For decades, the idea of a nationwide missile defense system has captured the imagination of American leaders.
During the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative, commonly called "Star Wars," as a way to shield the U.S. from nuclear attacks.
The plan faced major technological and financial hurdles and was never fully realized. Now, a new administration is looking to revive the concept with even greater ambitions.
May not be feasible
This week, Donald Trump issued an order directing the Pentagon to develop a cutting-edge missile defense system capable of neutralizing hypersonic weapons and other advanced threats.
Dubbed "America’s Iron Dome," the project aims to protect the U.S. from long-range attacks using a combination of space-based lasers and high-speed interceptors.
The scale of the plan far exceeds any missile defense system currently in use, according to Digi24.
The proposed network would include satellite-based weapons capable of detecting and destroying missiles shortly after launch.
If these fail, a second layer of defense would engage incoming threats before they reach American soil.
Unlike Israel’s Iron Dome, which defends against short-range missiles, this system would have to cover a landmass 450 times larger and intercept missiles traveling at much higher speeds.
Military analysts caution that such a system would be incredibly expensive and may not even be feasible with existing technology.
Experts estimate that a space-based missile shield would require hundreds of satellites and cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
Powering the system would be another challenge, possibly requiring small nuclear reactors or advanced solar panels.
Beyond the technical difficulties, some warn that the project could escalate global tensions.
Russia and China are already developing weapons designed to bypass missile defenses, and a fully operational space-based shield could push them to accelerate their own military programs.
Some experts believe this could spark a new arms race rather than prevent conflict.
Trump has given defense officials 60 days to outline a plan for the system.
