Golden dome defense system returns as a precautionary measure years after Reagan’s Cold War suggestion

During his campaign, President Donald Trump proposed the idea of a Golden Dome as a way for the United States to defend itself against the threat of a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) strike, according to an expert.

Historian William Forstchen, who is well-known for his expertise on EMPs and is a New York Times bestselling author, explained in an interview with Fox News Digital how a Golden Dome could serve as a protective measure against such attacks.

“The Iron Dome used by Israel has proven to be highly successful in shielding the country from threats posed by Iran and other adversaries. However, the Iron Dome is a tactical defense system designed to intercept missiles at a lower altitude,” Forstchen pointed out.

“But if the U.S. had a Golden Dome, it would be a strategic defense system. It would take out systems, ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) that are launched at the United States and destroy them in space before they get to the United States.”

Forstchen said that at first glance, the thought of spending billions on new technology may be met with hesitancy. He compared the Golden Dome to homeowners purchasing insurance.

“We need an insurance policy to protect the United States of America,” he said. “It’s that simple. Yes, it will cost. How much did we spend on the Green New Deal or on EV charges?”

Forstchen said that he believes that the U.S. could get targeted by the likes of North Korea or Iran.

“I’m old enough to remember the Cold War. There was a time when Russia and then China were the big adversaries, but the whole thing was mutually assured destruction. They launch at us, we launch at them and nobody wins,” he explained. “But what about a proxy player or a third world player? Suppose tomorrow that madman in North Korea decides to strike the United States?

“That’s a real possibility. That’s a real threat. So I don’t see Russia or China so much. I definitely do see North Korea and Iran as the big players that I worry about.”

A geomagnetic disturbance is a temporary disturbance of the Earth’s magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave and/or cloud of magnetic field that interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field. (Department of Homeland Security)

The late Peter Pry, a nuclear weapons expert and former staff director at the Congressional EMP Commission, shared the same opinion. Before his death in 2022, Pry warned that Kim Jung Un’s launch of a high-altitude ballistic missile was a test of North Korea’s EMP capabilities against the United States.

“Cars would be paralyzed,” Pry told Fox Business in May 2017. “Airplanes could fall out of the sky. You’d have natural gas pipeline explosions, nuclear reactor overloads. And worst of all, if you had a protracted blackout, it would be a serious threat to the survival of the American people.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.