US President Donald Trump has unveiled a scheme to build a $175 billion (€154bn) missile defence system called the “Golden Dome”, claiming it could be “fully operational” by the end of his presidential term.
The announcement on Tuesday came roughly four months after Trump signed an executive order, instructing the Pentagon to draw up plans to defend the US against “catastrophic” aerial attacks.
Although the exact scope of the Golden Dome project remains unclear, Trump said the system would involve “next-generation” technologies, including space-based sensors and interceptors.
“Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space,” Trump claimed.
The idea is inspired by Israel’s “Iron Dome” system set up in 2011, which defends the country against missile and rocket attacks.
Questions have already been raised about the potential cost of the US missile defence shield and about the practicalities of defending a country that is more than 400 times larger than Israel.
Some experts have said it will cost significantly more than $175 billion (€154bn) and will take longer than four years to implement.
Just the space-based components of the Golden Dome could cost $542 billion (€479bn) over the next two decades, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
As part of a proposed tax break bill that is currently making its way through Congress, Trump has requested an initial $25 billion (€22bn) for the programme.
Flanked by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office on Tuesday, the US president praised the initiative, which has been one of his priorities since returning to the White House.
Trump said that General Michael Guetlein, the country’s vice chief of space operations, will be tasked with overseeing Golden Dome’s progress.
Canada has expressed interest in being involved in the project, Trump added.
In a joint statement earlier this month, China and Russia branded the Golden Dome proposal “deeply destabilising in nature”, suggesting it would turn ”outer space into an environment for placing weapons and an arena for armed confrontation”.
