The US has chosen the design of the futuristic Golden Dome missile defence system, US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, the 20th of May, adding that it will be operational within three years, according to the British broadcaster BBC.
The initial 25 billion US dollars for the Golden Dome is earmarked in the budget plan, although the government has estimated that it will cost much more over the decades.
Seven days after taking office, Trump ordered the Department of Defence to submit plans for a system that would deter and protect against “next generation” air attacks, including ballistic and cruise missiles. According to the White House, these remain the “most catastrophic threat” to the US.
In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said the system would consist of “next generation” technologies on land, at sea and in space, including space-based sensors and interceptors. He added that Canada has asked to be part of the system.
Trump added that the system “will be able to intercept even missiles fired from the other side of the world or from outer space”.
The system is partly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, which the country has used to intercept rockets and missiles since 2011.
The Golden Dome would be much larger and built to stop more types of threats, such as hypersonic weapons that fly faster than sound and space-based weapons called “Fobs”.
“THEY WILL ALL BE SHOT DOWN,” TRUMP SAID. “THE SYSTEM IS ALMOST 100% SUCCESSFUL.”
US officials said the Golden Dome will be designed to stop missiles at different stages – before launch and in flight. All parts of the system will be controlled by one central team.
Trump said the total cost of the programme would reach 175 billion US dollars over time. The first 25 billion US dollars would come from his “One Big Beautiful Tax Bill”, which has not yet been approved.
However, the Congressional Budget Office has indicated that the US government could spend much more – possibly up to 542 billion US dollars over 20 years – on the space-based parts of the system alone.
Pentagon officials have long warned that existing systems are not keeping pace with new missile technologies developed by Russia and China.
“There really isn’t a system right now,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “We have certain missile and missile defense zones, but we don’t have any system… there never has been.”
A recently released Defence Intelligence Agency briefing paper noted that missile threats “will expand in scale and complexity”, with China and Russia actively developing systems “to exploit weaknesses” in the US defence system.