President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he chose the design for the Golden Dome missile defense system that aims to block a variety of threats posed by China and Russia and previewed the price tag of the ambitious project.
Trump first announced that his administration would move to create a Golden Dome missile defense system in January, which would use a large network of satellites to detect, track and intercept incoming missiles.
“Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space. And we will have the best system ever built,” Trump said.
Trump said that the total cost of the project will be $175 billion and that Republicans’ reconciliation package for tax-cut legislation will also include $25 billion in spending to start construction on the Golden Dome.
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“I’m also pleased to report that the ‘one big, beautiful bill’ will include $25 billion for the Golden Dome to help construction get underway,” Trump said, adding it will serve as a sort of down payment on the program.
“We’re talking about $175 billion total cost of this when it’s completed,” the president said. Trump added that he expects it to be operational by the end of his term in January 2029.
“We will truly be completing the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago for never ending the missile threat to the American homeland. And the success rate is very close to 100%, which is incredible. When you think of it, you’re shooting bullets out of the air.”
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The Golden Dome’s name is based on Israel’s Iron Dome, which is focused on defending against short-range rockets and missiles. Trump’s plans for a Golden Dome are more extensive and would involve an array of surveillance satellites as well as satellites that would shoot down offensive missiles.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated a previous analysis of space-based interceptors (SBI) against threats from regional powers, such as North Korea, to review the impact of lower launch costs on such systems. It found that the lowest-cost alternative would cost about $161 billion, while the highest-cost alternative would be $542 billion.
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The CBO report noted that the president’s proposed missile defense system would “require a more expansive SBI capability than the systems examined in the previous studies” due to more sophisticated threats to defend against. CBO added that it’s working on an analysis of those additional costs.
Trump said the program will involve the states of Alaska, Florida, Georgia and Indiana. He added that Canada’s government has expressed interest in participating in the program.
Among the companies named at the press conference that could be contractors for the program based on existing production lines include L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin and RTX.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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