Trump announced the construction of a missile defense shield: It will cost $175 billion and be ready by 2028

Donald Trump announced the construction of a Golden Dome, a missile defense shield similar to Israel's. The president communicated his initiative in the Oval Room, accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The project will cost $175 billion and, in Trump's own words, will be the "best system ever built." It is expected to be fully operational by 2028.

The project will be led by Michael Guetlein, currently the Space Force's deputy chief of Space Operations, and supported by Canada. Guetlein joined Trump and Hegseth during the announcement, as did Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK).

The first Golden Dome budget item will be $25 billion, which will be allocated as part of the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," the president's mega-bill. As for state collaboration, Trump noted that Alaska, Florida, Georgia and Indiana would be part of the project.

Guetlein was grateful to the president and, during his remarks, stressed the importance of having a defense system with the degree of modernity that the Golden Dome features: "It's a bold and aggressive approach to hurry up and protect the homeland from our adversaries. We owe it to our children and our children's children to protect them."

The senators present also provided specifics on some of the contractors that would be involved. For example, the companies L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon were mentioned during the announcement at the White House.

"It should be fully operational before the end of my term. So we'll have it done in about three years. Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles, even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space. And we will have the best system ever built. As you know, we helped Israel with theirs and it was very successful. And now we have technology that's even far advanced from that," the president said.

Trump recalled Ronald Reagan's then-dystopian project when, in 1983, he announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), dubbed "Star Wars" by his critics. The SDI was similarly intended to protect the country from nuclear ballistic missiles. Four years later, the American Physical Society estimated it would take decades to do anything of the sort, so most of the resources devoted to shield research were relocated.

"We really will be completing the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago, forever ending the missile threat to the American homeland. And the success rate is very close to 100 percent, which is incredible when you think of it," he added.