Peace Garden News

U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) have introduced the Ground and Orbital Launched Defeat of Emergent Nuclear Destruction and Other Missile Engagements (GOLDEN DOME) Act of 2025, a legislative proposal aimed at modernizing and expanding the United States’ missile defense systems. Representative Mark Messmer (R-IN-08) has introduced a companion bill in the House.

The legislation comes as adversaries of the United States develop advanced missile delivery systems, increasing the complexity of strategic threats. The current U.S. missile defense policy has focused on countering rogue threats and accidental or unauthorized launches.

The GOLDEN DOME Act seeks to enhance all-domain awareness for U.S. missile defense, strengthen capabilities against ballistic, cruise, hypersonic missiles, and drone threats, and accelerate development of new technologies to address emerging challenges from nations such as Russia and China.

The act supports President Donald Trump’s executive order for a next-generation missile defense shield. Vice Chief of Space Operations General Michael Guetlein has been nominated to lead its implementation.

Senator Cramer stated: “Our adversaries have developed more advanced long-range weapons over the last couple of decades, posing a significant threat to our national security,” adding, “We have to act in order to defend against the evolving and complex threat landscape. Senator Sullivan and I introduced the GOLDEN DOME Act to build a layered missile defense system, which protects our homeland from catastrophic attacks from modern missiles. Our bill puts the legislative muscle behind President Trump’s executive order to support his innovative vision of protecting our great nation from current and future threats. The Golden Dome is great for America, great for North Dakota, and great for Alaska. The time is now to prioritize the defense of the United States by modernizing our missile defense infrastructure.”

Senator Sullivan said: “The escalating missile threats we’ve witnessed from the Iranian terrorist regime and the rapidly evolving missile threats from Russia and China demonstrate why we need to develop a robust, modernized missile defense system to protect the entire country—which the GOLDEN DOME Act will do,” continuing, “The three prongs of successful policy in D.C. are presidential leadership, appropriated funding and comprehensive authorizing legislation. We have all three of these elements behind this historic Golden Dome initiative. President Trump has, for years, going back to his first term, driven the vision of a layered, open architecture missile defense system. Congress is stepping up with a down payment appropriation of $25 billion in the reconciliation bill. And now, we are introducing the GOLDEN DOME Act to cement this vision in law. The GOLDEN DOME Act will incorporate space-based sensors and new intercept technologies, significantly expand and modernize existing infrastructure, like the ground-based missile interceptor fields at Alaska’s Fort Greely and North Dakota’s PARCS radar system, and enhance all-domain awareness to counter, detect, track, and defeat potential missile threats. The great State of Alaska has been—and will continue to be—the cornerstone of our missile defense system. I look forward to working with my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to get this important legislation to President Trump’s desk to better secure the homeland.”

Representative Messmer commented: “In a world where hostile adversaries like Russia and China present an ever-present nuclear threat, America must stand ready to prevent nuclear weapons from harming our citizens,” adding that “The Golden Dome Act fulfills President Trump’s initiative to keep America safe with this state of the art missile defense shield.”

Among its provisions is an emphasis on accelerating modernization efforts at key facilities such as North Dakota’s Cavalier Space Force Station Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System (PARCS), which tracks more than half of all earth-orbiting objects using phased-array radar technology.

Other cosponsors include Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Katie Britt (R-AL), Jim Banks (R-IN), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Tim Scott (R-SC).