The proposal didn't even exist on the radar of many Capitol Hill lawmakers before President Donald Trump dramatically revealed the “Golden Dome” missile defense project on Tuesday.
Several senators told Fox News Digital that they were not explained to the cost of the initiative.
“I don't support blank checking. I've never seen a cost figure,” R-La said. Sen. John Kennedy of the company told Fox News Digital.
Two senior members of the Senate Budget and Defense Subcommittee, one Republican and one Democrat, asked, “What is the Golden Dome?” In response to questions about the project Trump commissioned in January.
China has accused us of “turning space into warzone” in Trump's Golden Dome missile defense project
Trump has surfaced an estimate of $125 billion and said it could be completed in three years by the end of his term. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarck)
Trump's sweeping plan, sold as an American version of Israel's Iron Dome, has an ambitious price tag and timeline. He raises an estimated cost of $125 billion and says it can be built within three years by the end of his term. One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a government funding package that moves through Congress, includes $25 billion to jump the project.
But even defense experts and Republican allies expect the costs to be much higher.
“This isn't going to be a $25 billion or $35 billion project. If the Golden Dome is finished, trillions could cost,” said R-Mont, who announced plans to form the Golden Dome Caucus at a Washington Times defense industry event earlier this month.
Sheehee warned that simply expanding Israel's iron dome to protect the United States is a “funny different technical proposition.”
“The challenge does not expand linearly to Israel, the size of New Jersey,” he added.
The Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the project could cost around $500 billion, but even that figure is likely too low.
The CBO estimated the space-based interceptor portion of the dome would cost at least $161 billion, with up to $542 billion. However, it did not consider ground-based interceptors at its cost.
“I've been in this business for 34 years and have never seen an estimate that is too expensive and early,” the Space Prime Minister of Space Operations said General Chance Saltzman. “We don't always understand the complete level of complexity until you actually do it and have a detailed plan.”
Laser, Space Radar, Missile Interceptor: Defense Leader of Trump's “Golden Dome” Project Gets Eyes
The digitized concept design of the Golden Dome shows how the shield utilizes space-based interceptors to stop missiles. (Lockheed Martin)
Some Republican lawmakers have suggested that potential benefits outweigh the massive spending that is needed.
“It could prevent war very well,” Sen. Mike Round said. “When you talk about spending billions of dollars on defense, it's small compared to one major war. Not just trillions of dollars, but bloody.”
When a missile is fired towards the US homeland, the Golden Dome system aims to detect it, and the orbital system aims to hit the missile in the “boost” stage with either a laser or a motion inserter. Otherwise, the ground system can be deployed and knocked off the path.
Others focused on competing defense priorities.
“It's going to be a long, drawn-out process, and it's going to be a huge cost,” said Sen. Tommy Cheeverville of R-ALA. “Now we're redoing missile silos… we're moving into different kinds of wars. If we're going to do it, we'll do it the right way.”
Proponents of the plan argue that technological advances have dramatically reduced the costs of missile defenses, sufficient to potentially overturn strategic assumptions from decades ago.
Chuck Devoir, a defense expert at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a former Reagan administration official, said the old logic no longer applies to the fact that building offensive missiles is always cheaper than defence.
Golden Dome aims to protect against enemy missiles, like this North Korean test ICBM above. (kcna via Reuters)
“That calculation is changing now,” Devoir said. “With low-cost orbital launches and inexpensive electronics, it could be cheaper to defend nuclear missiles than actually building nuclear missiles. If so, we are at a truly innovative inflection point.”
Devoir also warned that traditionalists in defense facilities could be pushed back.
“You'll see people defend the status quo,” he said. “They'll say they need that money for more traditional defense, including more departments, more jet fighters, perhaps another aircraft carrier.”
Still, Devore claimed that his home town's missile defense system was delayed.
“The ability to truly protect our hometown and save America's lives is superior to mutually guaranteed destruction, especially in an age of nuclear proliferation where we can't always ensure where the threat comes from.”
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Sen. Markwayne Mullin of R-Okla agreed to the importance of the project, even if he said that the cost and needs of the project were not explained.
“I think this is the most important thing you can do to keep your homeland safe.”
