DUKE STREET – Thoughts on Trump’s Iron Dome
January 2025
After I graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) I was fortunate enough to get a job with a Rocket City firm that was supporting our Futuristic National Security Program. The program I worked on was the Homing Overlay Experiment or HOE. The team knew this was a hard technological problem to solve. We called it, hit a bullet with a bullet. And we did it. We had a successful test of the HOE.
The U.S. Army's Homing Overlay Experiment (HOE) first demonstrated the concept of Ex atmospheric hit-to-kill. The program, which spanned the period of Fiscal Years 1978 to 1984, consisted of four flights tests in February 1983, May 1983, December 1983, and June 1984. It demonstrated the principle of hit-to-kill using a very capable, albeit expensive, heavy and sophisticated kill vehicle. Each test involved launching a target from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and a HOE interceptor from the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Pacific. My team in Huntsville Alabama was supporting each of these tests. It was a time – much like the mission to the moon (in the Kennedy era) – where all personnel were both passionate and dedicated to the mission. We wanted to hit a missile with a missile and knock it down.
Fast forward to today. We have had a lot of success since the HOE, to prove out the Ground Based Missile Defense (GMD) interceptor system. I was supporting that program during this time frame and current Qualis Sr. Vice President was the program director of the MDA GMD program from 2010 until 2014 while the program under President George Bush accomplished several milestones.
What does an American Iron Dome – like Donald Trump suggest – Look Like in the 2025-to-2035-time frame look like? I posed this question to our Qualis Leadership that includes past executives in not only from the Missile Defense Agency, but the US Air Force, the US Army and other intel related agencies. It was a healthy discussion and a lot of back and forth on what ifs by the Qualis team. (Programs like GMD, Minuteman, GBSD, and others)
A "national security Iron Dome" in the U.S. would likely be an advanced, multi-layered defense system designed to protect against a wide array of threats, including missiles, drones, and other aerial attacks. The concept would be inspired by Israel's Iron Dome but scaled up significantly to cover the vast and diverse territory of the United States. Unlike Israel and their Iron Dome, the US Iron Dome will be much more complex and expensive. I decided to shorten this paper, and just list the major components of how it might work.
1. Multi-Layered Defense Approach
- Short-Range Defense
- Medium-Range Defense
- Long-Range Defense
2. Advanced Detection and Tracking
3. Networked Command and Control
4. Cybersecurity and Electronic Warfare
5. Geographic Distribution and Redundancy
6. Public and Private Sector Collaboration
7. Challenges and Considerations
- Cost
- Feasibility
- Political and Strategic Implications
Overall, a "national security Iron Dome" in the U.S. would be a highly complex and technologically sophisticated system, requiring close coordination between various military branches, federal agencies, and the private sector. It would represent a significant expansion of existing missile defense capabilities, tailored to protect the U.S. from a broad spectrum of modern threats. No doubt Huntsville Alabama would be the heartbeat and the brains of the US Iron Dome. Why, because that is where our history is, and were the current capabilities reside. This – Huntsville Alabama – is where the “smarts are”. The iron dome would be made in America for sure.
Ronald Reagan had a vision. The vision has continued to evolve. It is a defensive system.
What about today? Peace Through Strength and Deterrence is the key to our success here in the United States. We need to be bigger and stronger than the bears. Technology can take us there. The border, economy, inflation and gun control, all are important, but they quickly become less important if our adversaries decide to cause major harm to our homeland.
Do we need an Iron Dome here in the United States? I say, yes, we do. And once it is in place, I hope it is never used. Peace Through Strength and Deterrence is key. Again, these opinions are my own. May God continue to Bless America. Rod
Strategy, Business Development, and Capture Excellence in Government Contracting
9moRod, thank you! I would be interested in reading the "long" version of your analysis, if you can share it.
Senior Project Manager at NWN Carousel
9moRod - it is called “Star Wars” and we were working on it in 1983.
Military Veteran, Job Search Programs Volunteer, Clinic Veteran Advisory Board member, Licensed Health and Life Insurance Agent, AARP and SCORE Volunteer, Senior Center Volunteer, DAV member, Real Estate Manager
9moOutstanding analysis and comparison about what the USA requires. We were hit at Pearl Harbor and other attacks on U.S.A. territory occurred but were not so devastating and did not make the news splashes. Yes, as a former military combat officer and extensive analyses with the R&D community, it is obvious to me that it is imperative that our country get serious about its own Dome system. Personal example -- While assigned to the Aviation Director of Combat Developments, I was a team member for the Upgrade Cobra vs Apache helicopters, the Upgrade TOW missile vs the Hellfire missile, and other programs. Years later, my son flew the Apache using Hellfire missiles in three combat tours in the Middle East. Being ready is critical to survival.