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Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile defense system may cost $1.2 trillion: Budget office

Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile defense system may cost $1.2 trillion: Budget office

US President Donald Trump Photograph: (AFP)

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Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile shield could cost $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released on Tuesday (May 12)

US President Donald Trump’s proposed ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system could ultimately cost as much as $1.2 trillion over the next two decades, according to a new estimate released on Tuesday (May 12) by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). “Of the $1.2 trillion amount, acquisition costs...would total just over $1 trillion. That amount includes costs for the system's major components, namely, the interceptor layers and a space-based missile warning and tracking system,” the CBO said in its report.

“The most expensive component is the space-based interceptor layer, which accounts for about 70 percent of acquisition costs and 60 percent of total costs,” it added.

The report also projected that annual operations and support expenses would average around $8.3 billion. Trump directed the Pentagon in January 2025 to begin designing a sophisticated missile defense network initially referred to as the “Iron Dome for America,” aimed at countering advanced aerial and missile threats.

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In May 2025, Trump revealed that $25 billion had been allocated to launch the initiative and estimated the overall program would cost roughly $175 billion. However, the CBO previously warned that even a limited space-based interceptor system capable of stopping a small number of intercontinental ballistic missiles could cost between $161 billion and $542 billion over a 20-year period. The ambitions for the Golden Dome project appear far broader. The 2026 National Defense Strategy states that the Pentagon will “focus on options to cost-effectively defeat large missile barrages and other advanced aerial attacks.”

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Jatin Verma

With over 12 years of experience in journalism, Jatin is currently working as Senior Sub-Editor at WION. He brings a dynamic and insightful voice to both the sports and the world o...Read More