A proposed futuristic missile defence system championed by US President Donald Trump could cost the United States about $1.2 trillion over the next two decades, according to a new estimate by the Congressional Budget Office.
The massive figure is far above the earlier projection of $175 billion that had initially been set aside for the ambitious defence programme known as the “Golden Dome”.
Despite the enormous projected spending, concerns are already emerging over whether the system would even be capable of fully protecting the United States from a large-scale missile attack.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the proposed defence shield could still be vulnerable to an all-out assault launched by major military rivals such as Russia or China.
The report stated that acquisition costs alone would exceed $1 trillion. Those costs would include interceptor layers as well as a space-based missile warning and tracking network designed to detect incoming threats.
Trump first unveiled the idea shortly after returning to the White House in January, presenting it as a system intended to counter “next-generation” aerial threats.
The project was initially referred to as the “Iron Dome for America” before later being renamed the “Golden Dome”.
At the time, Trump said the programme would require an initial investment of $25 billion and eventually total about $175 billion.
The US president described the proposed defence network as a sophisticated shield operating across land, sea and space using advanced sensors and interceptors.
Trump previously claimed the system would be capable of stopping missiles launched “from the other side of the world” or even weapons fired from space.
However, experts and officials have questioned whether the United States could realistically build a fully comprehensive missile defence system over such a vast geographical area.
The Congressional Budget Office warned that even with the projected spending, the defence network “could be overwhelmed by a full-scale attack mounted by a peer or near-peer adversary”.
The report reflects growing fears within the US defence establishment that existing missile defence systems are no longer keeping pace with increasingly advanced weapons being developed by potential adversaries.
An executive order issued during Trump’s second term noted that modern missile threats had become “more intense and complex” and could pose catastrophic risks to the United States.
The White House has repeatedly described aerial attacks as one of the gravest national security threats facing the country.
Trump ordered the Department of Defense to submit plans for the defence shield just one week after beginning his second term in office.
Meanwhile, criticism over the programme’s cost is already intensifying in Washington.
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who requested the Congressional Budget Office estimate, accused the administration of funnelling public money towards defence companies.
He described the proposed Golden Dome as “nothing more than a massive giveaway to defence contractors paid for entirely by working Americans”.
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The project has already attracted major defence industry involvement.
Last month, SpaceX and Lockheed Martin secured contracts worth up to $3.2 billion to develop prototypes for space-based missile interceptors connected to the programme.
The proposed Golden Dome now stands at the centre of a growing debate over national security, military spending and whether advanced technology can truly guarantee protection in an era of increasingly sophisticated global warfare.
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