President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday regarding the construction of a “next-generation missile defense shield” similar to the “Iron Dome” in Israel.
Trump’s executive order, entitled “The Iron Dome for America,” warned that the threat of ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles, along with “other advanced aerial attacks,” is “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.”
Monday’s executive order noted that in an attempt to “further the goal of peace through strength,” the United States will “provide for the common defense of its citizens and the Nation by deploying and maintaining a next-generation missile defense shield.” The executive order explained that the Department of Defense will be required to provide Trump with a plan to implement the missile defense system within 60 days.
Trump’s executive order also directs the secretary of defense to conduct an “Allied and Theater Missile Defense Review” regarding how the United States and its allies can increase “bilateral and multilateral cooperation on missile defense technology development, capabilities, and operations” and “improve theater missile defenses of forward-deployed United States troops and allied territories, troops, and populations.”
In his executive order, the 47th president explained that former President Ronald Reagan first attempted to “build an effective defense against nuclear attacks” but that the project was canceled “before its goal could be realized.” Trump noted that since the United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, the country’s missile defense policy has “remained only to stay ahead of rogue-nation threats and accidental or unauthorized missile launches.”
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Trump’s executive order added, “Over the past 40 years, rather than lessening, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons has become more intense and complex with the development by peer and near-peer adversaries of next-generation delivery systems and their own homeland integrated air and missile defense capabilities.”
Prior to signing the executive order, Trump explained that under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership, the United States will “immediately begin the construction of a state-of-the-art Iron Dome missile defense shield, which will be able to protect Americans.”
Trump added, “You know, we protect other countries, but we don’t protect ourself.”
Trump explained that while America “didn’t have the technology” to complete a missile defense shield during Reagan’s time, modern technology has advanced to allow countries to develop advanced missile defense systems.
“Now we have phenomenal technology,” Trump said. “You see that with Israel.”
“So I think the United States is entitled to that,” Trump added. “And everything will be made right here in the USA 100%.”
