Final week, new data leaked about one thing Trump spent a variety of time speaking about throughout his marketing campaign…
An enormous area mission that might change the way forward for protection.
Establishing this “Golden Dome” turned one in all Trump’s first official acts after he returned to the White Home.
And it appears to be a giant precedence for the administration.
In the present day, we’re going to take a better have a look at this mission as a result of there’s quite a bit right here to unpack.
And if issues play out like I consider they may….
Trump’s Golden Dome may ignite one other area race just like the one we skilled in the course of the Chilly Struggle.
What Is the Golden Dome?
On January 27, 2025, Trump signed an government order directing the navy to start development of a next-generation missile protection protect for america….
What’s now often known as Trump’s “Golden Dome.”
This government order authorizes the U.S. to construct a community of lots of — probably greater than 1,000 — satellites that will circle the Earth to identify and shoot down incoming missiles earlier than they attain American soil.
A few of these satellites could be armed with lasers or high-speed missiles. Others could be answerable for monitoring threats in actual time.
And I’ve to confess, it sounds fairly cool. It jogs my memory of Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile protection program that by no means received constructed.
However this type of futuristic protection system gained’t come low-cost.
In accordance with sources near SpaceX, simply the early work of designing and launching the satellites may hit as much as $10 billion.
And that’s solely scratching the floor of how a lot this Golden Dome mission may ultimately price.
The total program may find yourself requiring the U.S. authorities to spend lots of of billions of {dollars} by the point it’s up and operating.
And that’s the place issues get a little bit janky.
As a result of this isn’t simply going to be a authorities mission. It’s anticipated to be a partnership between the Pentagon and personal tech firms.
In accordance with latest information leaks, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the frontrunner to guide the satellite tv for pc launches.
Palantir would apparently work on software program that might observe threats in real-time.
And Anduril, a startup targeted on autonomous weapons, is likely to be constructing the precise orbital interceptors. These are the satellites that can be armed with lasers or missiles.
I’ve combined emotions about this plan.
On the plus facet, a partnership with non-public firms ought to pace up the mission’s deployment.
For a program like this, I would love the federal government to function extra like Silicon Valley than its typical Washington, D.C forms.
However I’m involved that this partnership would give non-public firms an excessive amount of management over U.S. protection.
And it’s notably regarding when you perceive how the mission is anticipated to be arrange.
As an alternative of the U.S. proudly owning every thing, SpaceX desires to promote entry to the system like a subscription service. Consider it like Netflix for missile protection.
That appears extraordinarily dangerous to me.
If the U.S. doesn’t absolutely personal the tech, it may get locked into long-term funds with out full management over how the mission is run.
This might result in a scenario the place nationwide protection selections are dictated by company pursuits.
For instance, what occurs if there’s a disagreement between the U.S. authorities and an organization like SpaceX about who will get entry to this method or the way it’s used?
Or what if SpaceX decides to hike the worth or restrict capabilities to sure areas?
It’s not arduous to think about a future the place Congress is caught debating subscription charges whereas missiles are already within the air.
However there’s one other facet of this “Golden Dome” mission that few individuals are speaking about.
I consider the Golden Dome is about to ignite a brand new area race.
And that’s each extremely regarding attributable to its world implications…
And extremely thrilling for the chance it presents to traders.
House Race 2.0
If the U.S. begins placing weapons in area, different nations are going to note.
China and Russia are already nervous about U.S. area energy. In actual fact, Russia has referred to as the Golden Dome a menace.
Each nations are working to construct on their very own hypersonic missiles, that are designed to sneak previous conventional protection programs.
If the U.S. immediately rolls out a system that may detect and destroy these missiles from orbit, it’s fairly straightforward to foretell what’s going to occur subsequent…
China and Russia will begin constructing their very own area programs.
Frankly, I anticipate China is already planning to construct its personal world satellite tv for pc protection system. They usually’re most likely already engaged on anti-satellite weapons to knock U.S. satellites out of the sky.
And if we do construct the Golden Dome, it’s virtually sure that a few of our allies will need to plug into it to remain protected.
If NATO nations take part, that will power nations like Iran or North Korea to select sides too.
That’s the domino impact that might trigger the Golden Dome to ignite a second area race.
In any case, we’ve seen this identical sample play out earlier than.
Again within the Chilly Struggle, the U.S. and Soviet Union rushed to construct up their area packages.
When the Soviets launched Sputnik, the U.S. answered with Apollo.
In 1971, the Soviets launched the world’s first area station, Salyut 1.
And the U.S. responded with Skylab simply two years later.
In the present day’s model of this escalation is likely to be SpaceX versus China’s state-run satellite tv for pc builders like CASIC.
However this time it’s not simply going to be about satisfaction or science.
It’ll be about world dominance.
Right here’s My Take
Worldwide treaties ban weapons of mass destruction in area, however the Golden Dome isn’t fairly that.
Nonetheless, it’s shut sufficient to trigger main arguments on the U.N.
Meaning there can be some hills to climb earlier than this mission will get off the bottom.
However I consider it’s prone to go ahead.
If it does, the complete model of the Golden Dome could possibly be up and operating as quickly as 2030. Some elements may even go stay as quickly as subsequent yr.
In the meantime, over 180 different firms have expressed curiosity in serving to construct it at the moment.
And I’m not simply speaking about conventional military-industrial giants like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
That’s why some are saying this could possibly be the second Silicon Valley lastly breaks into big-league protection.
It may be a boon for traders.
As a result of if the U.S. goes all-in on the Golden Dome and different nations are pressured to react, it means a ton of cash can be poured into rocket launches, satellite tv for pc monitoring and area weapons.
In different phrases, the Golden Dome may find yourself boosting an entire sector of area and protection tech.
It may develop into an business of itself.
And just like the early days of the web or smartphones, the largest winners of this area race would be the ones who bounce in early.
We’re already seeing this occurring throughout the area sector of the Excessive Fortunes portfolio.
Only in the near past, we noticed main validation for one key holding touchdown vital new authorities enterprise…
Whereas one other firm in our portfolio stands to learn large time if this Golden Dome mission will get finalized.
If you happen to’re not a member of Excessive Fortunes already, it’s best to contemplate becoming a member of us at the moment!
Regards,
Ian King
Chief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing
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