Russia and China have jointly condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for an “Iron Dome”-like missile defence system, labelling it a potentially destabilising move that could turn space into a new battlefield. The program, initiated by Trump in January, aims to protect the U.S. from ballistic and hypersonic missile threats. It revives aspects of the controversial Reagan-era “Star Wars” plan, which proposed placing missile interceptors in space.
Both countries expressed their concerns over the U.S. plan in a statement issued after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow. They argued that it would significantly strengthen the military capabilities of space-based operations. The statement also emphasised that the two nations would begin discussions on preventing the weaponisation of space and oppose any efforts to establish space as a zone for military dominance.
Trump’s proposal, sometimes called the “Golden Dome,” draws inspiration from Israel’s successful Iron Dome system, which is designed to intercept short-range missiles. However, experts note that the threats facing the U.S. are much more complex, involving advanced hypersonic and ballistic missiles, rather than the short-range rockets the Israeli system was built to counter.
Russia has developed a new hypersonic missile, “Oreshnik,” which experts claim can travel up to 10 times the speed of sound. Meanwhile, China has rapidly advanced its missile technologies, narrowing the gap with the U.S. in ballistic and hypersonic missile capabilities. The U.S. National Defence Strategy, published in 2022, highlighted these growing challenges.
The remarks from Russia and China come amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and both countries over the weaponisation of space. Each side accuses the other of pursuing military dominance in this critical domain.
