<$831 billion (CBO estimate) $175 billion (White House estimate)
Produced
2029– (White House estimate) 2035– (CSIS estimate)[1]
Specifications
Operational range
Global
Launch platform
Satellites, ground-based
The Golden Dome is a proposed multi-layer missile defense system for the United States, intended to detect and destroy ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles before they launch or during their flight. The system would employ a constellation of satellites equipped with sensors and space-based interceptors.[2] The architecture has been viewed as similar to the Brilliant Pebbles concept of the 1980s.[3][4] If implemented, the U.S. would maintain space weapons in orbit for the first time.[2]
On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the United States Armed Forces to construct a far more extensive missile defense system than it previously maintained.[5] Although the order and the name allude to Israel's short-range Iron Dome system,[6] observers note that the Golden Dome vision is more like the Strategic Defense Initiative proposed by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1983.[7][8][9][10]
The system would rely on thousands of space-based weapons or "interceptors" distributed around the entire Earth.[11] Interceptors are kept staged near the edge of the atmosphere, where they must maintain rapid orbits to avoid falling back to Earth. Their rapid motion allows only a small fraction to be positioned in the right place to act on any given threat, a flaw that critics argue makes the concept less efficient than traditional regional missile defenses such as Iron Dome.[12][13] Beyond intercepting other missiles, Trump said in 2019 that space-based weapons would be "obviously" used for offensive purposes as well.[14]
Cost estimates for the Golden Dome program range from $175 billion (White House), to $831 billion (Congressional Budget Office), to $3.6 trillion (American Enterprise Institute) depending on the architectural details. The wide range largely hinges on the number of space-based missiles and their continuous replenishment costs. Continuous replacement costs are increased by the use of low orbits which lead to early orbital decay due to atmospheric drag.[15][16]
As of November 2025, the U.S. government has not announced any contract awards for Golden Dome, though the Wall Street Journal has reported that SpaceX is "set to receive" a $2 billion contract to build a 600-satellite constellation for missile targeting.[17][18] This came after Elon Musk's earlier denials of involvement, saying he was focused on Mars.[19]
History
Influenced by strategic analyses such as the 1976 Team B report—which argued U.S. intelligence had vastly underestimated Soviet threats—and ideas of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy, President Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1983.[20] It proposed a space-based global missile defense constellation intended to render nuclear weapons "impotent and obsolete." The program immediately faced challenges, with concerns by Congress, including prominent Senators Sam Nunn and Joe Biden, over its apparent violation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, questionable technical feasibility, spiraling launch costs, poor cost-exchange ratio, and destabilizing impact on arms control. By the 1990s, SDI was formally restructured into the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, pivoting from space-based platforms to more proven ground- and sea-based systems.[21]
U.S. missile defense policy continued to evolve, with the 1999 National Missile Defense Act mandating a system to defend against limited ballistic missile attacks. Following a later Team B report's recommendation,[22][23] President George W. Bush withdrew the U.S. from the ABM Treaty in 2001.[24] The Obama administration's 2010 Review shifted focus from a homeland-centered shield to more flexible and cooperative regional defenses, limiting the space component to sensing and tracking.[25] This was adjusted by the Trump administration's 2019 Review, expanding scope from rogue states such as North Korea, to include advanced hypersonic threats from "competitors" like Russia and China.[26][27] By contrast, the Biden administration's 2022 Review, while prioritizing Ground-based Midcourse Defense, emphasized that it is "neither intended nor capable of defeating" peer-level threats from Russia or China, noting "the interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive systems."[28]
While terrestrial defenses developed, the vision of a full space-based shield remained a consistent goal for its proponents. The modern groundwork for Golden Dome was laid in 2017 by the SDI's former Deputy of Technology, and prominent Team B leader,[23]Michael D. Griffin, who formed the Space Development Agency during the first Trump administration.[29] Griffin long advocated for reusable launch vehicles to make the mass launching of weapons into space economically feasible. While the original Strategic Defense Initiative's attempts at this were short-lived, with the DC-X failing after a series of test flights, Griffin later encouraged and promoted funding of commercial reusable launch vehicles, which have since proven successful.[30][31]
The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 effort advocated for a Golden Dome-like effort, writing that SpaceX's development of Starlink proves the feasibility of a space-based "overlayer" of thousands of networked satellites and interceptors.[32] During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly mentioned the missile shield concept, often to mixed reception.[33]
In May 2025, four months after the beginning of Trump's second presidency, 42 members of US Congress formally asked the DoD Inspector General to review Elon Musk’s involvement in Golden Dome.[34] They cited concerns over deviations from standard acquisition processes and a dome subscription model that could "give Musk undue influence over national security." Another key conflict of interest involves four-star general Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, former head of U.S. homeland missile defense, who now reports directly to Musk at SpaceX.[35]Michael D. Griffin, founder of the Space Development Agency behind Golden Dome, has also faced scrutiny.[36] After traveling to Russia with a young Musk in 2001 to study ICBMs, Griffin steered $2 billion in NASA contracts to Musk's newfound space company.[31] SpaceX has since secured missile-tracking satellite contracts through Griffin's SDA as part of its Starshield program. Griffin also helps lead Castelion, that seeks to mass-produce hypersonic weapons.[37]
In April 2025 the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) determined that Golden Dome fell under its oversight, as they are required by law to analyze testing plans for defense programs with procurements above $3 billion. Days later, Elon Musk's DOGE ('Department of Government Efficiency') investigated the office and slashed its resources. A defense official told CNN that they believed DOGE wanted to prevent DOT&E conducting independent oversight of Golden Dome.[38]
Announcement
President Trump announcing the Golden Dome program in the Oval Office with the Secretary of Defense.
On May 20, 2025, U.S. presidentDonald Trump announced plans for a new space-based missile defense system called the "Golden Dome." Intended to shield the United States from long-range and hypersonic missile threats, the system draws inspiration from Israel's Iron Dome but is significantly broader in scope.[39][40]
Trump stated the project would be completed within three years and cost approximately $175 billion.[41] General Michael A. Guetlein of the U.S. Space Force has been appointed to lead the initiative. A down payment of $25 billion for Golden Dome was included in a Republican reconciliation spending bill.[42] The Congressional Budget Office estimated that it could cost between $161 billion and $542 billion over 20 years,[40][43] while Republican Senators involved in the program predicted the end cost would be "trillions of dollars."[44] General Guetlein was officially nominated as Golden Dome's direct reporting program manager in June 2025[45] and confirmed by the Senate in July 2025.[46] He assumed the position on July 21, 2025.[47]
Defense contractors, including SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril and Lockheed Martin are reportedly vying for involvement, while experts have expressed doubts over the timeline, feasibility, and cost.[48][49] Specific technical details and deployment plans have not yet been released.[50][51]
Architecture components
The executive order called for the architecture to include plans for the following eight components at minimum:[52]
Marion Messmer, a senior research fellow at London-based Chatham House, said that the Golden Dome's challenges were much greater than the ones that Israel's Iron Dome had to face as it had a much larger territory[54] to cover and more types of missiles it had to defeat. Shashank Joshi, defence editor at the Economist, said while the US military would take the plan very seriously, it was unrealistic to think the system would be completed during Trump's term, and that its cost would take up a large part of the defense budget.[55] Patrycja Bazylczyk, a missile defense expert at the CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), said that the Golden Dome signaled a reorientation of US missile defense policy towards countering Russia and China, versus existing systems geared towards North Korea.[56] The Arms Control Association has noted that the Putin regime has been working to ensure it can overcome the threat of a future U.S. space-based interceptor network by developing anti-satellite weapons, undersea torpedoes, hypersonic glide vehicles, and nuclear-powered cruise missiles. Beijing, meanwhile, may respond by increasing its nuclear-armed ballistic missile force.[57] Before the announcement, China's military nuclear arsenal stood at about 1/6 the size of the United States.
A study by Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute estimated that the cost of developing and operating the Golden Dome until 2045 could range between $252 billion to $3.6 trillion, depending on how expansive the system is.[58] Advocates of Golden Dome describe a national missile defense shield as, "a strategic imperative."[59] In November 2025, United States Strategic Command nominee Richard Correll testified that Golden Dome was key to ensure U.S. nuclear second strike capability.[60] Critics suggest the costs for these capabilities have been underestimated, creating a "multi-trillion-dollar gap between rhetoric and reality."[16]
Article I of the Outer Space Treaty states that space is "the province of all mankind" and forbids placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit. Some permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have expressed objections to the Golden Dome program, citing inconsistencies with this principle. The program's use of space for attacking targets on the ground (“left of launch” preemptive strike capabilities)[53] has led to discussion over the legality under international law.[61][53][62][63][64][65]
China: On 21 May 2025, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning criticized the Golden Dome plan, claiming it "violates the principle of peaceful use of space in the Outer Space Treaty". She called on the US to “give up developing and deploying [a] global anti-missile system” which risked “turning space into a war zone”.[62][63] In a white paper published by the State Council Information Office in November 2025, China criticized the move towards "absolute security" and that it would "pose a serious threat to outer space security".[73]
New Zealand: New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins expressed support for the Golden Dome missile system, saying "I don't see it as an attack mechanism. It's a defence mechanism. And if people did not feel they needed to defend themselves, they wouldn't waste the money on it." Trump had earlier noted the space-based system would be "a very big part of our defense and, obviously, of our offense" and capable of striking foreign assets even before they launch.[74] The New Zealand-founded and California-based Rocket Lab had recently acquired the Arizona company Geost, which is involved in the Golden Dome project.[75]
Russia: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "the United States' Golden Dome project undermines the foundations of strategic stability as it involves the creation of a global missile defense system."[76] On 8 May 2025, China and Russia made a joint statement criticizing the proposal's rejection of the "inseparable interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms", its "left-of-launch" capabilities, and its "orbital deployment of interception systems".[77] On 21 May 2025, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov instead stated that the plan was a "sovereign matter" for the US, and that the legal framework of defunct US-Russia nuclear arms treaties "must be recreated both in the interests of our two countries and in the interests of security throughout the planet".[78]
North Korea: On 27 May 2025, North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the proposal as representing "an outer space nuclear war scenario". It denounced "undisguised moves for space militarization" and argued regional stability requires "the symmetry of the matchless power".[79]
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