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

An episode of the Iran: The Latest podcast, hosted by The Telegraph, titled "Inside Trump’s new Star Wars program, plus HIMARS dispatch" was published on May 23, 2025 and runs 29 minutes.

May 23, 2025 ·29m · Iran: The Latest

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Summary

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:[email protected] @venetiarainey@RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Description

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:

[email protected]

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.