The Pentagon’s Golden Dome clampdown

Aug 19, 2025

Guest:

• Patrick Tucker, Defense One science and technology editor. 

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Read Tucker's recent reporting on the topic below: 

Related reading:

• “New Golden Dome details emerge from industry day,” Tucker reported on August 14; 
• "Pete Hegseth Doesn’t Want to Talk About Golden Dome," former Naval War College professor Tom Nichols wrote for The Atlantic on August 8;
• “Lockheed Martin aims to test a missile-killing satellite by 2028,” also via Tucker, reporting August 5;
• "Effects of Lower Launch Costs on Previous Estimates for Space-Based, Boost-Phase Missile Defense," May 5, via the Congressional Budget Office with an estimated total price tag for Golden Dome somewhere between $831 billion to $542 billion; 
• See also, "Trump wants a Golden Dome over America. Here's what it would take," via NPR's Geoff Brumfiel, reporting April 22.  

Watch the futuristic, satirical news clips from 1987's "Robocop," via YouTube, here. 

And you can find a trailer for the 1985 film, "Real Genius," also via YouTube, here.