On May 16, 2025, U.S. Space Force Chief of Staff General Bradley Chance Saltzman announced that President Donald Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defense system would require funding in excess of $1,5 trillion. Speaking at a security conference organized by Politico, Saltzman emphasized that the $542 billion budget planned by the U.S. Congress is insufficient to implement the ambitious project, which is primarily space-based.

"Additional funding will be needed" "The general said, adding that the system is aimed at detecting, tracking and defeating hypersonic missiles and other sophisticated threats from adversaries such as China and Russia.

The Golden Dome program, initiated by Trump in January 2025, is a multi-layered missile defense system that includes land-based and space-based components. According to CNN, the project is still at the conceptual stage, but the White House is ready to allocate significant funds despite the Pentagon's budget cuts. Salzman specified that the system will rely on a satellite architecture in low and medium Earth orbit, capable of intercepting ballistic, hypersonic, and nuclear missiles. The US Missile Defense Agency has already received over 360 proposals from companies, including the idea of ​​creating a "swarm" of thousands of small satellites with artificial intelligence to monitor and neutralize threats.

The project has been compared to Ronald Reagan's 1980s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), known as "Star Wars." However, as DW notes, experts doubt its feasibility due to technical complexities and high costs. Former Pentagon auditor Dov Zakheim estimated the annual cost of the "Golden Dome" at $100 billion until 2030, while US Air Force Lieutenant General Richard Newton predicts the total cost at up to $2,5 trillion. Critics, including Center for Arms Control Executive Director John Tierney, consider the project economically unjustified, pointing out that offensive missiles are significantly cheaper than interceptors.

Trump, who unveiled the idea in the first week of his second term, tasked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with an implementation plan by March 28, 2025. According to Overclockers.ru, initial industry consultations began in April, and the first phase, which includes modernization of land-based systems, is expected by 2026. Full deployment would take five to seven years. The focus is on countering hypersonic weapons, which Salzman said pose a threat due to their speed and maneuverability. Trump had already announced a missile defense modernization in 5, saying the United States should “destroy any missile launched from anywhere,” but the project was limited to land-based systems like Aegis.