Trump's 'Golden Dome' will need Manhattan Project-scale whole-of-government effort, Space Force general warns

President Donald Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense project will require a whole-of-government effort on par with the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, according to a Space Force general. 

"This is on the order of magnitude of Manhattan Project, and it’s going to take concerted effort from the very top of our government. It's going to take a national will to bring all this together," Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, told a gathering of defense industry experts on Wednesday. 

The ‘Golden Dome’ idea stemmed from Israel's Iron Dome. With the help of the U.S., it employs an invisible boundary that triggers interceptors when short-range missiles are fired toward its territory. 

But the Golden Dome has proved a more daunting project for guarding the U.S., which is close to 500 times the size of Israel and would likely be threatened more by long-range than short-range missiles. 

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Guetlein said Iran firing missiles toward Israel last year gave a ‘real-life example’ of how the U.S.' Iron Dome-style anti-missile system would need to work. (Reuters/Amir Cohen.)

Guetlein said the project will require unprecedented cooperation across the defense and intelligence agencies. 

"We are in full planning mode," the official said at the National Security Innovation Base Summit hosted by the Ronald Reagan Institute. "We owe an answer back to the White House by the end of the month on what our thoughts are."

The Golden Dome would need to protect the U.S. from a range of threats – including hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles, advanced cruise missiles. Early detection would rely on space-based sensors that would trigger rapid-response missile interceptors. 

"It’s going to be a heavy lift across all the organizations that are going to be participating. And what we’ve got to really push back on are the organizational boundaries and the cultures that are going to try to slow us down or to prevent us from working together," Guetlein said. 

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is "really good at protection of the homeland from an ICBM," according to Guetlein, but they need the Space Force to build space capabilities, and the Air Force and Army to manage counter-drone systems. 

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The National Reconnaissance Office, which operates the U.S.’s spy satellites, also has space capabilities needed for homeland protection. 

Guetlein said the nation would have to "break down the barriers" between Title 10 and Title 50 of the United States Code, the federal laws that govern the nation’s defense and clandestine operations.

Gen. Michael Guetlein, Vice Chief of Space Operations, said he would be briefing the White House ‘by the end of the month’ on how to move forward on Golden Dome missile defense system. (U.S. Space Force.)

"Without a doubt, our biggest challenge is going to be organizational behavior and culture to bring all the pieces together," Guetlein said.

The Golden Dome would be a major step up from the current Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, which relies on missile interceptors stationed in Alaska and California designed to protect the homeland from a small number of ballistic missiles that could be fired from North Korea. 

Guetlein said Iran has provided a "real life example" in the Middle East, where U.S. forces helped thwart a barrage of missiles targeting Israel last year. 

America's Golden Dome would need to be able to intercept ICBMs, like the one above in a test fire in North Korea. (KCNA via Reuters.  )

Trump said during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday that he would be asking lawmakers to appropriate funds for the project. 

"My focus is on building the most powerful military of the future," Trump said. "As a first step, I'm asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art, 'Golden Dome' missile defense shield to protect our homeland – all made in the USA." 

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The president claimed that Ronald Reagan had wanted to build such a system, but it wasn’t possible given the technology of the time. 

"Israel has it, other places have it, and the United States should have it, too," he said. "This is a very dangerous world. We should have it. We want to be protected. And we're going to protect our citizens like never before."