According to the US“Space News” website reported on the 3rd, top U.S. defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and L3 Harris technologies are focusing on a new Donald Trump missile defense program, the American Iron Dome.
Reported that Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring the U.S. Department of Defense should be submitted within 60 days, “American Iron Dome” project reference structure and related implementation plan. The goal is a multilayered intercept mode capable of responding to“Air attacks by ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, advanced cruise missiles and other next-generation weapons.” And“Accelerating the deployment of hypersonic and ballistic missile tracking space sensors”, “Development and deployment of enhanced space-based interceptors with boost phase interception capabilities” and so on. It should be noted that the program relies heavily on space-based sensors and“Potentially controversial space-based interceptors,” so the development of the“Iron Dome” program is also highly concerned by all sectors.
Despite its name, the American Iron Dome program is very different from Israel’s famous Iron Dome anti-rocket system. While the latter targets simple rockets, drones or mortars that fly at low altitudes, slow speeds and have poor accuracy, iron dome targets are much more advanced. According to the report, donald Trump’s executive order“Comes as Russia and China continue to seek advanced hypersonic systems capable of nuclear and conventional strikes with extremely high flight speeds (above Mach 5) and high mobility (including the ability to change direction in flight) that pose unique challenges to existing US defence systems”.
Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and L 3 Harriss technologies are prime contractors on the U.S. missile defense program, the future“American Iron Dome” program is also mainly relying on these military giants responsible for the development. At present, Northrop Grumman is developing space-based missile launch and detection satellites and hypersonic weapon interceptors for the Pentagon. Kathy Warden, CEO of the company, said that, “We agree with the urgency of the Donald Trump administration in protecting the homeland from the escalating global missile threat,” said Christopher Basik, chief executive of L3 Harriss Technologies, who also highlighted the company’s role in developing“Space sensors for hypersonic and ballistic tracking” satellites. According to the Pentagon’s plan, in the future the US military will deploy a huge constellation of satellites in low-earth orbit to detect and track“Hypersonic threats flying in the atmosphere”. The CEO of Lockheed Martin, James Teclett, said that the company is developing a next-generation interceptor for ballistic missiles under a contract with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, and may be used as a basis for the development of hypersonic defense system.
But traditional ground-based early warning radars are no longer able to meet the demand for hypersonic weapons due to their high speed and low flight trajectory, according to the spacenews website, as a result, Iron Dome wants to detect and intercept incoming hypersonic weapons in advance, with special requirements for space-based sensors and interceptors. Under the Pentagon’s current plan, NASA’s satellites would provide wide-area surveillance, while the missile defense agency’s hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensor satellites would provide more accurate tracking data, the information is transmitted to the ground command center through a dedicated high-speed data link. But these space-based sensors to complete the early warning detection is still only the first step, the future how to intercept hypersonic missiles is the problem. Reported that the Pentagon currently envisages the development of space-based interceptor concept, but may face review by arms control organizations and Congress. Because“These weapons systems deployed in orbit could be seen as an upgrade by other nations, increasing the risk of miscalculation or accidental conflict, given the tight response time required for a hypersonic threat”.
The Russians have made clear their opposition to the Donald Trump administration’s“American Iron Dome” plan. Zacharová, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman, had said the planned US action was aimed at weakening the Russian nuclear deterrent and would affect the prospects for nuclear arms control talks. “The plan directly envisages a significant strengthening of the United States nuclear arsenal and means of conducting combat operations in space, including the development and deployment of space interceptor systems. We see this as yet another demonstration of America’s commitment to turning space into an arena for military confrontation… … and wants to put weapons there,” she said, “The approach taken by the United States does nothing to reduce tensions or improve the situation at the strategic level and does not provide the basis for a productive dialogue on strategic offensive weapons.”