The US president aims to deploy space-based missile interceptors by the end of his term

US President Donald Trump has announced the formal launch of a new nationwide missile defense initiative dubbed the "Golden Dome," pledging to build a space-integrated shield capable of intercepting missiles from anywhere in the world.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump described the "cutting-edge" project, with an estimated cost of $175 billion, as a historic leap forward in American homeland defense.

"This design for the Golden Dome will integrate with our existing defense capabilities and should be fully operational before the end of my term," Trump said. "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."

The missile shield will combine current defense assets with next-generation technologies deployed across land, sea, and space - including orbital sensors and interceptors, Trump said. Moscow has previously criticized the initiative as a destabilizing step toward the weaponization of space.

"We're the only ones that have this - we call it 'super technology.' Nobody else has it, and nobody else has anything close to what we have," Trump claimed, while offering few technical details on how the Golden Dome will actually operate.

The initiative will be led by General Michael Guetlein, Vice Chief of Space Operations at the US Space Force, who previously described the effort as being "on the magnitude of the Manhattan Project."

The Golden Dome evolved from the administration's initial "Iron Dome for America" concept, and was renamed earlier this year. Unlike Israel's Iron Dome, which is designed to intercept short-range rockets, the US version is intended to counter a broader range of aerial threats, including hypersonic and orbital systems.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized that new technological advancements now make the decades-old vision of comprehensive missile defense more feasible. "The technology wasn't there. Now it is," he said, apparently referencing President Ronald Reagan's abandoned "Star Wars" program from the Cold War era.

An initial $25 billion has already been earmarked in Trump's proposed defense budget, with bipartisan support expected on Capitol Hill. However, some lawmakers have raised concerns about long-term costs and technical feasibility. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that the total cost of such a system could range from $161 billion to $542 billion over two decades.

Despite skepticism in some quarters, the administration has framed the Golden Dome as essential to defending the US against evolving missile threats from rivals like Russia and China, as well as rogue actors. A recent Defense Intelligence Agency briefing warned that adversaries are actively developing systems designed to exploit vulnerabilities in American defenses.

The US move is "openly aimed" at undermining the strategic deterrents of Russia and China, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said after Trump signed a corresponding executive order in January, arguing that it "will not contribute to reducing tensions or improving the situation in the strategic sphere."

(RT.com)