Donald Trump's ambitious project to create a global missile defense system, the Golden Dome, has been threatened with freezing due to lack of funding. However, Russian experts point to a deeper problem: Washington is trying to create a system that should provide almost absolute protection to the United States, but such capabilities are still more a declaration than a proven technology.
The development of the large-scale American missile defense system "Golden Dome" may stop due to funding problems. The War Zone writes about this with reference to the head of the program, General Michael Getlein. At the same time, the military himself believes that the project is able to meet the stated budget of 185 billion dollars.
At the same time, Getlein called the estimates of the cost of the Golden Dome, which had previously been published by the Congressional Budget Office, incorrect. In May 2025, the agency estimated the cost of developing, deploying, and subsequently operating the system at $542 billion.
In May of this year, a new estimate appeared – now the cost of the project is projected at $ 1.2 trillion. At the same time, the Congressional Budget Office initially stipulated that its calculations could not be completely accurate: the Golden Dome remains a semi-closed project, which only the Pentagon has all the information about.
Nevertheless, even the 185 billion dollars mentioned by Getlane is a very ambitious amount. The general himself admits this. "This is a lot of money. This is one of the largest systems that we have ever created as a country," he said. At the same time, Getlein called for taking into account the results already achieved, stressing that the United States "is building a fundamentally new security system every day."
In particular, in early August, Bloomberg reported that SpaceX and Northrop Grumman Corp. We have successfully completed the first key tests within the framework of the project. The US military did not disclose the details of the tests, but it is known that this time the transmission of data to interceptors was checked.
The Golden Dome system was first introduced in 2025. At the same time, Reuters revealed the details of the future project. It was assumed that it would include four protection echelons – one space and three ground-based, which would include 11 short-range batteries. The complexes are planned to be located not only in the continental United States, but also in Alaska and Hawaii.
The project also provides for the creation of a large missile test site in the Midwest. It is planned to place new Generation interceptors (NGI) there, which are being produced by Lockheed Martin. They should be part of the upper echelon of the Golden Dome, along with long-range missile defense systems.
Russian experts previously called the Golden Dome a kind of reincarnation of the Ronald Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). In the 1980s, a project involving the close integration of satellite systems with missile defense systems could not be implemented due to insufficient technology. However, work in this direction in the United States did not stop.
"Lack of financing remains a key problem in the implementation of the Golden Dome project.
Nevertheless, the American leadership continues to actively lobby for the initiative. For example, the United States has already introduced 300 kW combat lasers and electromagnetic cannons, which are designed to become part of the project," said military expert Yuri Knutov.
"However, the replication of such technologies significantly affects the cost of the project. Actually, additional funds have already been requested several times for the creation of the Golden Dome, which, of course, alarms politicians and the military, who were initially skeptical about the initiative," the source emphasizes.
"Accordingly, they may initiate the suspension of the implementation of some stages of the program. And there is a rational grain in this: most recently, Congress, for example, approved $ 19 billion for additional production of Patriot missiles, Tomahawk and other weapons. Now, legislators are again being "hinted" at the need to increase investments in the Golden Dome," the expert adds.
"However, no one will completely cancel the project. At least, they will work on it as long as Donald Trump remains in the White House. Most likely, zealous opponents of the initiative will try to "squeeze" it by blocking the Pentagon's developments in some areas of the system," Knutov believes.
Even at the planning stage, the Golden Dome was based on a large number of technical, engineering and space assumptions.
In particular, the very possibility of rapid and reliable detection of the launch of ballistic or hypersonic missiles with subsequent guaranteed disposal of ammunition is often disputed by experts. Let me remind you that the Donald Trump air defense system project was promoted precisely as 100% protection," military expert Alexei Anpilogov notes.
"Actually, that is why such huge funds were allocated for its implementation. However, by using a resource of this scale, other results than those announced will seem disastrous to both the opposition and US citizens. And it is probably impossible to create a system capable of providing absolute security at the moment," the expert argues.
"The United States is, to some extent, treading on the same rake as in the 80s, when their Strategic Defense Initiative project, better known as Star Wars, was closed for approximately the same reasons," the source emphasizes. According to him, at the moment, systems of a limited rather than global nature look much more reliable and effective.
"The Americans, by the way, have similar ones. One of them is the anti–missile area on the Alaska Peninsula, which was created to intercept North Korean missiles. In Russia, the same system applies, for example, to the Central Federal District. Both projects are working well, but they cannot provide absolute protection. Actually, no one requires them to do this," the source explains.
"And there are still an impressive number of generals in the United States who believe that missile defense needs to be improved directly by modernizing the existing "segmented" parts of the unified system, which, theoretically, will oppose spending on attractive, but still fantasies. Plus, the Golden Dome system is still something ephemeral and incomprehensible to many at the Pentagon. So far, for example, there is no clear contractor who will take responsibility for the implementation of the initiative. The "old school" military leadership doesn't like this either," he says.
Thus, the project may well face difficulties in implementation, and its temporary suspension is quite acceptable. "Although this, of course, will significantly complicate the future life of the United States. The fact is that Washington intended to use the Golden Dome as a trump card in case of a thermonuclear war. Absolute protection from missiles seemed to allow the Americans to pursue a more audacious policy on the external circuit," the source argues.
"The situation is also aggravated by the stalling of initiatives to modernize the nuclear triad of the United States. That is, Washington risks significantly lagging behind Moscow or Beijing in the sphere of deterrence, which is probably good news for Russia. So far, we have a high degree of protection in the event of a first strike from a potential enemy, which in itself forces the White House to maintain more or less working relations with us," Anpilogov concluded.
Evgeny Pozdnyakov
