Donald Trump has a plan to use space lasers to destroy nuclear weapons

This week, President Donald Trump authorized the development of the most ambitious missile defense system in U.S. history, designed to destroy hypersonic missiles and prevent nuclear disaster.

Trump referred to the initiative as the “Iron Dome for America,” drawing a comparison to Israel’s famous air defense system.

However, the proposed next-generation system, which includes space-based lasers, is closer to the vision of Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” program, which was launched in 1983 during the Cold War.

Creating a system similar to Star Wars 2.0 could cost hundreds of billions of dollars and face enormous technological challenges. Additionally, nuclear experts have warned that the plan might prompt China and Russia to develop countermeasures, potentially nullifying its effectiveness. This is one of the reasons the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved its "Doomsday clock" one second closer to midnight this week.

What is Trump’s missile shield plan? The executive order signed by Trump on Monday directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to develop a comprehensive plan within 60 days to protect the U.S. from ballistic, hypersonic, and advanced cruise missile attacks.

The proposed system, outlined in the memo, is far-reaching, incredibly expensive, and technically far more complex than Israel’s Iron Dome.

While Iron Dome protects specific areas from short-range, low-flying, and non-nuclear missiles, Trump’s initiative aims to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which travel much faster and farther. The U.S. is also nearly 450 times larger than Israel.

Trump’s order calls for “space-based interceptors,” which would involve a network of satellites equipped with lasers. It also demands the creation of lower-altitude interceptors to serve as a backup if the lasers fail.

Additionally, the plan seeks to develop capabilities that could defeat missile attacks even before launch, essentially targeting the source of the threat, not just the missile itself.

Experts caution that creating a reliable, space-based missile shield is nearly impossible. “There is no magical security blanket,” said Tom Karako, a leading missile expert at the CSIS think tank in Washington.

How would it work and what might it cost? To detect, intercept, and destroy ballistic nuclear missiles during the “boost phase” — the few minutes before they reach orbit — would require laser technology capable of reaching hundreds of kilometers. Such technology does not currently exist.

One of the major challenges is “thermal blooming,” where the energy from a laser heats the surrounding atmosphere, weakening the beam's effectiveness. While this effect is minimized in outer space, it is much more significant once the beam enters Earth's atmosphere.

Powering the satellites with lasers would likely require mini nuclear reactors or advanced solar panels. While not impossible, this would require significant research and investment that could take years to achieve, according to missile expert Fabian Hoffmann of the Oslo Nuclear Project.