Just one week after the Chinese Communist Party touted its latest long-reaching missile tech in a large-scale military parade in Beijing, the United States has taken another step toward building its own counterpunch system—the Golden Dome missile defense system.
On Sept. 11, the Missile Defense Agency began seeking proposals from defense contractors to participate in building the missile defense system, with a submission deadline of Oct. 10. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and Boeing are expected to participate.
The planned U.S. Golden Dome missile defense system is designed to intercept more than 100 missiles from adversaries such as China, North Korea, and Russia, which are forging closer ties against the United States.
In January, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered that a plan be drawn up to develop the system and announced the selection of its design in May. He said at the time it would cost about $175 billion and should be operational by the end of his term in 2029.
Inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, Golden Dome is a proposed multilayered missile defense system that envisions integrating land-, sea-, and space-based sensors and interceptors to detect and destroy ballistic, hypersonic, and advanced cruise missiles, ideally within minutes before they launch at a boost phase or during their flight.
It resembles earlier missile defense shield efforts, such as President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, better known as Star Wars, proposed in 1983 to protect the United States from nuclear attacks.
“Golden Dome, once enacted, should have the ability to deny an adversary from carrying out a limited coercive attack by increasing the shot cost of the attacker,” Robert Peters, research fellow for Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense at the Heritage Foundation, told The Epoch Times.
“That is, Golden Dome is not meant to stop 1,000 missiles flying over the Pole but would be able to stop 120 from striking a target, through a proliferation constellation of orbital sensors and shooters, coupled with existing ground-based interceptors and theater range interceptors.”
The defense system should be able to destroy missiles launched from multiple locations in China, North Korea, and Russia, but a “limiting factor to system efficacy would be the number of missiles launched, irrespective of the attacker,” he said.
Beijing’s Military Parade
Trump recently touted Golden Dome on Sept. 3, the same day that the Chinese communist regime showcased an array of ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles and other military hardware at a Beijing parade marking the anniversary of the end of World War II.
“Everyone wants to be a participant in it,” Trump said, referring to Canada’s possible participation in the system. “We’re gonna be having a Golden Dome the likes of which nobody’s ever seen before.”
Trump also said on Truth Social the same day that Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who gathered at the parade, are conspiring against the United States.
The day before the parade, Xi and Putin deepened economic ties by signing a deal to build the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline. Putin said Moscow’s ties with Beijing are “at an unprecedented high level,” the Kremlin said in a statement. Xi said their relations have “stood the test of changes in the world,” according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
The day after the parade, Xi held talks with Kim in Beijing, pledging to deepen their ties. Xi assured Kim of “his willingness to successfully defend, consolidate and develop the China-DPRK relations,” according to North Korean state media outlet KCNA. Kim said Pyongyang will “invariably support and encourage the stand and efforts of the Communist Party of China.”
North Korea and China are accused of supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. China has been helping Moscow’s war efforts by supplying dual-use items and critical minerals that can be used to produce military weapons, and North Korea sent munitions and soldiers to help Russia fight the war.
All three countries possess nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the United States. Russia is known to have about 330 ICBMs, and China is believed to have more than 400. North Korea’s estimated number of ICBMs is about 10, but the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency projected in its report released in May that it could have 50 in 10 years.
Timothy Heath, senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corp., told The Epoch Times, “Golden Dome could help target and destroy incoming ballistic missiles, including the newer ones displayed by China at the parade.”
China unveiled a new road-mobile ICBM, the DF-61, known to have the capability of carrying multiple warheads that could target several locations simultaneously.
Not much is known about the DF-61, but a report by the Federation of American Scientists analyzing missiles shown at the parade says that the display of the DF-61 ICBM was “a surprise” because China is “still fielding the DF-41” ICBM and that they appear “strikingly similar.” The report suggested the DF-61 could be “a modified version of the DF-41.”
The DF-41 has a range of up to 15,000 kilometers (about 9,300 miles) and can carry about 10 nuclear warheads, according to an assessment by the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This means the DF-41 can cover the distance of approximately 11,200 kilometers (about 7,000 miles) between Beijing and the United States.
The DF-61 is projected to have a similar range.
China also unveiled the DF-5C, known to have a range of 20,000 kilometers (about 12,400 miles). The Department of War’s 2024 report on China’s military and security says the silo-based, liquid-fueled ICBM can carry multiple megaton warheads.
Cruise missiles displayed include the CJ-20A, the YJ-18C, and the CJ-1000. The CJ-20A and the YJ-18C, with limited ranges, can target U.S. assets in the Asia-Pacific region.
The CJ-1000 hypersonic cruise missile, with its estimated range of about 6,000 kilometers, could potentially reach the United States if it is launched at a strategic location.
An expert cited by China’s state-run Global Times on Sept. 3 referred to the CJ-1000 at the parade as having capabilities to evade an interception by existing missile defense systems.
Heath said, “Hypersonics are more challenging to counter due to their maneuverability mid-flight, but Golden Dome could perhaps provide some protection against those weapons as well.”
Golden Dome is meant to supplement current U.S. missile defense systems, including ground-based midcourse defense (GMD), Aegis, terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD), and Patriot systems.
GMD is the homeland missile defense system based in Alaska and California that protects the United States from long-range ballistic missiles. The Aegis, THAAD, and Patriot systems are theater-based defense systems that can intercept missiles at both high and low altitudes.
“Golden Dome would integrate existing homeland and theater missile defense systems with a new orbital system of sensors and interceptors into an overall architecture and supporting battle management system,” Peters said.
Though meant to provide comprehensive protection against missile attacks, the ambitious project does not come without downsides.
“A major downside of Golden Dome is the high cost and uncertain reliability of so complex a defense,” Heath said. “Moreover, developing Golden Dome could aggravate an arms race, as China can respond by simply building more missiles, which would overwhelm the missile defense.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning in May sharply criticized Trump’s Golden Dome announcement, saying the defense system carries “strong offensive implications” and “fuels an arms race.”
Several days after the parade, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chinese Defense Minister Dong June held their first call.
“The U.S. does not seek conflict with China, nor is it pursuing regime change or strangulation of the PRC,” Hegseth told Dong on Sept. 8, according to chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, using the abbreviation of China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
Parnell said that “the U.S. has vital interests in the Asia-Pacific, the priority theater, and will resolutely protect those interests” and that the discussions were held in a constructive manner.
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