United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (20 May) unveiled plans for a $175 billion missile defence project named the Golden Dome for America, designed to counter missile and other aerial threats from China and Russia.

Trump announced that he had selected a final design for Golden Dome and named US Space Force General Michael Guetlein as project lead.

“Golden Dome will protect our homeland,” he declared, adding that Canada is also interested in joining the initiative.

Modeled loosely on Israel’s Iron Dome, the Golden Dome will use hundreds of satellites for early detection, tracking, and interception of missile threats.

Trump’s version goes further, incorporating both surveillance and interceptor satellites to neutralise enemy launches in their earliest phase. The initiative began with an executive order signed in January.

“All of them will be knocked out of the air,” Trump said, adding that the success rate is very close to “100 per cent”.

Though the $175 billion initiative faces hurdles regarding legislative backing and budget approval, Trump projected a completion date of January 2029—coinciding with the end of his second term.

Democratic lawmakers have voiced unease over the transparency of the private partner selection. Front-runners reportedly include SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, as well as Palantir and Anduril.

The Pentagon will now begin the test and eventually procurement procedures for missiles, sensors, and satellites under Golden Dome.

L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, and RTX Corp are named as likely partners for the project.

Trump stated that states such as Alaska, Florida, Georgia, and Indiana would see immediate economic benefits, with early components sourced from current manufacturing lines.