NEW YORK, March 23. /TASS/. US military officials are scrambling to develop a "Golden Dome" defense system that can protect the country from long-range missile strikes, CNN reports, citing sources.
According to the sources, the White House will spare no expense in order to fulfill one of US President Donald Trump’s top Pentagon priorities.
One of the sources pointed out, however, that "right now, Golden Dome is, it’s really an idea." According to him, discussions are currently purely conceptual. That makes projecting future costs nearly impossible, the source added, though it would likely cost billions of dollars to construct and maintain.
However, the Trump administration has already ordered military officials to ensure future funding for "Golden Dome" is reflected in new budget estimates for 2026 to 2030, CNN notes, citing the sources.
The broadcaster points out that such a project, which, in Trump’s view, will protect the US the way Israel’s Iron Dome protects the Jewish state, does not "make any sense" strategically.
"Israel is tiny," a source familiar with discussions about the Golden Dome project emphasized, adding: "So, it is 100% feasible to blanket Israel in things like radars and a combination of mobile and fixed interceptors." "How are you going to do that in the United States? You can’t do it just at the borders and the shoreline, because intercontinental ballistic missiles can re-enter the atmosphere over Kansas," CNN quoted him as saying.
On January 28, Trump ordered Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to submit a reference architecture and an implementation plan for a missile defense shield within 60 days, according to an executive order.