US President Donald Trump's proposed "Golden Dome for America" missile defence system would cost nearly $1.2 trillion to build and maintain over 20 years, far exceeding the $175 billion estimate earlier cited by the administration, according to a report released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The nonpartisan CBO described the analysis as reflecting "one illustrative approach rather than an estimate of a specific Administration proposal." Acquisition costs are projected at just over $1 trillion, with the remaining sum covering operations and maintenance across a 20-year window.
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Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 directing the creation of a next-generation missile defence shield. In the order, he cited an evolving threat landscape as the basis for the initiative.
"Over the past 40 years, rather than lessening, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons has become more intense and complex with the development by peer and near-peer adversaries of next-generation delivery systems," read the White House executive order.
The proposed system draws partial inspiration from Israel's Iron Dome and is designed to incorporate both ground and space-based capabilities to detect and intercept missiles across all stages of flight.
The administration has set a target of full operational capacity by January 2029.
Why the widening gap between estimatesIn May 2025, Trump indicated the system would cost $175 billion. By March 2026, Gen. Mike Guetlein, director of the Office of Golden Dome for America, placed the estimate at $185 billion.
The CBO's $1.2 trillion figure is based on what the agency described as the absence of a detailed public plan from the Department of Defence (DoD).
"DoD's stated cost appears to cover a shorter time frame than CBO's analysis and may reflect a different scope of activities and budget categories," the CBO report noted. It also added that a more precise cost estimate would require detailed specifications from the Defence Department on the system's components, scale, and deployment timeline.
Gen. Guetlein addressed the cost concerns in earlier remarks, stating the program remains grounded in fiscal discipline. "We are laser-focused on affordability," he said.
Current funding statusCongress approved approximately $25 billion for the Golden Dome through the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," signed into law in July 2025. The Pentagon has requested an additional $17 billion through reconciliation. The administration's fiscal 2027 defence budget also allocates funds toward the program alongside drone development, artificial intelligence, and defence industrial base investments.
Cracks in the shieldThe CBO report identified several potential challenges to the program's development, including depleted stockpiles of THAAD and Patriot interceptor missiles, radar system shortfalls, Pentagon funding constraints and the logistical requirements of training personnel for a system of this scale.
Reaction from lawmakers varied along party lines. Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat who officially requested the CBO report, raised concerns about the program's financial structure, said
"The president's so-called Golden Dome is nothing more than a massive giveaway to defence contractors paid for entirely by working Americans," according to AP.
The administration and Republican allies have not issued a formal response to the CBO's latest estimate. Budget deliberations are expected to continue in the coming weeks as Congress reviews the administration's record $1.5 trillion defence budget request for fiscal 2027.
