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Work on ‘Golden Dome’ underway, says US Defense Department

The task is a “formidable” challenge that will “require a lot of teamwork,” said the acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.

Iron Dome
The Iron Dome system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza Strip aimed at the city of Ashdod, on July 8, 2014. Credit: Israel Defense Forces via Wikimedia Commons.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced that development on an American Iron Dome-like missile defense system, now known as the “Golden Dome,” is currently underway.

“Consistent with protecting the homeland and per President Trump’s executive order, we’re working with the industrial base and supply chain challenges associated with standing up the Golden Dome,” said Steven Morani, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

Morani added that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is examining the current military budget to divert funding to items “that support the president’s priorities for national defense.”

While this task is a “formidable” challenge that will “require a lot of teamwork,” Morani said, they are “wasting no time in moving out and taking this new direction by the president and the secretary.” This includes working with partner agencies, shifting resources and “removing some red tape.”

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the system’s development.

In November, Reuters reported that Greece was negotiating with Israel to develop a 2 billion euro ($2.11 billion) anti-aircraft and missile defense system similar to the Iron Dome. Several additional countries have also voiced interest in purchasing the Israeli missile defense system.

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