China has reportedly developed a pioneering missile defence system capable of tracking global threats, similar to Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Dome project. The PLA’s prototype can monitor up to 1,000 missiles simultaneously, signalling a significant leap in China’s defence technology race.
In a major technological development, China has reportedly built a first-of-its-kind missile defence system capable of tracking and countering threats from anywhere in the world. The system, called the “distributed early warning detection big data platform,” has been compared to the United States’ Golden Dome project proposed by President Donald Trump, according to a report by The South China Morning Post.ย As per the report, the defence system is still in its early stages of development but can simultaneously monitor up to 1,000 missiles fired at China from across the globe. The system is part of the People’s Liberation Armyโs (PLA) strategic research and development in advanced defence technology.
Concept inspired by historic US missile defence ambitions
The report draws parallels between China’s recent project and America’s earlier missile defence dreams. In 1983, then US President Ronald Reagan had announced the ‘Strategic Defence Initiative’ (SDI), famously nicknamed ‘Star Wars’, during the Cold War nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. Addressing the nation on March 23, 1983, Reagan had said, “Imagine a system that could intercept and destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles before they reach our shores. Imagine a system that could protect our cities and our people from nuclear attack.”
Although Reagan’s vision never materialised before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the concept resurfaced decades later under Donald Trump. In May 2025. Trump proposed a $175 billion multilayered missile defence shield, dubbed the ‘Golden Dome’, featuring four layers of protection — one satellite-based and three land-based — with batteries deployed across the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii, according to Reuters.
China’s prototype claims global coverage
According to The South China Morning Post, Chinese scientists have already deployed a working prototype of their global missile defence platform. The system uses an extensive network of sensors in space, the ocean, the air, and on the ground to identify and analyse potential threats in real time.
It is reportedly the first known missile defence system to achieve planet-wide coverage and has been developed, tested, and deployed by the PLA. The prototype is capable of acquiring critical information such as light trajectories, weapon types, and whether objects are real warheads or decoys, helping guide interception systems effectively.
The scientists at the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology, Chinaโs largest defence electronics R&D centre, stated in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese journal Modern Radar on September 2, “The prototype system can achieve distributed parallel scheduling of up to 1,000 data processing tasks across nodes. Currently, the prototype system has been tested across multiple early warning and detection system nodes, achieving unified collection, processing, integration and analysis of fragmented, isolated and multi-format early warning and detection data.”
Experts see rising global defence competition
The development highlights the intensifying global competition in missile defence and strategic deterrence technologies. While the system remains in its early phase, experts believe Chinaโs push for global-scale defence capabilities could reshape the balance of power in strategic defence and spark renewed debates on space-based security systems.
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