On Tuesday, the White House released Donald Trump’s executive order to build an “Iron Dome for America” missile defence shield.
If the highly ambitious project stays true to the wording in Mr Trump’s directive, US allies in the Middle East could benefit from the “dome” because the order says associated systems will protect “allied territories, troops, and populations”, including those countries where US forces are stationed.
Mr Trump’s “next-generation missile defence shield” will involve a mix of technology that sounds like science fiction, equipment already in orbit and on the ground, as well as some technology that is decades old.
What is Trump's Iron Dome?
But what exactly has Mr Trump called for? Firstly, the term Iron Dome is misleading. The Israeli system is used for short-range air defence, to intercept rockets and drones at altitudes and distances up to 70 kilometres, but more often at close range.
Mr Trump's reference to reviving the Ronald Reagan-era Star Wars programme, technically the Strategic Defence Initiative, is more accurate, referring to defending America from the “catastrophic” threat of “ballistic missiles,” which, fired from many thousands of kilometres away, descend from space at thousands of kilometres an hour.
The US Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) for example, reaches speeds of 24,000 kilometres an hour on its descent, although this slows considerably once back in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Star Wars was, Mr Reagan promised, “a vision of the future,” that would give Americans “hope” that the Soviet Union’s arsenal of tens of thousands of nuclear missiles could be blunted with space-based lasers or missiles.
“Current technology has attained a level of sophistication where it’s reasonable for us to begin this effort. It will take years, probably decades of effort,” Mr Reagan said, announcing the plan in 1983.
But the budget, initially put as high as $1 trillion or more, eventually withered by the 1990s, after a growing chorus of scientists said much of the technology was far off, while the US's main nuclear adversary, the Soviet Union, collapsed.
Mr Trump’s order says the Reagan effort “was cancelled before it could be realised,” warning that “the threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks, remains the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.”
A clear danger for US planners would be China, with a rapidly growing arsenal of several hundred nuclear weapons. The US and Russia both have roughly 1,700 deployed nuclear weapons, similar numbers because of nuclear disarmament treaties which are now fraying. Both have several thousand such weapons in reserve.
There were thought to be about 70,000 nuclear weapons in the mid-80s, enough to destroy the world several times over. But experts warn even a war where several hundred were used could cause global environmental damage and kill millions.
Mr Trump mentions “rogue adversaries,” almost certainly North Korea, which has nuclear-capable missiles thought to be able to hit the US mainland, and Iran, which the UN says could be capable of developing a nuclear bomb.
Space Force boosted
Much of the technology mentioned in Mr Trump’s executive order already exists, albeit in an early stage. It calls for the “development and deployment of a custody layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.”
PWSA is, according to the US Department of Defence, a “network of hundreds of optically connected satellites,” that will be able to track hypersonic missiles and aircraft, as well as support forces on the ground spotting enemies in far-flung locations and guiding attacks against them. About 27 of a projected 500 are already in space, although testing of their laser communications systems is ongoing.
This might cover Mr Trump’s call to defend against “advanced cruise missiles.” The latter could be Russia’s in-development Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile said to have unlimited range. The advantage of such a weapon is that, unlike ballistic missiles that can be spotted far from the mainland by radar beams pointing high above Earth, cruise missiles can fly under the radar horizon, close to the ground, making detection difficult until the last minute.
But 54 satellites in a “tracking layer,” could – according to the Space Development Agency, a part of Space Force – track these low flying weapons almost anywhere.
That would include the Middle East because, the order says, “the Secretary of Defence shall direct a review of theatre missile defence posture and initiatives to identify ways in which the United States and its allies can … Improve theatre missile defences of forward-deployed United States troops and allied territories, troops, and populations.”
To an extent, this is already the case. A constellation of satellites high above Earth, the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) detected Iranian missile launches in 2020, giving early warning to US forces under attack, and last year, helped defend Israel during two Iranian ballistic missile attacks.
SBIRS, which is undergoing an upgrade, can track and identify missile types, as well as giving an estimated impact point, within seconds.
Stopping the smaller “theatre ballistic missiles,” used against Israel is the job of the US Aegis system, THAAD and Israel’s Arrow, but stopping the much faster ICBMs is a tougher task.
Warheads on ICBMs – sometimes several are carried for each weapon – are extremely hard to shoot down with other missiles, although in 2020 the US Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence system intercepted a target representing an ICBM.
The US already has the Ground-based Midcourse Defence system, which is claimed to be able to offer “limited” protection for the US and Canada against ICBMs, coordinating with early warning satellites.
Mr Trump’s vision would boost this capability with “proliferated space-based interceptors.” It’s not clear what this means, but could refer to reviving a project like Brilliant Pebbles, a 1980s plan to send over 1,500 satellites into space which could then launch interceptors to crash into Soviet nuclear missiles not long after their launch.
Mr Trump’s plan also references “non-kinetic” capabilities, which could be a reference to cyber attacks to disrupt missile launches, or even sabotage operations within enemy states like North Korea.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
The five pillars of Islam
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
Mountain%20Boy
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zainab%20Shaheen%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Naser%20Al%20Messabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Esperance de Tunis 0
Al Ain 3 (Ahmed 02’, El Shahat 17’, Al Ahbabi 60’)
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Quran memorisation:
