Trump revives Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ dreams with $175B ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense

President Donald Trump announced a $175 billion plan to build a complete missile defense system called “Golden Dome,” with the goal of finishing it within three years.

The project, which brings to mind President Reagan’s “Star Wars” program, is designed to protect against various threats. This includes ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons, and drones, even those fired from space.

According to Politico, General Michael Guetlein, the Space Force’s vice chief of space operations, will oversee the project. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pointed to technological improvements as a reason the project is now possible, unlike Reagan’s program, which did not have the right technology at the time.

The first round of funding, estimated at $25 billion, will come from Trump’s proposed spending bill, which Congress is currently reviewing. The remaining $150 billion would need approval from Congress in the next two years, posing a major budget challenge. This is because if it isn’t approved in the second or third year, it will be seen as a waste of money, and Congress may be blamed for passing the original bill.

Trump’s golden dome may become a reality

The ambitious three-year schedule has worried experts, especially because of the difficulty of combining new and existing systems. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that a similar space-based missile defense network could cost between $161 billion and $542 billion over 20 years. While the CBO’s estimates are lower than past projections due to cheaper launch costs, Trump’s proposed timeline is much shorter.

Trump’s plan focuses on merging current missile defense systems with new technologies, including space-based sensors and weapons. The administration wants to develop a software framework to link these systems for better tracking and interception. However, the project’s broad scope has raised concerns about how it might affect other important military programs. For example, the Air Force is in the process of updating its old ICBM fleet, and this effort could lose funding because of the Golden Dome plan.

The announcement has received mixed reactions in Congress. Republicans, including Senator Roger Wicker, who leads the Senate Armed Services Committee, have shown support, promising an initial USD 25 billion payment in an upcoming spending bill. Democrats, however, have raised concerns about the cost and lack of specifics. Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee, called the White House’s initial budget request a “slush fund,” pointing out the unclear goals and timeline for the program.

Experts like Tom Karako, who directs the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agree that better defenses are needed against new threats like drones and hypersonic weapons but warn that the three-year deadline may be too optimistic. Karako noted that the current U.S. system mainly targets intercontinental ballistic missiles from rogue nations, leaving the country exposed to other dangers.