Trump signs executive order to build American Iron Dome
Veterans on Duty chairman Jeremy Hunt discusses why he supports the dome’s construction for national security purposes, how the possible missile defense system would work and how the DOD is restoring military readiness.
President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of an advanced, next-generation missile defense shield to protect the United States from aerial attack.
On Monday, the president signed an executive order that tasks Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with drawing up plans to build an “Iron Dome for America” that will protect Americans from the threat of missiles launched by a foreign enemy. In doing so, Trump kept a campaign promise to prioritize missile defense.
“By next term we will build a great Iron Dome over our country,” Trump said during a West Palm Beach event on June 14. “We deserve a dome…it’s a missile defense shield, and it’ll all be made in America.”
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But what exactly are Trump’s plans for an “Iron Dome”? Here’s what you need to know:
1. Israel’s first defense
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Oct. 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
The Iron Dome missile defense system Trump has called for is similar to one that Israel has developed to intercept thousands of rockets.
Israel’s first line of defense, a missile defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, is labeled the Iron Dome. It was first deployed in 2011, and has since rebuffed and destroyed rockets from Hamas terrorists, Hezbollah forces and Iranian drones and missiles.
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The Iron Dome is land-based and built to keep the citizens of Israel safe from barrages of rockets deployed most often by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials claim the Iron Dome has been 90% effective in…
