The US "Golden Dome" project plans to build a four-layer defense system

The Trump administration's flagship "Golden Dome" missile defence system will consist of four layers - one celestial and three terrestrial - with plans to deploy 11 short-range missile batteries to the US mainland, Alaska and Hawaii, according to a presentation of the US government project obtained by foreign media. The PowerPoint, which was presented to 3,000 defence contractors in Huntsville, Alabama, last week, revealed the system faces a daunting deadline and unprecedented complexity for completion by 2028, which Mr. Trump himself has set himself. The project draws on the concept of Israel's "Iron Dome" system, but its scale and complexity far exceed that of the prototype, given the vast territory to be protected against and the multiple threats to be dealt with. The presentation shows that the system consists of four integrated layers: 1) a space sensing and targeting layer with missile warning, tracking and interception functions; 2) three land-based defense layers composed of interceptors, radar arrays and potential laser weapons. Notably, the presentation map shows plans to build a large new missile base in the Midwest for the deployment of the "Next Generation Interceptor" (NGI) developed by Lockheed Martin (LMT. N). The interceptor will form a "high-altitude defense layer" together with the THAAD system also produced by Lockheed.