Bloomberg: US Set to Test Golden Dome by Year's End

The US Department of Defense plans to complete the first tests of the Golden Dome missile defense system this year and conduct flight tests in 2027, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the project.

According to the report, these milestones are crucial for the development of satellites deployed in space, designed to intercept missiles anywhere in the world. A ground test is planned for this year, followed by two in-space flight tests next year and a test of the system's ability to intercept and destroy a target in 2029.

President Donald Trump's administration has already allocated $3.2bn for the development of prototypes of armed satellites designed to destroy missiles, Bloomberg noted. A total of $185bn is earmarked for the defense shield.

The US Space Force announced in April that 12 companies, including SpaceX, Anduril Industries and Lockheed Martin, had been awarded contracts to develop the prototypes.

The Pentagon claims it needs the new technology more than ever to counter the growing threat from nuclear powers such as Russia and China.

Experts, however, are skeptical and fear that the current effort may end up like former President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, which was intended to protect the US from an attack by intercontinental ballistic missiles from the former Soviet Union. That program was extremely costly and lost its purpose after the collapse of the USSR.

The US Congressional Budget Office estimates that building a network of space satellites capable of countering even a few missiles would cost more than $700bn, Bloomberg noted.

(bloomberg, luc)