In a bit of verbal alchemy, the Pentagon is turning iron into gold.
The Midas touch of Pentagon bureaucracy has just hit President Trump’s “Iron Dome” missile defense shield, which shall be henceforth known as “Golden Dome.”
The billionaire president – known for his love of incorporating gold details into his own residential aesthetic – in his opening line of his inaugural address, promised a “golden age in America.”
Naturally, such an endeavor is best protected by a dome in matching colors.
Trump signed an executive order in January to develop a next-generation homeland missile defense shield.
The order – titled “The Iron Dome For America” shared a name with the successful, lowest tier of Israel’s multilayered air defense system of the same name.
Yet the name sparked confusion that the order actually called for the use of the specific Israeli system to defend the homeland, which was never the case. Missile defense experts agree Iron Dome would be ill-suited for such a mission to provide air and missile defense to a vast territory like the continental U.S.
And, in fact, Iron Dome is a trade-marked name owned by Israeli defense firm, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
“Please note the Department of Defense has renamed this program from “Iron Dome for America” to “Golden Dome for America,” a Feb. 24 amendment to a request for information from industry, posted to the federal business opportunities website, Sam.gov, reads.
The Missile Defense Agency’s RFI posting notes that since the deadline to receive information from industry on developing a new missile defense shield is Feb. 28, the agency will continue to use Iron Dome in reference to the program as answers are submitted to avoid confusion.
In other words, the bureaucracy has yet to catch up on the metallurgical magic.
The Missile Defense Agency and the Pentagon referred queries on the reasoning behind the name change to the White House. The White House did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
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