Trump Unveils $175 Billion 'Golden Dome' Missile Defense Project

Sacramento – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a $175 billion missile defense initiative named the "Golden Dome," positioning it as a transformative, large-scale national security effort. The system will be led by U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein and is intended to function as a comprehensive shield against aerial threats to the continental United States and Canada.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump—accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Guetlein—described the Golden Dome as a "Manhattan Project-level" undertaking. “It’s a great day for America,” he declared, gesturing to a gold-tinted map of the U.S. adorned with artistic depictions of missile interceptions.

Trump said the system would integrate with existing defense infrastructure and be fully operational within three years, before the end of his term.

The Golden Dome will utilize a constellation of satellites designed to detect, track, and intercept incoming missiles—including those launched from across the globe or from space. Trump emphasized the system's reach and technological superiority: “It will be capable of intercepting missiles, even those launched from the other side of the world or from orbit.”

Originally introduced during the administration’s first week as the “Iron Dome for America,” the project was renamed “Golden Dome” in February, reportedly due to potential trademark conflicts with Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

General Guetlein, a former vice chief of space operations in the U.S. Space Force, brings deep expertise in missile defense and space-based capabilities. In March, he described the scope of Golden Dome as comparable in scale to the historic Manhattan Project, calling for top-level governmental coordination and national resolve.

While Trump’s announced $175 billion cost is substantial, it falls below earlier estimates. A 2024 Congressional Budget Office analysis projected total costs ranging between $161 billion and $542 billion over two decades. A 2012 National Research Council study estimated the cost of a full-scale space-based missile defense system could exceed $831 billion (adjusted for 2025 dollars).

Some lawmakers, including Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, who chairs the newly formed "Golden Dome Caucus," have said the actual costs may ultimately reach into the trillions.

Defense experts have raised questions about the plan’s feasibility. Scaling up Israel’s Iron Dome—designed to counter short-range projectiles—to defend an area 400 times larger and against advanced threats like ballistic and hypersonic missiles is a massive technical leap.

Major defense contractors including SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril are expected to compete for key contracts. Their proposals involve deploying hundreds to thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites to deliver constant, 3D missile tracking and interception.

On Capitol Hill, Republican lawmakers are working to allocate $27 billion for Golden Dome within a broader $150 billion defense funding package, tied to Trump’s tax-cut reconciliation bill.

According to Space Force officials, the system will rely heavily on space-based sensors and interceptors to provide early warning and rapid-response capabilities. Proponents argue that advances in satellite and sensor technology make such a system more feasible today than in past efforts, such as President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative.

However, critics warn that deploying weapons in space could provoke a new arms race and undermine longstanding arms-control treaties. Dr. Laura Grego, research director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, dismissed the project as “fantasy” in a statement earlier this year, warning that adversaries could easily develop countermeasures.

"Trump’s idea of a space-based missile defense is a bad investment," the organization concluded, noting that previous space-defense initiatives were abandoned due to being prohibitively expensive, technically unviable, and easily neutralized.

With inputs from IANS