IRIA News

6 minute read

U.S. President Donald Trump has formally announced the most ambitious missile defense initiative in American history: a $175 billion program dubbed the “Golden Dome,” aimed at shielding the United States from long-range missile threats.

The program has been aimed at countering emerging aerial threats from adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. The Golden Dome has been modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome and promises to deploy a vast network of sensors and interceptors across land, sea, and space to protect the U.S. and its allies from advanced missile attacks.

Speaking from the Oval Office alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Michael Guetlein of the U.S. Space Force, Trump said, “This is a Manhattan Project-scale mission, one that is both urgent and crucial to America’s security.” Trump added that the Golden Dome would be “capable even of intercepting missiles launched from the other side of the world, or launched from space.”

The initiative was fast-tracked shortly after Trump returned to office in January for his second term. Just seven days into the new administration, the President directed the Department of Defense to draw up plans for a future-proof missile shield, citing “next-generation” aerial threats as “the most catastrophic threat” facing the United States today.

Scope and capabilities

Unlike its Israeli counterpart, the Golden Dome will be exponentially larger and far more complex. It is designed to tackle a broad spectrum of modern threats, from traditional ballistic and cruise missiles to hypersonic glide vehicles and fractional orbital bombardment systems (FOBS) capable of launching from space.

Analysts and experts believe that thousands of satellites and sensors would be used to spot and track missiles, along with interceptors in orbit to fire incoming threats.

The system will integrate space-based sensors, kinetic and non-kinetic interceptors, and advanced AI-driven command and control networks. Key defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, which previously developed the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s National Command and Control Battle Management system, are already engaged. Other technology firms including SpaceX, Palantir, L3Harris, RTX and Anduril are also expected to play significant roles.

Funding and feasibility concerns

Though an initial $25 billion has been allocated through a proposed defense and tax reform reconciliation bill, experts warn that costs are likely to soar far beyond Trump’s estimate of $175 billion.

The reconciliation bill proposes major allocations: $7.2 billion for space-based sensors, $5.6 billion for orbital interceptors, and nearly $10 billion for next-gen ground and hypersonic defense systems.

However, scrutiny has already emerged over potential conflicts of interest, especially concerning SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk, who has ties to both the Trump administration and potential commercial benefits from satellite deployment.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the space-based components alone could eventually cost up to $542 billion over the next 20 years. Some experts, including Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT), believe the total price tag could “likely cost in the trillions.” While one National Research Council report further cautioned that a fully operational space-based missile shield might cost as much as $831 billion.

President Trump announced the Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect the homeland from advanced missile threats.

Included in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, this project aims to ensure American security. Congress must pass the bill and send it to the President’s desk. pic.twitter.com/U0gwZ9DNnV

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 21, 2025

Laura Grego, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, criticized the project’s feasibility. “Space-based missile defense is a bad investment,” she said. “It’s expensive, technically unproven, and easily undermined by countermeasures.”

Canada’s role and NORAD integration

Trump also confirmed that Canada has expressed interest in joining the program. “We’ll be talking to them,” the president said. “They want to have protection also, so as usual, we help Canada.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office later confirmed “active discussions” with the U.S. on the Golden Dome and broader security cooperation, including modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

“Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,” said Carney’s spokesperson Audrey Champoux. “These discussions naturally include strengthening NORAD and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome.”

🚀Donald Trump announces the Golden Dome, like Israel's Iron Dome, and Canada will be a part of it❗️

"I promised the American people that I will build a cutting edge missile defense shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack.
Canada has called us… pic.twitter.com/k0mhNnp6Xm

— Kirk Lubimov (@KirkLubimov) May 20, 2025

However, it remains unclear what role Canada might play in the system, what benefits it could receive, or whether it would be expected to share in the costs.

International repercussions and strategic risks

While the Trump administration frames the Golden Dome as a defensive measure, geopolitical analysts warn it could exacerbate tensions with major powers.

A Defense Intelligence Agency briefing warned that U.S. adversaries are already developing systems “to exploit gaps” in current defenses. The same report noted that threats “will expand in scale and sophistication,” naming China and Russia in particular.

Unsurprisingly, early reactions from Beijing and Moscow have been critical, with both accusing Washington of igniting a new arms race, particularly in the militarization of space. China strongly opposed the plan, with the Global Times warning it could violate peaceful space principles and endanger global security.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning addressed the issue and said that the development of space-based interceptors would “significantly enhance (U.S.) combat capabilities in outer space,” while increasing the arms race around the globe.

The Kremlin took a different approach to address the matter. “This is a sovereign matter for the United States. If the United States believes there is a missile threat, then of course it will develop a missile defense system,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “That is what all countries do.” He added that the situation would eventually call for renewed talks to “restore strategic stability.”

With sweeping scope, sky-high ambitions, and strategic implications, the Golden Dome may well define the Trump administration’s second term in office. Whether it becomes a legacy achievement or an overreaching dream will depend on bipartisan support, technological breakthroughs, and geopolitical finesse.