From Star Wars to Golden Dome: Trump Pushes US Missile Shield Despite Funding and Technology Hurdles
www.military.com

... Sitting in the Oval Office on Tuesday alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a four-star Space Force general and several lawmakers, President Donald Trump made it clear: He's setting out to finish what former President Ronald Reagan started.

Reagan's 1980s-era proposal for a space-based defense shield against nuclear missiles, dubbed "Star Wars," fizzled. Now, decades later, Trump has announced a proposal he calls "Golden Dome," envisioned as a state-of-the-art missile defense system covering the U.S. that could shoot down ballistic, hypersonic and nuclear missiles -- even drones -- from land and outer space.

Trump said during the White House gathering this week that his Golden Dome would take only three years to complete, be "very close to 100%" effective, and cost only $175 billion. The promises face skepticism from experts and would require big military trade-offs, including possible troop reductions in the Army.

"We will truly be completing the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago, forever ending the missile threat to the American homeland," Trump said this week.

However, defense policy experts who spoke to Military.com aren't so sure.

They said that, while the immediate fate of the nationwide shield is tied to short-term funding working through Congress, it may ultimately require a long-term commitment of more defense dollars or strategic trade-offs, such as cutting the size of the Army to deliver the ambitious vision being pitched to the American people. ...

Hawaii Isn't Covered by NATO Defense Pact? (May 2024)
www.snopes.com

... The state falls just outside the borders of treaty, internet users said. ...

Claim:
The U.S. state of Hawaii is not covered by the NATO defense pact.

Rating:
True

Context
While Hawaii is technically excluded from the North Atlantic Treat Organization because it is not located around the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean or north of the Tropic of Cancer, it is likely that NATO member countries would still rise to defend the U.S. should an attack occur on Hawaii.
...

Holy meadow muffins, Batman.

North Korea says US 'Golden Dome' risks 'space nuclear war'
www.bbc.com

... North Korea has criticised the US's plan for a futuristic "Golden Dome" missile shield, saying it could "turn outer space into a potential nuclear war field".

The defence system, which President Donald Trump plans to unveil by the end of his term, is aimed at countering "next-generation" aerial threats to the US, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

Pyongyang's foreign ministry slammed the plan as "the height of self-righteousness [and] arrogance", state media reported.

It accused Washington of being "hell-bent... to militarise outer space" and warned that the plan might spark "a global nuclear and space arms race".

North Korea considers Washington an adversary and has routinely condemned joint military drills between the US and South Korea.

Pyongyang probably sees the Golden Dome as a threat that can "significantly weaken" its nuclear arsenal, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP news agency.

"If the US completes its new missile defence programme, the North will be forced to develop alternative means to counter or penetrate it," he said. ...