US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin planning to have an air defence system like Israel's Iron Dome to guard against ballistic, hypersonic and advanced cruise missiles, fulfilling a campaign promise that he had made.
In his order called an 'Iron Dome for America', Trump called for a multilayer missile defence system capable of countering an array of threats to the US.
Citing the development of missile launch capabilities of adversaries who were not named, the executive order read, "Over the past 40 years, rather than lessening, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons has become more intense and complex."
“The executive order directs implementation of a next-generation missile defence shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks,” CNN reported.
The order comes even as the arms race between the US and China has intensified significantly in recent years, driven by Beijing's rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal.
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It is to be noted that the US has the ability to deploy a layered air defense system, from long-range Patriot missiles to shorter-range systems like shoulder-launched Stinger missiles.
During his first term in office Trump established US Space Command and the US Space Force.
For years the US has cautioned that China, Russia and others were weaponizing space. It has at times declassified information about both countries' efforts to create offensive weapons to disable critical US satellites, including the capability to move satellites from orbit, temporarily blind them or potentially even destroy them. The Space Force is in the process of building a low-orbit ring of redundant satellites that can more quickly track and detect potential missile launches.
