JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for a “Golden Dome” to protect the United States from long-range missiles was at least partly inspired by Israel's multitiered missile defenses.
Trump announced the $175 billion concept in the Oval Office on Tuesday, saying it would put U.S. weapons in space for the first time and be would be “fully operational” by the end of his term in early 2029, though a U.S. official familiar with the program said it could take longer.
Israel's multilayered defenses, often collectively referred to as the “Iron Dome," have played a key role in defending it from rocket and missile fire from Iran and allied militant groups in the conflict unleashed by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
The sophisticated system, developed over decades with considerable U.S. support, is capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100% guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties.
Here’s a closer look at Israel’s multilayered air-defense system:
This system developed with the U.S. is designed to intercept long-range missiles. The Arrow, which operates outside the atmosphere, has been used to intercept long-range missiles launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and by Iran itself during two direct exchanges of fire last year.
Also developed with the U.S., David’s Sling is meant to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group. It was deployed on multiple occasions throughout the war with Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire last year.
This system, developed by Israel with U.S. backing, specializes in shooting down short-range rockets. It has intercepted thousands of rockets since it was activated early last decade — including volleys launched by Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel says it has a success rate of over 90%.
Israel is developing a new system to intercept incoming threats with laser technology. Israel has said this system will be a game changer because it would be much cheaper to operate than existing systems. According to Israeli media reports, the cost of a single Iron Dome interception is about $50,000, while the other systems can run more than $2 million per missile. Iron Beam interceptions, by contrast, would cost a few dollars apiece, according to Israeli officials — but the system is not yet operational.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
FILE - Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system fires to intercept as air raid sirens sound in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 23, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel, on Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Avi Roccah, File)
Posters for the proposed Golden Dome for America missile defense shield are displayed before an event with President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — By the time Phil Mickelson reached the 18th green at Oakmont on Friday evening, the once-packed grandstand was maybe a quarter-full. Same for the luxury suites.
There was no grand gesture as the 54-year-old Mickelson loped up the hill. No wave to the crowd the way Arnold Palmer did in the same spot on the same course 31 years ago. No lengthy standing ovation from the gallery in return either.
The man whose decades-long pursuit of the U.S. Open made him a fan favorite in his prime — not unlike Palmer in some ways — instead quietly marked his ball 16 feet from the hole, then walked over to the far edge of the green and stared at the leaderboard that glowed in the rainy twilight.
A birdie would have let Mickelson stick around for the weekend at his 34th — and perhaps last — trip to the national championship. Wearing a white hat featuring the logo of his LIV Golf team, the HyFlyers GC, Mickelson stood over the line trying to get the right read.
When the putt slid a foot left of the hole to keep Mickelson one outside the cut at plus-8, a small groan arose from those who stuck around. There was a shout or two of “We love you Phil!” Along the railing, a man leaned toward a friend and said, "His exemption is done. No more U.S. Open for you Phil.”
Maybe, maybe not.
The five-year exemption into the tournament that Mickelson received when he captured the 2021 PGA Championship is expiring. Whether he'll be back to make a run at the one major that has eluded him is anyone's guess.
Mickelson sure isn't saying. He politely declined to talk to reporters after emerging from the scoring area, disappearing into the clubhouse and an uncertain future at a tournament where he's been a runner-up six times.
There are a number of ways for Mickelson to make it to Shinnecock next June. The USGA could offer him an exemption, as it did at Torrey Pines in 2020, though that doesn't appear to be USGA chief championship officer John Bodenhamer's first choice.
“I think the way that we would also think of Phil is we hope he earns his way in, and I think he’d tell you the same thing,” Bodenhamer said Wednesday. "That’s what he did last time. We gave him one and then he went out and won the PGA Championship. So wouldn’t put it past him.”
Mickelson became the oldest major champion ever when he triumphed at Kiawah in 2021 at age 50. A lot has happened since then. Both on the course and off it.
The man known universally as “Lefty” played a major role in LIV Golf's rise, a move that has taken a bit of the shine off of his popularity back home.
And while Mickelson's game can still show flashes — he really did knock a sideways flop shot into the hole during a LIV event last week in Virginia — and he looks fitter now than he did two decades ago, the reality is the swashbuckling approach that once endeared him to so many doesn't work that much anymore at the U.S. Open.
Mickelson appeared to be in solid position to play the weekend when he stood on the 15th tee. He even on the day and 4 over for the tournament, well inside the cutline. A tee shot into the ankle deep rough at the 489-yard par 4 led to double bogey.
He still seemed to be OK when he got to 17, a short uphill par 4. His tee shot sailed into the rough above a greenside bunker. There would be no magic this time. His attempted flop splashed into the sand instead. He blasted out to 25 feet and three-putted for another double bogey.
That put him in a position he's been familiar with for a long time: heading to 18 at the U.S. Open needing to make a birdie of consequence. It didn't happen. And as he disappeared into the clubhouse, along with it came the realization that at this point, it likely never will.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Phil Mickelson watches his tee shot on the 13th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
