Russia criticized the U.S.’ proposed Golden Dome missile defense system Monday, warning it could destabilize global nuclear deterrence, according to reports.
According to TASS, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev told Kommersant newspaper that the ambitious project is extremely ‘provocative.’
‘Problems in the strategic sphere resulting from destabilizing U.S. actions only continue to grow. It is enough to recall the highly provocative anti-missile project ‘Golden Dome for America,’’ he said, TASS reported.
‘It fundamentally contradicts the assertion of the inseparable interrelationship between offensive and defensive strategic arms, which, by the way, was enshrined in the preamble of New START,’ Medvedev added, citing the treaty that protects U.S. national security by placing limits on Russia’s deployed intercontinental nuclear weapons.
A defense expert says Russia’s reaction underscores the Golden Dome’s power as a geopolitical signal to the world.
‘Even before it has been built, the dome is military focused and politically focused and an incredible bargaining chip with U.S. adversaries,’ defense expert Cameron Chell told Fox News Digital.
‘In this case, it is Russia and China in particular, in terms of how the U.S. postures for negotiating peace terms, treaty terms and whether the U.S. will be negating their already existing arsenal,’ the Draganfly CEO claimed.
The Golden Dome is a long-term missile defense concept aimed at protecting North America from ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missile threats.
Chell spoke after the Pentagon released its National Defense Strategy on Jan. 23, outlining a renewed focus on homeland defense, expanded missile defense, counter-drone systems, cyber capabilities and long-range strike forces.
The planned Golden Dome missile defense shield is designed to defeat ‘large missile barrages and other advanced aerial attacks,’ the strategy said, while also hardening military and key civilian infrastructure against cyber strikes as Russia and China continue expanding their hypersonic weapons programs.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, China has also pushed back against the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, accusing Washington of undermining global strategic stability and risking the weaponization of outer space.
‘There’s big value in the talk and the build-out of Golden Dome, even long before it gets built, not to mention the research and technology development that comes out of it,’ Chell said.
‘The posturing and the economic benefits of building something like this are also factored into why the dome is so important.’
The project’s sheer scale is expected to drive its strategic impact but could also come with an enormous price tag.
‘The dome is going to take trillions to build and is the largest military project, probably the largest engineering and technology project ever attempted, so there are going to be challenges getting it done,’ Chell explained.
‘The U.S. has ten years of planning, including where they are going to have communication links, radar systems, and early warning systems.’ That planning, Chell noted, is shifting focus north.
‘In order to protect the U.S., you want to take things down before they get over the top of the country,’ Chell said.
‘Places like Canada, or even further north, become the dropping ground. You want to get these threats as soon as possible.’
Canada and Greenland are viewed by U.S. defense planners as critical for radar coverage, space tracking and early-warning infrastructure.
‘The idea is something being shot down from space, but to do that you need very detailed landscape data of the entire North and you need access to the North,’ Chell said.
President Trump has long argued the U.S. must control Greenland for national security reasons, citing its strategic Arctic location and natural resources.
‘There needs to be infrastructure and oversight in the far north, in Canada, in Greenland, and places like that,’ Chell said. ‘All that planning has to be done well ahead of time, before we have anything operational.’
Chell also pointed to the potential role of drones in supporting the Golden Dome’s broader mission.
‘Drones could be part of informing the Golden Dome as reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence tools,’ he said, adding that the ‘entire military complex is integrated.’
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of War for comment.