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Trump picks design for $175 bln Golden Dome missile defense shield, names project leader
- Core Insights Advisory Services
- May 20
- 2 min read
Source: Alarabiya
Date: May 20, 2025
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had selected a design for the $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense shield and named a Space Force general to lead the effort to build the ambitious defense program aimed at blocking threats from China and Russia.
Trump announced at a White House press conference that US Space Force General Michael Guetlein would be the lead program manager for what the president said would be a $175 billion project, an effort widely viewed as the keystone to Trump’s military planning.
Golden Dome will “protect our homeland,” Trump said from the Oval Office and added that Canada had said it wanted to be part of it.
First ordered by Trump in January, Golden Dome aims to create a network of satellites to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming missiles. The shield could deploy hundreds of satellites for missile detection and tracking.
At a cost of $175 billion, it will take years to implement, as the controversial program faces both political scrutiny and funding uncertainty.
Democratic lawmakers have voiced concern about the procurement process and the involvement of Trump ally Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has emerged as a frontrunner alongside Palantir and Anduril to build key components of the system.
The Golden Dome idea was inspired by Israel’s land-based Iron Dome defense shield that protects it from missiles and rockets. Trump’s Golden Dome is much more extensive and includes a massive array of surveillance satellites and a separate fleet of attacking satellites that would shoot down offensive missiles soon after lift-off.
Tuesday’s announcement kicks off the Pentagon’s effort to test and ultimately buy the missiles, systems, sensors and satellites that will make up the Golden Dome.