Golden Dome & Its Legal and Geopolitical Implications

1. What is the Golden Dome?

• A proposed $175 billion U.S. space-based missile shield, announced by President Trump in May 2025.

• Aims to counter ballistic, hypersonic, and orbital threats.

• Involves a constellation of satellite interceptors, possibly armed with kinetic or directed-energy weapons.

2. Legal Concerns under International Space Law

• Outer Space Treaty (OST), 1967 – Article IV:

  • Prohibits placement of nuclear or WMDs in orbit.

  • Bans military activities on celestial bodies.

  • Allows peaceful use and scientific military presence.

• Loophole: Treaty doesn’t explicitly ban conventional weapons in space.

• Risk: Although not legally violating OST, the strategic impact (first-strike advantage, destabilisation) contravenes the spirit of arms control.

3. Threat to Global Norms

• Violates UN’s PAROS (Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space) norm.

• Dual-use ambiguity:

  • Interceptors meant for missile defence could target satellites.

  • Risks mistrust, miscalculation, and strategic instability.

• China & Russia have condemned the move.

4. India’s Strategic Dilemma

• India is a partner in space situational awareness with the U.S.

• Faces a conflict:

  • Tactical alignment with U.S.

  • But a normative commitment to peaceful use of space.

• Risks:

  • Association may undermine India’s leadership in Global South & PAROS advocacy.

  • May affect India’s credibility in space governance debates.

5. Implications for India’s Space Activities Bill

• The bill is expected to regulate dual-use platforms, private participation, and international obligations.

• Golden Dome challenges India to:

  • Define clear boundaries between cooperation and militarisation.

  • Uphold normative leadership without hurting strategic ties.

6. Wider Global Repercussions

• Golden Dome could:

  • Normalize weaponisation of space.

  • Trigger arms races, leading to space becoming a battlefield.

  • Force smaller nations to adopt asymmetric warfare (cyberattacks, jamming, debris generation).

• Could unravel 58 years of peaceful space cooperation under OST.

7. Way Forward

• Modernise international space law, especially OST’s provisions on conventional weapons and dual-use technologies.

• India and others must advocate:

  • Binding treaties banning all types of space-based weapons.

  • Transparency and confidence-building measures in space military activities.

• National laws like India’s Space Activities Bill should:

• Set clear defence cooperation guidelines.

• Promote responsible space practices.

UPSC Syllabus

GS Paper 2 – International Relations

• Bilateral ties (India-U.S. strategic partnership)

• Role of international institutions and treaties (OST, PAROS)

• Global governance of commons (Outer Space)

GS Paper 3 – Security and Technology

• Strategic implications of space weaponisation

• Dual-use technology and arms race in outer space

• Cybersecurity, satellite defence, and AI in military domain

Essay & Ethics

• Ethical challenges in militarising commons like space

• Balancing technological progress with international peace