The executive order covers a range of advanced missile and air defense capabilities.
The United States will begin revamping its missile defense capabilities under a new executive order President Donald Trump signed on Jan. 27.
Trump’s executive order called for a revamped set of layered missile defense capabilities to defeat ballistic, hypersonic, and advanced cruise missiles, as well as other emerging aerial threats.
The president has described the new effort as an “Iron Dome” for America, borrowing the name of a counter-rocket and artillery system that comprises a key component of Israel’s aerial defense network.
According to a White House fact sheet obtained by The Epoch Times, Trump’s executive order prioritizes the development of new space-based sensors for detecting and tracking attacks, as well as space-based systems for intercepting incoming threats.
The order also looks to expedite the development of new systems to defeat missile threats before they launch and in their terminal phase of flight as they descend toward their final targets.
The fact sheet describes plans to accelerate the development of “non-kinetic missile defense capabilities” as well. These could include lasers and high-powered microwaves for damaging incoming missiles, as well as cyber and electronic measures to disrupt a missile’s guidance and control toward a target.
According to the fact sheet, the threat posed by so-called “next-generation strategic weapons”—including hypersonic missiles—has increased over the past 40 years. However, the U.S. homeland missile defense strategy “has been limited to staying ahead of rogue nation threats and accidental or unauthorized missile launches.”
China and Russia have both made advancements in hypersonic weapons development in recent years.
The new missile defense push will act as deterrence to ensure that the United States will be able to defend its citizens and critical infrastructure against any aerial attack by its adversaries, according to the fact sheet.
“By empowering the United States with a second-strike capability, the Iron Dome will deter adversaries from attacks on the homeland,” the fact sheet states.
Beyond defending U.S. soil, Trump’s order calls for a review of existing capabilities to defend U.S. troops and allies stationed abroad. The order will also call for increased cooperation between the United States and its allies to boost their shared missile defense capabilities.
Also on Jan. 27, Trump announced orders limiting individuals with “gender dysphoria” from serving in the military; discontinuing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices; and reinstating U.S. troops who were involuntarily discharged for refusing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previewed the orders as he arrived at the Pentagon on Jan. 27.
“Today, there are more executive orders coming that we fully support, on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, the Iron Dome for America,” Hegseth told reporters waiting outside the Pentagon.
Hegseth, who was sworn in following a Jan. 25 Senate vote, said he’s working to ensure that the Department of Defense fulfills Trump’s executive orders “swiftly and without excuse.”