Congressional Budget Office reveals Golden Dome costs exceeding initial estimates by large percentages

The cost of US President Donald Trump's missile defense plan, dubbed "America's Golden Dome," is estimated at $1.2 trillion, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The Associated Press noted this amount is significantly higher than the initial $175 billion price tag presented last year. The non-partisan CBO report, published Tuesday, was described as an analysis reflecting "one illustrative approach rather than an estimate of a specific administration proposal." Trump ordered this future system via executive order during his first week in office. At the time, he stated he expected the system to be "fully operational before the end of my presidential term" in January 2029. In his executive order, Trump justified the need for the missile defense system, stating: "Over the last forty years, rather than diminishing, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons has become more acute and complex as peer and near-peer adversaries develop next-generation delivery systems." CBO estimates are based partly on a lack of Pentagon details regarding which and how many systems will be deployed, making it "impossible to estimate the long-term cost" of the Golden Dome system.