Trump’s $1.2TN ‘Golden Dome’ Could Be Overwhelmed

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that developing, deploying, and operating US President Donald Trump's futuristic "Golden Dome" missile defense system for two decades will cost approximately $1.2 trillion (£882 billion).

This figure is significantly higher than the initial sum of $175 billion (£129 billion) that was originally allocated for the project.

Moreover, this system—designed to protect the US from ballistic and cruise missiles—may not even work. A new CBO report warns that the Golden Dome could be vulnerable to a full-scale attack by Russia or China.

In its new report, the fiscal watchdog stated that acquisition costs alone would exceed $1 trillion, a figure that includes the cost of interceptor layers as well as space-based missile warning and tracking systems.

Just days after returning to the White House in January, Trump unveiled plans for this system, which is intended to counter "next-generation" aerial threats.

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He stated last year that the program would require an initial investment of $25 billion, with its total cost eventually reaching $175 billion over time.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who requested the estimate featured in the report, said on Tuesday: "The President's so-called 'Golden Dome' is nothing more than a massive giveaway to defense contractors—one that hardworking Americans will end up paying for in full."

Skepticism persists regarding whether the US can successfully construct a comprehensive defense system for such a vast landmass.

Officials have warned that existing systems have struggled to keep pace with the increasingly sophisticated weaponry possessed by potential adversaries.

Despite the projected costs of the Golden Dome, the CBO noted: "The system could be overwhelmed by a full-scale attack launched by a peer or near-peer adversary." An executive order, which called for the creation of a system initially dubbed "Iron Dome for America," noted that the threat posed by next-generation weapons has become "more intense and complex" over time—potentially presenting a "catastrophic" scenario for the United States.

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Within just one week of his second term, Trump ordered the Department of Defense to submit plans for a system capable of detecting and defending against aerial attacks; the White House stated at the time that such attacks remained the "most catastrophic threat" facing the United States. Trump indicated that this system would incorporate "next-generation" technologies across all three domains—land, sea, and space—including space-based sensors and interceptors.

Last year, the President stated that this system would be "capable of intercepting missiles fired from the other side of the world or from space."

Last month, SpaceX and Lockheed Martin secured contracts worth up to $3.2 billion to develop prototypes for the space-based missile interceptors intended for this system.



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