Pentagon Defends Trump’s Golden Dome After $1 Trillion Estimate

The official leading President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome contested an estimate that the highly secretive missile defense shield would cost six times more than forecast, raising questions around the true price tag of the administration’s project.

US Space Force General Michael Guetlein, Golden Dome’s director, said a Congressional Budget Office report relied on incomplete information. The CBO used criteria outlined in Trump’s January 2025 executive order initiating the project and estimated the system could cost $1.2 trillion over twenty years, far more than the administration’s $185 billion figure.