The Trump administration has responded to advancing missile threats from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea by pushing the Golden Dome for America, space-based missile defense shield. Today, the Reagan era "Star Wars” program is becoming a reality as faster, more maneuverable hypersonic weapons pose dangers on the world stage. Threat Status takes a deeper look at the technology, policy and strategy needed to outpace America's adversaries.
William Star with CACI joins John T. Seward at the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium to break down the company’s Golden Dome work and what’s next for its growing Huntsville operation.
Threat Status’ John T. Seward sits down for an exclusive interview with Lt. Gen. Brian Gibson, vice director of the Golden Dome missile shield project.
The Trump administration has selected the Hanwha Philly Shipyard to build next-generation Missile Range Instrument Vessels that will track flight and telemetry data as part of the Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
The Pentagon has announced new agreements with three defense companies to mass-produce more affordable air-to-ground cruise missiles, including a set capable of being launched out of the back of cargo planes.
The Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense project is expanding its secretive network of space-based, missile-detecting satellites with a $1.75 billion dual contract for two defense technology companies, despite concerns on Capitol Hill about ballooning costs.
President Trump’s proposed “Golden Fleet,” a major modernization and expansion initiative that he announced in December 2025, aims to aggressively scale up American naval dominance and reinvigorate the country’s domestic shipbuilding industry. Analysts say the maritime transformation will be crucial in the event of hostilities with China.
Rep. Ted Lieu, California Democrat, recently quipped that U.S. air defense strategy in the Iran war is akin to “throwing Ferraris at Frisbees.”
The global engagement advocates at the Atlantic Council are pressing for clarity on the Pentagon’s Golden Dome initiative, which they say is a program in search of a definition.
The eye-popping $1.2 trillion cost estimate for the proposed Golden Dome missile shield is deeply flawed because it focuses on past missile defense capabilities and does not account for massive leaps forward in technology that will drive the price down, the Trump administration’s point man for the project said Thursday.
President Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile shield could cost $1.2 trillion over 20 years, including a massive up-front cost to deploy the cutting-edge space-based missile interceptors widely seen as crucial to the project’s success, according to a new report released this week.
President Trump’s plan to put weapons in space — pitched as a “Golden Dome for America” missile defense program — is estimated to cost $1.2 trillion over a 20-year period, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, a far heftier sum than the initial $175 billion price tag he gave last year.
The Golden Dome will employ advanced ground-based interceptors, space-based missiles, laser guns and cyberattacks to defend against threats to the U.S., according to officials.
The Golden Dome missile shield will have to overcome enormous technological, logistical and financial obstacles to become operational by President Trump’s 2028 target date. But its biggest hurdle might be an “entrenched” Pentagon bureaucracy that military insiders fear could doom the project.
Is the Golden Dome on track? Washington Times National Security Correspondent Ben Wolfgang is joined by L3 Harris Space Systems president Jeff Hanke to break down the technical challenges, the accelerated launch timelines, and why he believes the 2028 goal is achievable.
The accelerating race among global powers for dominance in space will hang in the backdrop next week as leaders from across the space industry and the U.S. military converge on Colorado for the 2026 Space Symposium.
The Pentagon has awarded a $4.76 billion contract to defense contractor Lockheed Martin to rapidly build up stockpiles of the Army’s most advanced terminal anti-missile interceptors, a weapon depleted during heavy use in the war against Iran.
Cliff Beek, an entrepreneur and leader in the futuristic world of space infrastructure, joins the show for an eye-opening discussion on the fast-evolving intersection between space and business.
The Trump administration will spend nearly $39 billion in the next several years on rapidly building the first parts of the new Golden Dome nationwide missile defense system.
Senior defense industry officials say bureaucratic barriers, not technological challenges, are standing in the way of a fully integrated missile defense system.
Liz Martin, the managing director and general manager for global defense at Amazon Web Services, joins the show to talk about the company’s work with the U.S. military and competition versus cooperation among defense companies.
In a hypothetical nuclear war involving Russia, China and the United States, the island of Greenland would be in the middle of Armageddon.
President Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. must take control of Greenland to build its Golden Dome missile-defense system and become an effective deterrent to China and Russia, and anything less is “unacceptable.”
NATO needs the U.S. to take control of Greenland to be an effective deterrent to China and Russia, and anything less is “unacceptable,” President Trump said Wednesday.
National Security Correspondents John Seward and Bill Gertz break down the key takeaways from the 2025 Reagan Defense Forum.
It’s gone from science fiction to a matter of serious military planning in a remarkably short time.
President Trump’s “Golden Dome” czar has revealed that he has conducted private discussions with more than 300 companies to develop the secretive missile defense shield planned to protect the entire U.S. homeland by mid-2028.
President Trump’s Golden Dome czar says he has held “one-vs.-one” talks with more than 300 private companies in recent months to hash out the secretive architecture of the futuristic missile defense shield that the administration is determined to put into operation over the entire U.S. homeland by mid-2028.
Global demand for arms in an increasingly fractious world and an alarmingly depleted U.S. stockpile of long-range weapons are driving a dramatic surge in the American defense industry’s production of rockets and missiles.
China’s military has deployed multiple space warfare systems capable of destroying and disrupting U.S. satellites vital for military operations, while the U.S. Space Force so far remains constrained from developing its own space weapons in response, according to a congressional report made public Tuesday.
After a brief run on the big screen, Netflix brought Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite” to the small screen on Oct. 24.
The race to develop nuclear propulsion isn’t just about reaching Mars; it’s also an important next step in our battle for space dominance.
The Threat Status team takes a deeper look at what the defense industry is doing to meet the demand to keep our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines equipped with the latest technology.
The head of President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense program gave a classified briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee last week that described the secretive architecture of the project, The Washington Times has learned.
Current communication systems relied upon by U.S. war fighters are too “old” and “outdated,” according to Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll, who says a concerted push is underway to accelerate private industry’s delivery of advanced technology and the Army’s acquisition process.
The Threat Status team from The Washington Times goes behind the scenes of AUSA 2025, exploring the themes and the tone being set for tech advancements in the U.S. military.
New self-destructing drones, developed by U.S. and Israeli military contractors, will soon be in the hands of Army soldiers.
Guy Taylor, National Security Editor with Threat Status at the Washington Times and John T. Seward, lead NATSEC Tech correspondent at Threat Status, with the themes they see across the 2025 AUSA conference.
Army Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan, the deputy commanding general and acting commander of Army Materiel Command, explains how the Army plans to use 3D printing to manufacture drone bodies and print drone replacement components near the battlefield. From the floor of the Association of the United States Army convention in Washington.
It’s an urgent mission for the Pentagon and its defense industry partners: Build cost-effective tools — lots of them — to counter the increasingly cheap and lethal tactical attack drones wielded by America’s adversaries abroad or terrorists targeting events at home.
Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll slammed the defense acquisition system on Monday, saying it prioritizes the desires of government bureaucrats and defense lobbyists over the needs of the American soldier.
It’s no longer a given that the U.S. and its allies will control the skies with ease in conflict. In the 21st century, gaining and maintaining air superiority will require a combination of cutting-edge tactical drones, surveillance aircraft powered by artificial intelligence, multimillion-dollar fighter jets and stealth bombers.
Germany’s Munich Airport was forced to close for seven hours on Thursday evening following a string of drone sightings, making it the latest European airport to halt business over drone incursions.
Tomer Malchi, founder and CEO of the Israel-based company Asio, joins the show to discuss soldier-borne technology, 21st-century combat, drones, and much more.
Debate over the cost and feasibility of President Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defense system has raged despite the White House’s insistence that the plan is affordable and will be completed by 2028.
Gallery: 102 Photos
Golden Dome for America. The Washington Times is joined by high-level U.S. government and defense industry leaders to look at the technology, the policy and the strategy needed to outpace our adversaries. Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Photo credit: Eleanor Kaufman / The Washington Times
