Trump's Golden Dome will cost 10 to 100 times more than the Manhattan Project(arstechnica.com)
24 pointsby voxadam16 hours ago5 comments
  • jerlam16 hours ago
    The correct comparison is to Reagan's Star Wars missile defense project in the 80s which was impossible to fund. We'd be better off developing and selling the products to smaller, richer nations that don't have the advantage of aircraft carriers.
    • recursivecaveat3 hours ago
      SDI was very destabilizing as well. You are basically announcing that at a future date you will hold all the nuclear cards. So there's some rationale to any adversary launching on you today, before you complete the program; at which point you could club them over the head while they can't fight back.
    • bigbadfeline12 hours ago
      > Star Wars missile defense project in the 80s which was impossible to fund.

      You mean, it was impossible to fund until the achievement of tangible results, multiple projects were funded under that umbrella and many got rich from it, if you ask them, they'd say it was worth it.

      Similarly, the people who advocate for this project are among those who'd gain from it, not among those who'd pay for it. Without that crucial difference, their story would be very different.

      • jerlam11 hours ago
        I was thinking more along the lines of "it is impossible for it to actually work without spending more money that exists in the universe" but you are also correct.
  • jleyank15 hours ago
    If it’s supposed to defend against nukes, how will it stop a ship sailing into harbour? Or a mini sub? Not every big boom is a missile. He’ll, there’s always a truck with a big honkin’ pile of fertilizer a la Oklahoma City.
  • Ancalagon15 hours ago
    Tangentially related - why is this man so obsessed with gold?
  • bigyabai16 hours ago
    Anyone with a basic understanding of the Iron Dome should be able to conclude that it is not a feasible defense solution for the United States.

    We're just too damn big.

    • _wire_15 hours ago
      You say that, but it's going to be made out of gold!

      --

      "I love it! The look of it! The smell of it! The taste of it! The texture! I love gold so much I lost my genitalia in an unfortunate smelting accident!"

  • ashoeafoot14 hours ago
    [dead]