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles, which can be armed with a nuclear warhead, and Russia has about 350, according to a new assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency released on Tuesday. Every part of the continental United States is within range of current ICBMs.
“Our integrated air and missile defense, our shield against these threats, must be resilient, adaptive, responsive to evolving challenges,” Adm. Samuel Paparo, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said on Tuesday at the LANPAC Symposium & Exposition.
Russia reportedly has nearly 200 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and China has a little less than half that total. The DIA indicated that adversaries’ SLBMs can hit anywhere within the continental U.S.
“Missile threats to the U.S. homeland will expand in scale and sophistication in the coming decade,” the DIA reported. “China and Russia are developing an array of novel delivery systems to exploit gaps in current U.S. ballistic missile defenses.”
Just last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping decried the U.S.’s pursuit of the Golden Dome as “deeply destabilizing,” even though it’s a defensive capability.
“The recently announced large-scale program ‘Golden (Iron) Dome for America’ is also deeply destabilizing in nature,” a joint statement from Xi and Putin said. “It envisages the creation of an unlimited, global, deeply layered and multi-sphere missile defense system for the purpose of protection against any missile threats, including all types of missiles of ‘equal and comparable in strength adversaries.’”
Both adversaries are also pursuing hypersonic weapons, which are usually defined by reaching at least five times the speed of sound, flying closer to the earth, and being more maneuverable, adding to their success rate.
Russia and China are also more closely partnering with North Korea and Iran. The group of anti-Western countries has the capabilities to improve one another’s weaknesses.
“The missile threat in the Indo-Pacific is growing in both quantity and sophistication. China continues developing advanced missile systems, including hypersonics. North Korea has demonstrated its capabilities to launch multiple ballistic missiles simultaneously,” Paparo added.
The Pentagon’s pursuit of the Golden Dome will feature prominently in the department’s upcoming national defense strategy, which serves as the guide for the department’s short- and long-term planning and prioritization.
XI AND PUTIN CALL TRUMP’S GOLDEN DOME ‘DEEPLY DESTABILIZING’
“It will provide clear direction for the Department to implement President Trump’s America First and Peace Through Strength agenda,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement recently. “Consistent with the President’s intent, the NDS will prioritize defense of the U.S. homeland, including America’s skies and borders, and deterring China in the Indo-Pacific.”
While lawmakers have proposed adding $25 billion to the Pentagon’s budget this year, Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) predicted on Tuesday that “it will likely cost in the trillions if and when the Golden Dome is completed,” according to Space News.
He also announced the formation of a “Golden Dome Caucus” in the Senate that will focus on its development.