US president Donald Trump signed a bold executive order, tasking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with a 60-day countdown to supercharge America’s missile defenses. From hypersonic and ballistic space sensors to shields against cruise missiles and next-gen aerial threats—the first test fires up on Guam.
After sixty days, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is expected to deliver a report outlining recommendations for a modern air defense system. Central to the proposal will be the integration of layered hypersonic and ballistic missile sensors positioned in space. While the concept feels futuristic, it’s rooted in history—another Republican president, Ronald Reagan, envisioned a similar system decades ago. Northrop Grumman is set to supply MBRV-11 training ballistic missiles for this initiative.
Back then, Reagan’s plan was famously dubbed Star Wars, a nod to George Lucas’ space epic. Donald Trump referenced this during a recent speech to Republican senators in Florida. But this isn’t the only familiar name he’s borrowing—he also plans to call the new system Iron Dome, echoing Israel’s well-known short-range missile defense network. However, the similarities stop at the name. Conceptually, Trump’s version reaches further back, resembling Reagan’s 1980s-era vision more than the Israeli model. Lockheed Martin, for example, is involved through its work on the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI).
Reagan’s Star Wars
Reagan, a Hollywood actor before his presidency, loved pop culture references. He appeared in over fifty films and even earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. So it came as no surprise when he framed the Cold War in cinematic terms—calling the Soviet Union the “Evil Empire” and naming his missile defense plan after Return of the Jedi.
Officially launched in 1983 as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), Reagan’s project aimed to shield the U.S. from intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads. It was a sweeping vision: orbiting satellites equipped with lasers or missiles, global launch-detection systems, and an interconnected web of analytical centers scattered across continents.
Although the SDI program spanned nearly three decades, much of its ambition was limited by the technology of its time. Still, with the advances in space and defense technology today, elements of Reagan’s dream may finally be poised for liftoff—under a new name, and a new administration.
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From Sci-Fi to Strategy: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Star Wars
It didn’t take long in the 1980s to realize that many of the Star Wars-era defense concepts were more at home in science fiction than in real-world strategy. Ground-based laser systems lacked the power to do more than lightly scorch a sheet of paper from a few dozen meters away, and the much-hyped orbital lasers—envisioned to fire powerful particle beams—failed to meet expectations.
The final blow came when the American Physical Society issued a sobering report to the Pentagon: a laser system with the necessary capabilities would require several more decades of development. Still, by the end of the decade, a number of experimental orbital missions had been conducted. These tests played a vital role in advancing satellite technology—but they came at a high cost. With the Cold War ending and the USSR collapsing, public interest in funding an expensive space-based weapons program quickly faded. Without a clear adversary, the mission lost its urgency—and its budget.
A Debt to Repay?
In the 1990s, many of these ambitious defense programs were shelved. But now, in a world shaped by new geopolitical threats and vastly improved technologies, some of them are resurfacing. The Star Wars program is one such revival. This time, the technological odds are far better—and the private sector is ready to step in.
There’s growing speculation that Elon Musk is one of the key drivers behind the reboot. After reportedly contributing nearly $300 million to Donald Trump’s campaign, some now see the renewed focus on space defense as part of a broader effort to repay that support—through lucrative government contracts. And who better to receive them than SpaceX, Musk’s crown jewel in the aerospace sector?
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