Pentagon unveils four-layer Golden Dome missile shield with $175 billion price tag

The Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defence system will feature four integrated layers—one satellite-based and three land-based—with 11 short-range batteries across the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii, according to slides first reported by Reuters.

The presentation, titled “Go Fast, Think Big!”, was shown last week to 3,000 defence contractors in Huntsville, Alabama, highlighting the system’s unprecedented complexity and the ambitious 2028 deadline set by President Trump.

Estimated at $175 billion, Golden Dome’s final architecture remains uncertain, including the number of launchers, interceptors, ground stations, and missile sites. Congress has so far appropriated $25 billion for the program in Trump’s recent tax-and-spend bill, with another $45.3 billion requested in the 2026 presidential budget.

Modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome but far larger due to U.S. geography and varied threats, Golden Dome’s four layers include a space-based sensing and targeting network for missile warning and interception, and three ground-based layers featuring missile interceptors, radar arrays, and potentially lasers.

A new missile field in the Midwest for Lockheed Martin’s Next Generation Interceptors (NGI) would join existing THAAD and Aegis systems in the “upper layer.” NGI is part of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defence network, which currently operates launch sites in southern California and Alaska; the new Midwest site would expand coverage against intercontinental threats.

Slides identified technical challenges, including communication latency across the system’s “kill chain.” Key defence contractors include Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and Boeing; SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril were not mentioned. The Pentagon stated it is gathering input from industry, academia, national labs, and other agencies, but withheld further details at this early stage.

A key Golden Dome objective is intercepting missiles in their boost phase using space-based interceptors, a capability the U.S. has never fully fielded. The final “under layer” and “Limited Area Defence” will include new radars, existing systems like Patriot, and a new “common” launcher capable of deploying current and future interceptors against multiple threats. These modular, relocatable systems aim to reduce dependence on fixed sites and allow rapid deployment.

Space Force General Michael Guetlein, confirmed last month to lead Golden Dome, has 30 days to build a team, 60 days to deliver an initial system design, and 120 days to present a full implementation plan, including satellite and ground station details, according to a memo signed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

By Tamilla Hasanova