WASHINGTON, USA — President Donald Trump on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, announced that the United States has formally selected a design for the ambitious “Golden Dome” missile defense shield — a sprawling space-based system meant to counter threats from China, Russia, and other adversaries — and appointed U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein to lead the project.
Speaking at a White House press conference, Trump described Golden Dome as a transformative defense initiative aimed at securing the American homeland by leveraging a vast constellation of satellites to detect, track, and intercept incoming ballistic and hypersonic missiles in near real-time.
“This is the most advanced missile defense concept in history,” Trump said.
“It will protect our homeland, and it will protect our future. Ronald Reagan dreamed it, and we’re making it happen.”
The program, initially proposed in January, is widely regarded as the centrepiece of Trump’s military planning.
Estimated to cost $175 billion, the Golden Dome is modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome system but on a much larger scale, deploying both surveillance satellites and interceptor platforms in Earth’s orbit.
The goal, Trump said, is to achieve operational readiness by the end of his current term in January 2029.
Canada has reportedly expressed interest in joining the initiative.
In a statement, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said Ottawa is in talks with Washington over expanding security and economic cooperation, including collaboration on Golden Dome through NORAD and related frameworks.
While the Trump administration envisions a robust partnership with Silicon Valley and emerging defense tech firms, lawmakers and analysts have flagged uncertainties surrounding both cost and implementation timelines.
This month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the program could cost up to $831 billion over 20 years, nearly five times the White House’s projected figure.
Trump’s initial $25 billion down payment is part of a broader $150 billion defense package currently tied up in a contentious reconciliation bill in Congress.
“If reconciliation doesn’t pass, the funds for Golden Dome may not materialize,” said a senior defense industry executive who spoke anonymously.
“This puts the entire project timeline in jeopardy.”
Several defense and aerospace companies are already positioning themselves for key contracts.
At the press event, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, and RTX Corp were cited as likely contributors.
L3Harris, in particular, has invested $150 million in its Fort Wayne, Indiana, facility, where it produces satellite systems that could be integrated into the new defense shield.
Start-ups such as Palantir and Anduril, along with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, are also seen as frontrunners, with concerns from Democratic lawmakers about potential conflicts of interest and transparency in the procurement process.
Golden Dome marks the most significant U.S. space defense proposal since the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative — dubbed “Star Wars” — and reflects Trump’s continued push to expand American military superiority beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
General Guetlein, a veteran of the Space Force and former director of the Space Systems Command, will oversee development, testing, and eventual deployment of the satellite-based system.
Trump said Alaska, Florida, Georgia, and Indiana would play major roles in the program’s industrial and operational infrastructure.
“This new autonomous space-age defense ecosystem is more about Silicon Valley than it is about ‘big metal,’” Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said, referring to the traditional large-scale defense contractors.
“It opens the door for innovation and competition.”
Despite enthusiasm among Trump-aligned lawmakers and some defense hawks, the program faces scepticism from critics who argue that it may destabilize global arms control efforts and trigger an arms race in space.
Still, the administration insists the system is essential to safeguarding national security in an era of rapidly evolving missile technologies, particularly from China and Russia, both of which have invested heavily in hypersonic weapons and space-based systems.
“The world has changed, and so must our defenses,” Trump said.
“Golden Dome is the shield that will keep America safe — from any threat, anywhere.”
