Russia Slams Trump’s Plan For ‘Star Wars’ Missile Shield

Russia blasted President Donald Trump’s idea to build a missile shield similar to the “Star Wars” initiative on Friday, January 31, saying that it may turn space into a battlefield.

On Monday, January 27, Trump issued an executive order establishing a “Iron Dome for America” to combat ballistic and hypersonic missile threats, reviving aspects of the Reagan-era “Star Wars” concept, which envisaged placing missile interceptors in space.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the plan during a briefing, stating, “We regard this as yet another confirmation of the US intent to turn space into an arena of armed confrontation and to deploy weapons there.” She likened the scale of Trump’s proposal to the original “Star Wars” program, which she described as “odious.”

Zakharova accused the United States of aiming to undermine the strategic deterrence capabilities of both Russia and China. “To put it mildly, these US approaches will not contribute to reducing tensions,” she said.

The executive order’s reference to a “Iron Dome” is based on Israel’s missile defense system, which is particularly effective at intercepting short-range rockets. However, the missile threats that the United States faces are vastly different and more advanced than those addressed by Israel’s system.

Russia has been upgrading its own missile technology, with President Vladimir Putin unveiling the hypersonic missile “Oreshnik” last year, which can travel at speeds ten times faster than sound. Meanwhile, the US stated in its 2022 National Defense Strategy that China is closing the gap on ballistic and hypersonic missile capabilities.

The conflict over space militarization has escalated, with Moscow and Washington accusing one other of weaponizing space. Last May, the US accused Russia of launching a “space weapon” in the same orbit as a US satellite.

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Nnamdi Okoli