President Donald Trump has selected the architecture for a space based missile defense shield that is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of his term.
The announcement from the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon represents one of the first concrete steps for the program—though Trump did not share any details of the plan he picked. Since he announced the program in January, the idea has driven lots of interest from industry even though the details have been sketchy at best.
“It’s about as close to perfect as you can have,” Trump said. “I think it’s something that’s great if you can afford to do it. We can afford to do it.”
At the helm: Trump tapped Gen. Michael Guetlein, the Space Force’s second-in-command, as the Golden Dome “czar” to oversee the program. It will be up to Guetlein to coordinate the different departments and agencies who could play a role in the system of ground and space-based assets tasked with detecting and stopping incoming missiles.
“Golden Dome is a bold and aggressive approach to hurry up and protect the homeland from our adversaries,” Guetlein said. “We owe it to our children and our children’s children to protect them, and afford them a quality of life that we have all grown up enjoying.”
Price tag: Trump has requested $25B for the Golden Dome project. The funding is included in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act—a wide-ranging piece of legislation proposed by the White House. The bill would push forward several Trump administration priorities including cuts to Medicaid, taxes, and green energy initiatives. Congress could vote on the bill as early as this week; that said, the legislation has divided the Republican Party, leaving the bill’s fate up in the air.
Even if lawmakers do approve the bill, Golden Dome will need substantially more funding than this initial investment. Trump said it will cost $175B to build the full system, right in line with a CBO estimate released this month that put the price between $161B and $542B over two decades.
“It’s amazing how easy this one is to fund,” Trump said. “When we say we’re going to save everyone’s lives in a crazy world, it seems to be very easy to get.”
Neighbor to the North: The president said Canada has expressed interest in joining the program and extending missile protection to America’s northern neighbor, but it’s unclear what that partnership would look like.
