AMERICA must install a missile defence shield before the country’s electrical grid is wiped out in a nuke strike, an expert has warned.
has signed an executive order to construct a futuristic “Golden Dome”; to banish threats from countries including .
But with both Tehran and rapidly accelerating nuclear development, military historian William R. Forstchen has warned the US needs a defence system sooner rather than later.
Trump has long been fascinated by ‘s technological marvel that is and wants to build something much more complex and expensive.
While the Iron Dome effectively intercepts short-range missiles and rockets, the Golden Dome would need to shoot down much larger and powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Forstchen told The Sun: “Golden dome is designed as a ballistic defense system for intercontinental.
“It is a strategic defence that would prevent any enemy attack from coming across the Pacific Ocean to hit our facilities with an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) hit, which would wipe out our electrical infrastructure.
“The big fear I’ve always held is that North Korea has the capacity to launch an ICBM with a nuclear warhead on top.
“When it’s detonated above the continental United States, it sets up something called the Compton effect, which blows out the electrical grid of the United States.
“This is a system designed to defend against that.”;
But right now, Forstchen warned America will be “screwed”; if North Korea or Iran unleashes just three small nuclear on the US – making it more vital than ever that Trump sees through his plan.
It could see the US plunged into
Forstchen said: “I grew up in the 60s and 70s. It was called mutually assured Destruction.
“The big fear back then was the Soviets would launch hundreds of missiles at us.
“We would launch at them. Everybody blows up. Nobody wins the game. Well, it’s a different paradigm now.
“Third world players, in particular North Korea and Iran, if it ever achieves nuclear capability, they just have to launch three small warheads about four times the size of a Hiroshima bomb.
“Get it up there 200 miles out. When the weapon blows, it sets up an electrostatic discharge called the Compton effect.
“That shorts our grid off. The grid is not going. It doesn’t self-repair. It does not come back online. And basically, to put it in common terminology, we’re screwed.”;
Forstchen – a leading authority on EMP technology who has given guidance on its potential impact to federal and state governments – warned the Dome would be America’s only hope against an EMP attack.
An EMP is a burst of electromagnetic energy produced by a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere, that could cause widespread damage to power lines, telecommunications, and electronic equipment.
“EMP distorts the grid off and you lose your electricity,”; he said.
“The devastation ultimately would be a hundred times worse because the grid is gone. You can’t pump water, get food, all the other things we depend upon.”;
It comes as Trump’s Golden Dome hopes gather pace – with his billionaire pal Elon Musk understood to have .
Musk’s rocket and satellite company SpaceX is partnering with software maker Palantir and drone builder Anduril to build key parts.
Plans include building and launching more than 1,000 satellites circling the globe to sense incoming missiles and track their movement, sources told Reuters.
A separate fleet of 200 attack satellites armed with missiles or lasers would then bring enemy missilesdown.
SpaceX is understood to be pitching for the part of the Golden Dome initiative called the “custody layer”;.
It would work as a constellation of satellites that would detect missiles, track their trajectory, and determine if they are heading toward the US.
However, the rocket company is not expected to be involved in the weaponisation of satellites.
Overall cost for the Dome could hit hundreds of billions of dollars, experts say.
Trump previously warned a missile attack is “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States”; – and is in a race to strike a deal with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.
The US president vowed “there will be bombing”; if Tehran’s regime fails to negotiate an agreement.
National security adviser Mike Waltz has said that Trump wants the “full dismantlement”; of Iran’s nuclear programme.
He added: “That’s enrichment, that is weaponisation, and that is its strategic missile programme.”;
But Iran hopes a deal to limit, but not dismantle, its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
Fears of a devastating strike comes as both Iran and North Korea ramp up their nuke schemes.
The Sun previously revealed how Iran’s tyrannical regime has been secretly building nuclear warheads for missiles that can fire more than 3,000km.
Satellite pictures uncovered three sites thatIran’sleaders claimed were being used as part of a space initiative.
Tehran is building terrifying nuclear warheads for solid-fuel missiles with a range exceeding 1,800 miles (3,000km).
North Korea meanwhile is understood to have around 50 nuclear weapons and sufficient production of fissile material for six to seven nuclear weapons per year.
Tyrant Kim Jong-un has continued arms build-up in response to what Pyongyang claims is threats from the US and its allies in the region.
Trump is said to be planning to .
Earlier this month, Kim unveiled that could house a vertical launchpad capable of firing nuclear missiles.
The extent of North Korea’shas long been shrouded in mystery – with stations scattered across the hermit kingdom.
But The Sun last month revealed how scheming Kim had constructed a .
