President Donald Trump, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, revealed Tuesday the administration has selected an architecture for the “Golden Dome” national defense shield he promised on the campaign trail.
Trump provided the update during a press conference in the Oval Office.
“Today, I’m pleased to announce that we have officially selected an architecture for this state-of-the-art system that will deploy next-generation technologies across the land, sea, and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors,” Trump said, noting that Canada wishes to be included in the project.
“So we’ll be talking to them. They want to have protection also,” he added. “So, as usual, we help Canada, do the best we can.”
Trump estimates the Golden Dome “should be fully operational before” his term ends.
“Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space, and we will have the best system ever built,” he said.
Trump said the Golden Dome will protect the homeland from advanced cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and hypersonic missiles, and highlighted how the project harkens to late President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” Trump is urging lawmakers to pass would pledge $25 billion to the project, which would run a final price tag of roughly $175 billion, per Trump.
Hegseth said the Golden Dome would be a “game changer,” calling it “a generational investment in the security of America and Americans.”
Hegseth also commended Trump on his vision for Space Force, a military branch he created in his first term, which many on the left criticized.
“It’s not lost on me, sir, also that you had the vision to start the Space Force…when others said we didn’t need it. Here we are in the Oval Office with one of the leaders of the Space Force in General Guetlein, leading the charge on putting in place a game-changing Golden Dome for America,” he added.
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