Trump’s need to counter advanced strategic threats to cost US$1.2 trillion - CBO

US President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence system could cost an estimated US$1.2 trillion over 20 years, according to a new analysis by the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO), highlighting a dramatic increase from earlier projections.

The figure is significantly higher than initial estimates of about US$175 billion announced last year, underscoring the growing financial implications of the proposed next-generation defence shield.

AFP, on Wednesday, cited that the CBO report, described as a neutral assessment offering an illustrative framework rather than a definitive cost projection for any specific administration proposal, was published on Tuesday.

The futuristic defence system was ordered by Trump through an executive directive during the first week of his second presidential term, reflecting what he has described as the need to counter increasingly advanced strategic threats.

“In the past 40 years, the threat from new-generation strategic weapons has not diminished but has instead become more serious and complex due to the development of advanced delivery systems by near-peer and peer adversaries,” Trump said in the executive order outlining the rationale for the system.

He has previously said the system is expected to be fully operational before the end of his term in January 2029.

The concept draws partial inspiration from Israel’s layered missile defence architecture, commonly referred to as the “Iron Dome”, which has played a central role in intercepting rocket and missile attacks in regional conflicts.

The proposed “Golden Dome” system would integrate both ground-based and space-based capabilities designed to detect, intercept and destroy incoming missiles across all phases of a potential attack trajectory.

The US Congress has already approved approximately US$24 billion for missile defence initiatives as part of a broader Republican-led tax and spending package signed into law last summer.

According to the CBO, more than US$1 trillion of the estimated total cost would be allocated to procurement, including key system components such as interceptor layers and space-based early warning and tracking systems.

“The most expensive component is the space-based interceptor layer, which accounts for about 70 per cent of procurement costs and around 60 per cent of total system costs,” the report said.

Annual operations and support costs are estimated at an average of US$8.3 billion.

In May 2025, Trump announced an initial allocation of US$25 billion for the project, at the time suggesting a total programme cost of around US$175 billion.

However, the CBO noted in the same month that the cost of deploying space-based interceptors alone to counter a limited number of intercontinental ballistic missiles could range between US$161 billion and US$542 billion over 20 years, depending on system design and deployment scale.

The latest estimates underscore the vast scale and long-term financial commitment required for the project, which remains one of the most ambitious missile defence proposals in US history. - May 13, 2026