The US military currently has no line of defence against hypersonic weapons or advanced cruise missiles possessed by adversaries like Russia and China, a senior Pentagon official admitted during a congressional hearing. Mark Berkowitz, who is Assistant Secretary of War for Space Policy, also informed the US Senate that adversaries are now developing “non-ballistic threats, including hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles” designed to hold “our homeland at risk”.
Berkowitz was speaking before the US Senate Committee on Armed Services during the hearing on the next-generation “Golden Dome” missile defence system under development in the United States.
‘Limited Capabilities’
When asked to describe the country’s current missile defence capabilities, he said, “Today, we have a very limited ground-based single-layer homeland defence system that was specifically designed against a small-scale rogue attack from North Korea,” he noted.
“We have very limited capabilities to counter any other ballistic missile attacks, and we also have no defences today against hypersonic weapons or cruise missiles, if we’re talking about advanced cruise missiles,” Berkowitz concluded.
The stark assessment comes amid concerns over evolving military capabilities of nations like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, forcing Washington to acknowledge major gaps in its homeland missile defence.
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When Will the Golden Dome Be Ready?
The Trump administration is, meanwhile, advancing plans for a comprehensive homeland missile shield dubbed the “Golden Dome”.
The proposed system, estimated to cost somewhere between $175 billion and $185 billion, aims to integrate AI-driven command systems and interceptors across land, sea, air and space, combining kinetic and non-kinetic responses and space-based sensors, along with other emerging technologies, to provide nationwide coverage against a full spectrum of aerial threats, including traditional ballistic missiles, new-age drones and cruise missiles, among other munitions.
Trump’s Golden Dome Czar, Space Force General Michael Guetlein, said the goal is to deliver an operational capability of Golden Dome by 2028, supported by a funding request that includes more than $17 billion in the near term. The full projected cost of the programme is estimated at about $185 billion through the 2030s.
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US In ‘Capacity Debt’
The hearing also exposed deeper structural issues within the US defence industrial base. US Air Force Lieutenant General Heath A Collins, US Missile Defence Agency Director, said years of underinvestment have left the country with what he called a “capacity debt”, limiting its ability to produce interceptors and sustain high-intensity conflict scenarios. He warned that supply chains will take time to scale up.
US lawmakers pointed to lessons from recent conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and fighting in the Middle East, where large volumes of missiles and drones have overwhelmed air defence systems. Officials stressed the need for greater “magazine depth”, or the ability to sustain prolonged defensive operations.
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Lawmakers’s Concerns
Lawmakers raised concerns over both the cost and the funding mechanism. Senator Angus King questioned the use of a reconciliation process outside the traditional appropriations route, calling it “a huge mistake” and warning that it reduces congressional oversight.
King also pressed officials on whether the longstanding doctrine of nuclear deterrence remains sufficient. Berkowitz responded that the current strategic environment is more complex than during the Cold War, noting the presence of “multiple nuclear-armed rivals” with advanced missile capabilities.
He argued that missile defence would complement deterrence, providing “both a sword and a shield” to strengthen security and protect civilians if deterrence fails.