Exclusive: Europe also needs Golden Dome missile defence, say US experts

The thought is elemental and analyzable astatine nan aforesaid time: ballistic missiles fired astatine targets anyplace successful nan United States would beryllium detected and intercepted earlier they could onslaught nan ground.

This is nan conception of US president Donald Trump’s scheme to build nan “Golden Dome for America”, a rocket defence programme that would travel pinch an exorbitant value tag moreover by American standards.

But subject experts successful nan US judge that location is simply a next-generation threat level coming from rogue states for illustration Iran and North Korea arsenic good awesome powers for illustration China and Russia that warrant a reorienting of occidental rocket defence strategy – not only successful nan United States, but besides successful Europe.

"Great powers for illustration China and Russia are investing successful long-range onslaught capabilities. This is simply a analyzable threat we request to beryllium capable to take sides against," nan Center for Strategic and International Studies' Patrycja Bazylczyk told Euronews.

“That’s why it is important for Europe to bolster its rocket defence system," said Bazylczyk, a interrogator astatine nan Missile Defense Project pinch nan Washington-based deliberation tank.

William R. Forstchen, subject exertion interrogator astatine Montreat College, North Carolina is moreover blunter. “It’s a no-brainer to me. We request a caller strategical defence system. We request it, Europe needs it,” he told Euronews.

Forstchen is nan writer of “One Second After”, a study of nan powerfulness of rocket weaponry to destruct nan full continental US.

“I’m besides really concerned astir Europe. An Iranian EMP rocket could swipe retired nan full powerfulness grid of occidental Europe,” he added.

EMP stands for Electromagnetic Pulse. When "detonated", an EMP limb produces a pulse of power that creates a powerful electromagnetic section tin of short-circuiting a wide scope of physics equipment, peculiarly computers, satellites, radios, radar receivers and moreover civilian postulation lights.

Forstchen said an EMP onslaught would group disconnected a cascade of deadly events. The first necessity group would suffer is water, followed by nutrient proviso and medication. Then, illness would group in. 

Long-term survival, he added, would dangle connected being successful nan correct spot astatine nan correct clip pinch nan correct nutrient supply.

According to Tomas Nagy, an master for nuclear, abstraction and rocket defense astatine nan GLOBSEC deliberation tank, nan Golden Dome initiative, still successful its early stages, faces its ain group of sizeable challenges: accumulation bottlenecks, constituent shortages and emblematic Washington turf battles wrong nan defense community.

In Europe, nan situation is different. Should location beryllium a large-scale conflict pinch Russia, rocket threats would beryllium conscionable as, if not more, captious fixed Moscow’s “limited expertise to task crushed forces heavy into NATO territory,” Nagy said. “In specified a scenario, Russia would very apt trust much heavy connected stand-off rocket strikes.”

Bremerhaven, Antwerp aliases Hamburg could beryllium targeted - erstwhile service general

A interest that is shared by Ben Hodges, who commanded nan US Army Europe from 2014 to 2018.

“Threats from Russia are already there, deliberation astir their sabotage action successful nan Baltic Sea. In 3 to 4 years, their adjacent measurement will beryllium airstrikes connected Bremerhaven, Antwerp aliases Hamburg to spot really NATO responds,” he told Euronews, adding: “For sure, location is simply a request for rocket defence.”

Yet, rocket defence has agelong been an orphan of European defence policy. Most countries deficiency capable interceptors to thwart massed attacks, and galore person donated precious batteries to Ukraine.

Only precocious person European countries reacted. The European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), initially projected by then-German chancellor Olaf Scholz successful 2022, is simply a task to build a ground-based integrated European aerial defence strategy which includes anti-ballistic rocket capability. As of today, 24 European states participate successful nan initiative.

But nan ESSI pales successful comparison to nan Golden Dome task US president Trump wants to beryllium operational earlier his word ends, which experts for illustration Patrycja Bazylczyk see “ambitious”.

“There is surely governmental momentum correct now, but nan task needs nan practice of early administrations arsenic well,” she said.

Whether nan successors of nan Trump management will proceed to support and money nan Golden Dome is anybody’s guess.

Trump estimates nan full costs to beryllium $175 billion, $25 cardinal of which are allocated successful nan existent fund proposal.

Yet, nan Congressional Budget Office has estimated a costs location betwixt $166 cardinal and northbound of $540 cardinal for nan space-based components alone.

What if nan task is scrapped aft Trump leaves nan White House? William Forstchen shrugs it off. “Whatever magnitude you walk by past is useful.”