A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate says President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system could cost about $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years to develop, deploy, and operate. Multiple outlets report that the CBO frames the figure as an estimate because the Department of Defense has not released enough details about the envisioned system architecture, making a “true” cost difficult to determine. The estimate includes more than $1 trillion in acquisition costs for a national missile defense system, with a substantial portion tied to developing and deploying space-based missile interceptors, which do not currently exist. One report says space-based interceptors likely account for about 60% of the total cost, reflecting the major upfront investment required. Another outlet reports that CBO projects average annual operations and support costs of about $8.3 billion. Separately, Trump administration officials involved in the program dispute the CBO’s estimate, saying it relies too heavily on past missile-defense performance and does not fully account for expected technological advances. The report and ensuing debate focus on the scale of deployment and the costs of high-end interceptors planned for the system.
CBO Estimates Trump’s “Golden Dome” Missile Shield Could Cost $1.2 Trillion Over 20 Years
A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate says President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system could cost about $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years to develop, deploy, a...
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates the “Golden Dome” missile defense system would cost about $1.2 trillion over 20 years.
- The CBO says it is difficult to determine a true cost because the Department of Defense has not provided details on the system’s architecture.
- The estimate includes more than $1 trillion in acquisition costs, including development and deployment of space-based missile interceptors.
- CBO assessments indicate space-based interceptors account for a large share of total cost (reported as about 60%).
- Trump administration officials contest the CBO figure, arguing it does not account adequately for future technological improvements.
The eye-popping $1.2 trillion cost estimate for the proposed Golden Dome missile shield is deeply flawed because it focuses on past missile defense capabilities and does not account for massive leaps forward in technology that will drive the price down, the Trump administration's point man for the project said Thursday.
3 months agoPresident Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile shield could cost $1.2 trillion over 20 years, including a massive up-front cost to deploy the cutting-edge space-based missile interceptors widely seen as crucial to the project's success, according to a new report released this week.
3 months agoIt will likely cost about $1.2 trillion to develop and operate President Trump's planned "Golden Dome" missile defense system, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report.
3 months agoA report from the Congressional Budget Office said that space-based interceptors, which do not currently exist, would probably consume 60 percent of the total cost.
3 months agoIn May 2025, Trump announced that $25 billion had been earmarked for the project, estimating its total cost at $175 billion.
3 months agoA national missile defense system would cost $1.2 trillion to build and maintain over the next 20 years, a nonpartisan federal agency estimated.
3 months ago
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