United States President Donald Trump has unveiled an ambitious plan for a new missile defence system, dubbed the "Golden Dome," with a projected cost of $175 billion and a target operational date by the end of his current term in 2029.

This initiative marks a significant leap in the U.S. approach to national defence, aiming to intercept and neutralise missile threats from anywhere on Earth—and even from space—using a combination of terrestrial and space-based technologies.

The Golden Dome is envisioned as a multi-layered shield, inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome but vastly expanded in both scale and capability. Unlike the Iron Dome, which protects small urban regions from short-range rockets, the Golden Dome is designed to defend the entire U.S. mainland from a wide spectrum of threats, including ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles, and drones—whether conventional or nuclear.

The system will operate across four phases of a missile’s flight: pre-launch, boost, mid-course, and terminal descent, leveraging next-generation sensors and interceptors deployed on land, at sea, and in orbit.

A key innovation is the planned deployment of space-based interceptors and sensors, potentially including directed-energy weapons such as lasers, to detect and destroy missiles shortly after launch. However, experts warn that the technical challenges are immense; each space-based laser would require infrastructure comparable to that of the Hubble telescope, and maintaining such assets in orbit would be both costly and complex.

General Michael Guetlein, Vice Chief of Space Operations, has been appointed to lead the development of the Golden Dome, with the U.S. Space Force playing a central role. Initial funding of $25 billion has been announced, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates the full cost, especially for the space-based components, could exceed $500 billion over two decades. The project is still in its early stages, with no finalised funding and many technical and logistical hurdles yet to be addressed.

Internationally, the announcement has drawn sharp criticism from Russia and China, who argue that the Golden Dome risks militarising space and could trigger a new arms race. Both nations have issued statements warning that the system would destabilise global security and transform space into a potential battlefield.

Canada has expressed interest in joining the program, though no formal agreement has been reached. The initiative also echoes the Reagan-era Strategic Defence Initiative, or "Star Wars," which was ultimately shelved due to technological and financial constraints. Trump claims that technological advancements now make such a defence feasible, though many analysts remain sceptical about the timeline, budget, and overall practicality of the project.

The Golden Dome represents a bold and controversial step into a new era of missile defence, promising unprecedented protection for the U.S. but raising profound questions about cost, feasibility, and the future of space as a domain of warfare. The project’s success will depend on sustained innovation, funding, and political commitment, and its progress will be closely watched by both allies and adversaries.

With AFP Inputs