Pentagon Officials Warn US Lacks Defense Against China, Russia Hypersonic Weapons

The United States will struggle to defend itself against advanced missile systems developed by China and Russia, senior Pentagon officials told lawmakers as they called for funding for the proposed Golden Dome missile defense program. President Donald Trump unveiled the initiative shortly after taking office in January 2025, proposing a large-scale investment – potentially reaching hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade – to expand ground- and space-based capabilities. The upgrade is urgently needed, as the US has "a very limited ground-based single layer homeland defense system that was specifically designed against a small scale rogue attack," Assistant Secretary of War for Space Policy Marc Berkowitz said at a Senate armed services committee hearing on Monday. The country would face serious issues against ballistic missiles and has "no defense against hypersonic weapons or cruise missiles today," he stressed. Michael Guetlein, who leads the Golden Dome program within the US Space Force, testified that both China and Russia are continuing to modernize and expand their missile arsenals. He pointed to the deployment of hypersonic glide vehicles – warheads capable of maneuvering at high speeds within the atmosphere after launch – as well as Russia's development of the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile. These systems, Guetlein said, are "designed to challenge the tracking and engagement capabilities of our sensors" and ensure a "responsive and survivable strike capability." Moscow has said its investment in advanced strategic weapons was largely a response to the US withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty under President George W. Bush. Washington's move was required to develop a national anti-ballistic missile system. While the US has insisted that the shield was aimed at countering limited threats from countries such as North Korea or Iran, Russian officials have long warned it was undermining nuclear deterrence by enabling a potential decapitating first strike. In that scenario, Moscow argued, American missile interceptors could be used to neutralize a retaliatory strike by surviving Russian missiles. The US-Israeli war on Iran has raised questions about Washington's missile defense capacity, with reports suggesting that interceptor stockpiles used in systems such as THAAD and Patriot have been significantly depleted, potentially requiring years to rebuild. The Golden Dome system is expected to cost around $175 billion over the next decade, according to initial estimates by the Trump administration, although Pentagon projections have since risen to roughly $185 billion and some analysts warn the final price could be substantially higher.