New ‘Golden Dome’ Tech Could Make Nukes Obsolete – But Issues Remain

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Trump’s Golden Dome could make nuclear weapons irrelevant. “Mutually Assured Destruction” (MAD) has been a cornerstone of global stability since the dawn of the atomic age.

Yet, this fragile equilibrium always depended on one certainty: No defense is strong enough to stop a determined nuclear attack. Golden Dome can change that calculus.

But, Golden Dome faces myriad challenges of size, scope and scale from every angle to protect a country the size of U.S. Defending U.S. from hypersonics and drones also creates major challenges.

And, Golden Dome: Loosen the gag order and start talking. Trump’s signature initiative, next-generation missile defense system for the U.S. homeland, is both strategically necessary and long overdue. And it is already at risk of failure.

If the Pentagon does not start explaining the Golden Dome, it will never be built.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

President Donald Trump did not rule out military action against Venezuela despite bringing up potential diplomatic opening with the country’s illegitimate socialist leader Nicolás Maduro.

On eve of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington, Trump says he will sell F-35 advanced fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

From lasers to logistics: Pentagon’s new top six tech priorities. By slashing Biden list of “critical technology areas” (CTAs) in half, Chief Technology Officer aims to focus resources on key R&D projects and accelerate them into “sprints” that produce usable tech in three years or less.

Pentagon’s missions and personnel increasingly vulnerable to “malicious actors” who can disrupt operations by aggregating digital public information from data brokers, websites and other sources.

Pentagon touts revised cyber force generation model, but some say changes won’t solve fundamental problems that can only be fixed by creating new cyber-focused military service.

Hidden cost of a missile: Why headlines get cost wrong. Since late 2023, Navy has fired nearly $1 billion worth of munitions to protect ships in Red Sea from low-cost Houthi drones and missiles. But this misses bigger picture and cost.

HOMELAND SECURITY & DEFENSE

FBI Director Kash Patel granted waivers to Deputy Director Dan Bongino and two other newly hired senior FBI staffers, exempting them from polygraph exams normally required to gain access to most sensitive classified information.

Tennessee judge blocked use of National Guard in Memphis under Trump crime-fighting operation but also put the order on hold, giving government five days to appeal.

US POWER OVERSEAS

Ecuadoreans are voting whether to lift constitutional ban on foreign military bases as conservative President Daniel Noboa pushes for help from U.S. in confronting spiraling drug-fueled violence.

Turning East Asia map shows strategic power of U.S. alliances. Commanding general of U.S. Forces Korea is urging military planners to rethink how they view East Asia — literally — by rotating the map 90 degrees.

SWARMS demo. Army plans for high-altitude balloon swarm experiment in Indo-Pacific region are expanding, with more platforms and help from North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track them.

Cutting-edge Army unit challenged right out the gate with complex NATO drill. Germany-based Army unit dubbed test bed for high-tech battlefield operations is fresh off facing its first big test.

These are approximate positions of Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout world as of Nov. 17, 2025.

Local Japanese civil officials again call for end to fixed-wing field carrier landing practices at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, due to noise.

Despite U.S. interest in deeper military ties with Vietnam, visit by SECWAR Pete Hegseth to the country did not yield expected announcement on arms sales.

CHINA THREAT

U.S. Navy commander called China’s shipbuilding capability “impressive” as Beijing moves ahead with rapid buildup of world’s largest navy. He added he is keeping close eye on it, and said U.S. cooperation with Asian allies South Korea and Japan is essential for our own shipbuilding capability.

Japan says warplanes scrambled as Chinese drone detected near southern island of Yonaguni close to Taiwan.

RUSSIA THREAT

Slow motion: Russia vs. NATO. American writer and thinker thinks we ought to stop invoking the two world wars as comparison to present. It just muddies the waters. Our present conditions are different. The upshot of making such comparisons is bad foreign policy.

Poland’s Chief of the General Staff warns that wave of Russian cyberattacks and suspected sabotage marks “pre-war” phase where adversary prepares conditions for future aggression.

Ukraine to buy up to 100 French-made Rafale F-4 fighters and advanced air defense from France.

Drone struck Turkish-flagged tanker and set it ablaze in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region, day after Zelenskyy signed deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through the area.

MIDDLE EAST THREATS

UN Security Council approved U.S. plan for Gaza that authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security in the territory and envisions possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.

One of the oddest UN resolutions in history seeks to solidify shaky Gaza ceasefire into an enduring peace.

Israeli settlers rampaged through Palestinian village in occupied West Bank in latest settler attacks in recent weeks, drawing rare condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders.

Tanker seizure violates international law, CENTCOM says. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in Strait of Hormuz last week.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

The day South Korea obtains nuclear-powered submarines will change security picture on Korean Peninsula, but that day is still years away, despite new deal with U.S., says U.S. chief of naval operations.

South Korea proposed talks with North Korea to clarify the rivals’ border line, saying North Korean soldiers’ repeated border intrusions have raised risk of unwanted armed clash.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

UK says F-35 fleet will remain in frontline service into 2060s, while declining to specify when sixth-generation aircraft will begin replacing Typhoons and F-35s.

UK revising delayed F-35 stealth verification plans to 2027 because it does not yet have domestic facility to measure stealth characteristics of its F-35B fleet.

UK is still weighing sites for six new ‘always on’ munitions plants promised in Strategic Defense Review.

Japan recently flight tested developing hypersonic missile system designed to defend Tokyo’s islands from foreign warships.

US MILITARY

MQ-20 Avenger drone flew mock mission directed by pilot in F-22 Raptor during demonstration earlier this year. This, part of larger effort for crewed-uncrewed teaming between F-22s and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones.

Air Force poised to begin evaluating new class of low-cost missiles needed to defeat kind of aerial threats it’s likely to face in future conflict.

With first example of Boeing’s F-47 sixth-generation stealth fighter for Air Force now in production, its NGAD X-plane prototyping effort allowed program to move forward rapidly.

Boeing says MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone on track for first live-fire weapons shot next month, which will employ AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).

Naval Special Warfare Command looking to launch 10-day school to teach its sailors and SEALs how to build and fly first-person-view drones, repair them, and put operators through final field exercise with them.

10 years since first flight. Today there are 20 CH-53K King Stallions executing missions with four different Navy and Marine Corps squadrons.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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