US Special Operations and The “Golden Dome”
Take a look at USSOCOM’s Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) article on the “Golden Dome” concept, which frames homeland defense as a layered continental challenge involving hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles, and strategic drones that exploit gaps in legacy warning networks while policymakers move to connect forward base defense, integrated air and missile defense, space-based warning, cyber operations, and allied cooperation under a single architecture.
JSOU, the education component of USSOCOM, emphasizes the SOF-Space-Cyber Triad’s capabilities for addressing this dilemma, describing how USSOF uses global networks, irregular warfare experience, and deep partner access to improve decision advantage and deep-sensing in contested/denied environments, including their role as the Department of War integrator for counter-unmanned systems before launch and their involvement in forward-leaning initiatives that harness data science and artificial intelligence.
The article links these developments to recent Unified Command Plan changes, such as Greenland’s shift to USNORTHCOM and to planning for counterspace threats against satellites and ground nodes, arguing that how and where USSOF pairs with space and cyber capabilities will strongly influence flexible deterrent options and resilience for the defense of North America.
