President Donald Trump has announced his ambitious plan to create a military defense program named the ‘Golden Dome’. This initiative has sparked discussions about the financial implications of deploying US weapons in space.
The proposed expenditure of $175 billion in taxpayer money is driven by concerns that the US is lagging behind, with Russia and China already deploying weapons in orbit.
However, establishing a robust defense system in space is a complex challenge. President Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday (May 20), assured reporters that the ‘Golden Dome’ would be “fully operational before the end of my term,” which concludes in 2029.
While previous reports have covered the program’s timeline, potential necessity, possible involvement of Elon Musk, and China’s response, we now delve deeper into its financial aspects.
To initiate the project, the Republican president has requested $25 billion from government funds to be allocated for the program in his proposed tax break bill, currently under consideration in Congress.
During a Senate hearing on Tuesday (May 13), Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, the joint program officer for the Guam Defense System, estimated that integrating a smaller version of the ‘Golden Dome’ for the US island territory would cost approximately $8 billion.
Considering that mainland America is roughly 17,328 times larger than Guam, the actual cost for the entire US could exceed $175 billion significantly.
Senator Angus King from Maine calculated that by multiplying the $8 billion cost proportionally by the number of US cities with populations equal to or greater than Guam’s, which is 779, the ‘Golden Dome’ could potentially cost over $6 trillion—specifically, $6,232,000,000,000.
This estimate is 35 times higher than Trump’s original projection.
It’s crucial to note that this figure is an extrapolation based on Guam’s defense system, slated for completion in 2031, and the Golden Dome will not be a direct replication.
Using a different methodology, The Hill arrived at a more modest estimate of $119 billion, calculated based on Guam’s area in square miles relative to the US, which is 14.86 times larger.
The Congressional Budget Office has projected that space-based components of the program could cost as much as $542 billion over the next 20 years.
PA News Agency reports that there are medium, high, and ‘extra high’ options for developing aspects of the program, depending on the number of satellites, sensors, and space-based interceptors procured.
While the exact cost remains uncertain, it is expected to far exceed the initial $175 billion estimate.