US President Donald Trump has announced that he has approved spending of $175 billion for the multi-layered Golden Dome missile defense program, which aims to counter aerial threats “even if they come from space.”
As part of the project, the US will deploy missile interceptors in space to protect itself from ballistic and hypersonic threats.
What did Trump announce?
Trump announced an initial funding of $25 billion for the project, which will cost a total of $175 billion and will be completed by the end of his current term in 2029.
“Once fully built, Golden Dome will be able to intercept missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the planet, even if they are launched from space,” Trump stressed.
Trump also announced that U.S. Space Force General Michael Gatlin would be the lead director of the program, responsible for overseeing the project’s progress.
“I promised the American people that I would build a state-of-the-art missile defense shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack,” Trump said.
Trump also announced, “Canada has reached out to us, they want to be part of the project. So we’ll be talking to them.”
What is Golden Dome?
Trump said that Golden Dome will shoot down “hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles and advanced cruise missiles.” He added that the program will have space-based interceptors and sensors.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said for his part that the system aims to protect the “homeland from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones, whether they are conventional or nuclear weapons.”
The announcement came a few months after Trump’s executive order (27/1), which said “to immediately begin construction of a state-of-the-art Iron Dome missile shield, which will be able to protect Americans.”
Iron Dome is Israel’s missile defense system that detects an incoming missile, determines its course and intercepts it. The development of the system was funded by the US through a grant.
Trump noted that existing defense capabilities will be used in the construction of the project and estimated the total cost to be about $175 billion.
The White House has not yet provided further details about the project. While Trump said the system would be developed in the United States, he did not name which companies would be involved.
A space-based defense system was first envisioned by Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989. In the midst of the Cold War, Reagan had advocated building a “barrier” against nuclear weapons, which included space technology, as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars.
“We will actually complete the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago, ending the missile threat to our homeland forever,” Trump said on Tuesday.
Is it possible?
Industry experts have questioned the plan’s timeline and budget.
Funding for the Golden Dome has yet to be secured. At a press conference on Tuesday, Trump confirmed that he has requested $25 billion for the system in a tax cut bill currently moving through Congress, although that amount could be cut amid ongoing negotiations.
In addition, some variation in the total cost of the project is expected. Three versions of the plan, described as “moderate,” “high,” and “extremely high.” These versions correspond to the number of satellites, sensors, and interceptors that will be placed in space. Trump chose the “high” version, which has an initial cost ranging between $30 billion and $100 billion.
“The new data suggests a cost of $175 billion, but the question remains: When could it be completed? Probably in 10 years,” Tom Karako, a senior fellow in the Defense and Security Division of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Reuters.
On May 1, 42 Democratic members of the US Congress signed a letter rejecting the possible involvement of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is among the leading technology companies seeking to build key components of the Golden Dome.
“Mr. Musk has exerted inappropriate influence in the Golden Dome contract case. This is a continuation of a disturbing pattern in which Mr. Musk has violated conflict of interest rules,” the letter said, among other things.
How are Russia and China responding?
The United States sees a growing threat from China and Russia, its main competitors.
In recent decades, China has greatly advanced its ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow has one of the most advanced intercontinental-range missile systems on the planet. Russia and the United States have amassed the world’s largest arsenals of nuclear warheads.
The threat from drones has also increased amid the advancement of technology.
China has denounced the Golden Dome as a threat to international security and accused the United States of provoking an arms race.
“The United States puts its own interests above all else and is obsessed with pursuing its own absolute security, which violates the fundamental principle that no country should pursue its own security at the expense of the security of other countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said during a regular briefing.
“(The plan) increases the risk of space becoming a battlefield, fuels an arms race and undermines international security,” she added.
The Kremlin said the Golden Dome missile defense plan was a “dominant issue” for the United States.
“This is a dominant issue for the United States. If the United States believes that there is a missile threat, then of course it will develop a missile defense system,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“This is what all countries do,” he added.
“Of course, in the near future, the development of events will require the resumption of contacts to restore strategic stability,” he pointed out.
