US says Golden Dome missile defense passed its first test, downing drones and cruise missiles with directed energy
The Pentagon says the first milestone test of Golden Dome for America was a full mission success. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said an autonomous system used directed energy to track and destroy incoming drones and cruise missiles, but released no technical details on the test.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced that the first milestone test of Golden Dome for America was a full mission success, saying he watched it in person. According to Hegseth, an autonomous system called Dynamic Defense Autonomous Defeat used directed energy to cue, target, and eliminate a wave of incoming drones and cruise missiles on its own. He gave no details on where the test took place, which hardware was used, or how many targets were involved. Golden Dome for America is the Trump administration's planned layered missile defense shield, meant to protect the United States from ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles, and drones, relying on a large constellation of satellites carrying sensors and interceptors.