Trump bets on space lasers to shoot down nuclear missiles

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Donald Trump just signed an executive order this Monday ordering the establishment of an anti-missile defense system to protect his country. It is certainly the most ambitious defense project in American history since the ” Star Wars ” announced by President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983.

The American president spoke of an ” Iron Dome for America “, in reference to the system in place in Israel since 2010. However, the scope of this project far exceeds that of its Middle Eastern counterpart.

A high-tech space arsenal with astronomical costs

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has 60 days to develop a plan to protect the United States from advanced ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles. These three types of missiles pose a significant threat to international security because of their ability to hit targets at very long ranges with great precision and their completely insane destructive power. The most striking example is undoubtedly the Russian RS-28 Sarmat missile, also known as “Satan 2” in the Western media.

At the heart of the system: a network of laser-equipped satellites, coupled with low-altitude interceptors. The project also provides for neutralization capabilities even before the launch of enemy missiles.

The financial scale of the project is beyond comprehension, hold on tight. In 2012, the National Academy of Sciences had calculated in a report that a so-called minimalist defensive space program (650 satellites in orbit) would require an envelope of 300 billion dollars.

Who could help the American government set up such a program ? SpaceX, of course. Elon Musk's company has a major advantage: its Falcon launchers have a higher payload capacity and a larger transport volume, for a launch cost significantly lower than the competition.

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With its well-known launch rate, SpaceX could be a major support to deploy these satellites. The company, which already holds $20 billion in government contracts, would nevertheless have to arbitrate between this program and its Starlink project, its main source of revenue. This constellation of commercial satellites could see its growth slowed by the mobilization of launch resources for this new generation anti-missile shield.

Nothing is decided yet

Even if the project is properly financed, thetechnological challenges appear titanic. Tom Karako, a missile expert at the CSIS think tank, points out that there is no “magic security blanket” or “thermal blooming.” The phenomenon of “thermal blooming” », which reduces the effectiveness of lasers in the Earth's atmosphere, represents a major obstacle. By heating the air as it passes through it, lasers create a “ lens ” of variable air density that distorts and disperses the beam, making them less precise and efficient.

Powering the satellites is also problematic: to ensure their proper functioning, they would require mini-nuclear reactors or ultra-sophisticated solar panels.

Apart from these purely technical considerations, analysts point to the geostrategic risksof implementing such a system. According to Eric Heginbotham, an MIT expert on Chinese nuclear issues, the program could trigger a new arms race. Russia and China could increase production of their nuclear warheads or target less protected areas to maintain their deterrent capabilities.

That's why other experts advocate a more realistic approach to the issue. Fabian Hoffmann of the Oslo Nuclear Project suggests strengthening low-altitude missile defenses while preserving the balance of current nuclear forces. An option that is certainly still costly, but technically feasible and potentially less destabilizing for the world order.

• Trump is launching a project for an anti-missile shield based on satellites equipped with lasers, inspired by the Israeli model, but on a much larger scale.
• The astronomical cost and technological challenges, including the precision of the lasers and the power supply of the satellites, make the project difficult to achieve.
• e program could revive an arms race with Russia and China and threaten the global geopolitical balance.

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