He certainly sounds passionate about the Golden Dome project and the reasons why America must begin “doubling down on the protection of the homeland,” as he put it during an appearance alongside Mr. Trump in the Oval Office.

But Gen. Guetlein, 57, faces a tough task overseeing the ambitious missile shield project on a tight three-year timeline. Key lawmakers say the four-star general is up to the task. And he certainly brings an impressive resume to the table, one that makes him uniquely qualified to lead the Golden Dome initiative.

His official bio is here, but a few quick highlights: Gen. Guetlein has commanded and led at the flight, squadron, division, directorate, program executive officer and field command levels. Past positions include commander, Space Systems Command; deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office and commander of the Air and Space Force Element; program executive for Programs and Integration at the Missile Defense Agency; and a host of others.

As expected, defense industry leaders are positioning themselves to be a part of the Golden Dome. Lockheed Martin said in a social media post that the company is “ready now to support this mission.” 

Defense firm L3Harris praised Sen. Jim Banks, Indiana Republican, for mentioning the company’s satellite manufacturing facilities to the president during Tuesday’s Oval Office announcement. Other industry leaders will likely weigh in with public statements soon.

Behind the scenes, the jockeying for Golden Dome contracts began long before Mr. Trump’s announcement. The project is expected to bring together a host of defense companies, from major “primes” such as Lockheed Martin to relatively newer players in the sector, such as Palantir and Anduril. 

Germany is pursuing a goal it hasn’t achieved since the pre-World War II era: to wield the strongest military in Europe.

Military Correspondent Mike Glenn examines this issue. He reports on comments from German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who told reporters on the sidelines of a European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Tuesday that his country is open to raising its annual military spending to 5% of its gross domestic product.

Germany hit the 2% mark last year. Mr. Pistorius said he envisions his nation raising its military spending share of GDP each year for the next seven years, eventually hitting the 5% figure. That would enable Chancellor Friedrich Merz to achieve his ambitious goal of making the Bundeswehr — Germany’s military — into the strongest army in Europe.

Nearly 80 years after the U.S. dropped nuclear weapons on Hiroshima, Asia Editor Andrew Salmon examines this thorny, complex question: Is there anti-American sentiment in the Japanese city?

Mr. Salmon’s on-the-ground reporting from Hiroshima uncovers a mix of feelings about the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing, which killed an estimated 70,000 people that day alone. The total death toll, including those who died from diseases and sicknesses in the years after the blast, is estimated to be about 140,000.

Was it a necessary step for the U.S. to take? Here’s one view: “The U.S. believed atomic bombs could end the war,” said octogenarian Seiji Tsuji, a Japanese museum official in Hiroshima. 

Asked if that was justified, he said: “I think so. Japan was a militarized country.” 

From the Russia-Ukraine war to the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, Mr. Trump is pursuing peace in a world that’s ravaged by war and conflict. Joseph R. DeTrani, a former senior U.S. intelligence official and opinion contributor to Threat Status, explores Mr. Trump’s peace initiatives in a new column for The Washington Times.

He argues that Mr. Trump, beyond trying to end individual conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere, is actually presiding over a fundamental shift in the American approach.

“His dictum that ‘we have no permanent enemies’ is a powerful statement coming from the leader of the free world. Fortunately, the subject changed from more weapons that can kill more people, to what we must do to stop these wars, killing so many innocent people,” Mr. DeTrani writes.

• May 21 — AI and Intelligent Transformation of Organizations: An Insightful Conversation with Dr. Feiyu Xu, Stimson Center

• May 22 — U.S.-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference, Hudson Institute

• May 30-June 1 — IISS Shangri-La Dialogue (Singapore), International Institute for Strategic Studies

• June 3 — CNAS 2025 National Security Conference | America’s Edge: Forging the Future, Center for a New American Security 

• June 25 — The New IC, Intelligence and National Security Alliance