The “Golden Shield,” the missile defense system for the United States wanted by Donald Trump, could cost about 1,200 billion dollars over 20 years, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Tuesday. In 2025, the American president announced his intention to develop this missile defense shield based on the Israeli “Iron Dome” model, and to put it into service before the end of his term in 2029.
He had then estimated the total cost to be “about $175 billion once completed.” But many experts at that time pointed out an unrealistic and redundant project given the anti-missile defense systems currently in place in the United States.
The most costly component is space-based
In a report published on Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this independent parliamentary agency estimates that a national missile defense system possessing capabilities largely aligned with those demanded by Donald Trump “would cost about $1,200 billion to develop, deploy, and operate over 20 years.” According to the CBO, the space component of the system would represent nearly 60% of the total costs.
Like the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or the “Star Wars” program launched by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, the “Golden Shield” – or “Golden Dome” – aims to position interceptor satellites in space. The goal is to quickly destroy any intercontinental ballistic missile heading towards American territory. China and Russia strongly opposed Donald Trump’s project last year.
