Inside Trump’s new Star Wars program, plus HIMARS dispatch

In today’s episode, we explore Donald Trump’s bold new vision for
a space-based missile defence system — a futuristic project
dubbed the Golden Dome. Announced in the Oval Office with his
defence secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump claims the system will
protect the U.S. from missile attacks launched from anywhere on
Earth — or even from space.


Featuring cutting-edge technologies deployed across land, sea,
and orbit, the Golden Dome is billed as the most advanced missile
shield ever imagined. But is it real science or just science
fiction? What would it cost — and would it actually work? To help
us unpack the reality behind the rhetoric, we speak to Julia
Cournoyer, from Chatham House’s International Security Programme.


Plus, Venetia Rainey goes to Sweden’s Gotland island to see the
British and American armies conduct the first ever simultaneous
live fire drill with HIMARS and MLRS. She asks if Donald Trump’s
hostile attitude towards European security is affecting military
cooperation on the ground.


Read Venetia's dispatch here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/05/26/trump-withdraw-troops-from-europe-army-has-other-ideas/


Contact us with feedback or ideas:


battlelines@telegraph.co.uk 


@venetiarainey


@RolandOliphant


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