China fields Golden Dome prototype

China has deployed a working prototype of a global defence system similar to the United States’ proposed Golden Dome, while hailing a breakthrough in data processing technology for worldwide threat management, according to scientists involved in the project.

Although the “distributed early warning detection big data platform” is still in its early stages of development, it can simultaneously monitor a thousand missiles fired at China from anywhere in the world, according to the developers.

By leveraging diverse sensors in space, the ocean, the air and on the ground, the system identifies and analyses potential threats, acquiring critical information in real time, such as flight trajectories, weapon types and whether they are true warheads or decoys to guide interception systems.

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The team says the system can integrate data from different types of military platforms – developed by various suppliers, deployed in different regions and over different time periods – and transmit and analyse massive volumes of data at high speed through highly secure but bandwidth-limited military networks, even when subject to interference or disruption.

It is the first missile defence system known to reach planet-wide coverage.

The US’ missile defence system is divided into separate regional segments. In May, President Donald Trump proposed the Golden Dome initiative to break down geographical barriers and achieve global information sharing.

But to date, no fundamental architectural plan has been established. Neither the Pentagon nor defence contractors have proposed a feasible solution for managing data flows, or reached consensus on how the system will be implemented.

South China Morning Post