President Trump’s ambitious push for a “Golden Dome” missile shield will be a key theme at this week’s Space & Missile Defense Symposium, where some of the world’s most futuristic military technology will be on display and key Pentagon officials will address 21st-century missile and space-based threats facing the American homeland.
The three-day event in Huntsville, Ala., which begins Tuesday, is expected to draw well over 7,000 attendees and a host of leading defense companies from around the world. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, and Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, are among the top Pentagon figures slated to speak.
Army officials said that Gen. Gainey’s remarks, which will come at a pivotal moment in the evolution of U.S. space and missile defense, will focus on the “outsized value that SMDC brings to warfighting and the criticality of space and missile defense for national security.”
“The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command is the Army’s space and missile defense warfighting headquarters,” Gen. Gainey said in a statement ahead of the symposium. “At SMDC we’re adding operational value wherever we can.”
Other Pentagon officials will speak at the symposium and take part in high-level panel discussions focused on using artificial intelligence to improve missile defense and other issues.
The symposium is sponsored by the Air, Space and Missile Defense Association, the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association, and the Huntsville Air Defense Artillery Association.
The location of the conference is key. Huntsville is one of the nation’s epicenters for cutting-edge research, development and fielding of capabilities in the space, military and other domains critical to U.S. national security. It is also home to Redstone Arsenal, a sprawling 38,000-acre federal complex hosting over 70 organizations including NASA, Army Materiel Command, the Missile Defense Agency, and other crucial arms of the government.
Army Materiel Command, the unit responsible for much of the service’s manufacturing and production, is at the cutting edge of technological progress inside the military. Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan, the deputy commanding general and acting commander of the unit, joined the Threat Status weekly podcast earlier this year and explained how 3D printing will enable the military itself to build drone bodies and their flight components and microelectronics at sites both in the U.S. and potentially halfway around the world if necessary.
“Very soon we will have the capability to manufacture the vast majority of the system in house, with government-owned tech data, if you will,” Gen. Mohan said, detailing one of the capabilities designed to keep the U.S. military a step ahead of its adversaries.
’Golden Dome’ in focus
The proposed Golden Dome missile shield, the Trump administration’s signature defense and technology initiative, is critical to protecting the homeland from those adversaries, particularly Russia and China. Both of those nations have highly advanced missile programs. China is expected to expand its arsenal of 600 hypersonic missiles to as many as 4,000 by 2035, according to U.S. government estimates. Russia is expected to have 1,000 hypersonic weapons within a decade.
To guard against missile attacks, including potential assaults from space, Mr. Trump has ordered the Pentagon to complete the Golden Dome before he leaves office. The project is expected to integrate advanced space-based interceptors with existing missile defense capabilities, likely including Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, anti-ballistic missile defense batteries.
Administration officials envision a “layered defense” system, including space-based interceptors and ground-based missile defense tools, meaning the U.S. would have multiple shots at any incoming missile. Some defense industry leaders have also said the system should include sea-based assets off both coasts and in the Gulf of America, adding an additional layer of projection in strategically important locations.
Top defense companies on hand for the symposium are angling to be part of the effort and secure potentially lucrative Golden Dome contracts.
Among other related events, the Missile Defense Agency will host a “Golden Dome for America Industry Summit” at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center, which is ground zero for the SMD Symposium.
Threat Status, the Washington Times’ hub for national security content including a daily newsletter, weekly podcast, Influencers video series and more, has been at the forefront of reporting on the Golden Dome.
In May, Threat Status hosted the “Golden Dome for America” event in Pentagon City, which included panel discussions with industry leaders and keynote speeches from key lawmakers.
Sen. Deb Fischer, Nebraska Republican and chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, said during a speech at the event that now is the moment for a game-changing missile defense system.
“For the last 40 years, we have found ourselves in a cycle where every 20 years or so, we prioritize homeland missile defense, make progress and then slide back into a new status quo,” she said. “Under the current Trump administration, we have the opportunity to make a generational leap forward in missile defense through the Golden Dome program.”
