President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security advisor said the United States needs an Iron Dome. The statement comes as unidentified drones have been spotted around the country.
Speaking to CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) said the drone issue points to “gaps” in federal agencies and law enforcement.
“So when we come in, you know, how do we enforce these low-level, long-loitering, could-be-dangerous drones? And one thing for people to appreciate, you know, they’re evolving so rapidly, it’s not necessarily somebody that’s just on the other end flying it,” he added. “They could be following pre-positioned GPS coordinates. They could be coming from offshore. And we need to take a hard look at our homeland defenses.”
Waltz referenced Trump’s suggestion to develop an Iron Dome over the United States. “President Trump has talked about an Iron Dome for America. That needs to include drones as well, not just adversarial actions like hypersonic missiles,” he said. “We need to have an all of the above protection of U.S. airspace.”
The creation of an “Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield” was included on the 2024 GOP platform.
“Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World,” the platform document states. “We will invest in cutting-edge research and advanced technologies, including an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, support our Troops with higher pay, and get woke Leftwing Democrats fired as soon as possible.”
Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this year, Trump said, “In my next term, we will build a great Iron Dome over our country — a dome like has never been seen before.” He explained the dome would be a “state-of-the-art missile-defense shield that will be entirely built in America and create jobs, jobs, jobs.”
“We’re going to build it in America,” Trump added. “Israel has it. Israel has it. Why don’t we have it?”
