Washington: US President Donald Trump has revealed new details of his administration's proposed large-scale missile defence system, dubbed the Golden Dome, a $175 billion initiative that he claims will be fully operational within three years.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump announced that the system’s design and architecture had been finalised, with oversight to be led by General Michael Guetlein, Vice Chief of Space Operations. He emphasised that the initiative would integrate seamlessly with existing American defence capabilities and would be completed before the end of his potential second term.

“This design for the Golden Dome will integrate with our existing defence capabilities and should be fully operational before the end of my term. So we’ll have it done in about three years,” Trump said, as reported by The Hill.

Once operational, the Golden Dome is expected to be capable of intercepting missiles launched from anywhere in the world—even from space. Trump declared the project “the best system ever built” and noted growing international interest, including from Canada, in collaborating on the initiative.

The announcement was made alongside key Republican figures including US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Senators Dan Sullivan, Jim Banks, and Kevin Cramer. Visuals presented at the event featured a golden shield covering the US alongside the quote: “This is a Very Dangerous World.”

Although Trump pegged the cost at $175 billion, the US Congressional Budget Office warned that the system could exceed $500 billion over two decades, due to its technological complexity. A preliminary $25 billion allocation is expected under a Republican-supported reconciliation bill, though internal GOP disagreements continue to challenge funding certainty.

The defence shield, modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome but designed to counter long-range threats, is intended to provide additional protection against missile threats from adversaries including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Trump highlighted potential involvement from states such as Alaska, Florida, Georgia, and Indiana, which host existing defence and space facilities. Major contractors likely to be considered for the project include Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and L3Harris Technologies. Trump was firm that the entire system would be domestically built.

Critics, particularly among Democrats, have raised concerns over the ethical implications of involving Elon Musk’s SpaceX, pointing to Musk’s advisory role in the Trump administration and possible conflicts of interest.

Trump linked the Golden Dome to former President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defence Initiative, claiming Reagan would have supported such a shield had the technology existed at the time.

“In the campaign, I promised the American people that I would build a cutting-edge missile defence shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack. And that’s what we’re doing today,” he said.