FORT STORY, Virginia – Top Pentagon officials gathered Thursday surrounded by air defense hardware in a hangar at the Naval base here to announce that President Donald Trump’s wildly ambitious Golden Dome homeland air defense effort is moving forward.
But it is becoming difficult to sell.
Gen. Mike Guettlin, who leads the effort for the Pentagon, praised the progress made over the past 10 months and promised to get the first significant chunk of sensor technology up and running by 2028 — a timeline that requires a dangerously large number of things to get right in a short period of time.
Trump’s signature missile defense shield faces technical hurdles","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/02/trump-golden-dome-missile-defense-00759943","_Identification": :"0000019d-bc61-df48-a9bf-beebae660000","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-bc61-df48-a9bf-beebae660001","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>faces technical obstaclesThere are funding questions and – perhaps most problematically – a Republican Congress that appears unable to provide the tens of billions needed to fully get the program off the ground.
The Trump administration plans to fund the program next year almost entirely through a party-line reconciliation bill. But top Republicans already seem skeptical, given the GOP’s reluctance to acknowledge the uphill battle of the congressional budget ahead of this year’s high-stakes midterm elections.
“Is (reconciliation) the most efficient, effective way to spend the money?” Chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, Rep. ken calvert (R-Calif.), said in an interview. “In my mind, no.”
Trump intends to launch the initiative to protect the entire country from a variety of threats, from ballistic missiles fired thousands of miles away to small drones flying toward the US. It will use a mix of old and new systems tied together by an artificial intelligence-powered network that pushes information back and forth in real time, a challenging engineering feat. And parts of it need to be fully functional by 2028 to meet Trump’s deadline.
The Pentagon wants $17 billion in budget reconciliation funds for the Golden Dome, and they are only seeking $400 million through the regular appropriations process. System costs can range anywhere $185 billion to $3 trillion","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/WP-Estimating-the-Cost-of-Golden-Dome.pdf?x97961","_Identification": :"0000019d-bc61-df48-a9bf-beebae660002","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-bc61-df48-a9bf-beebae660003","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>$185 billion to $3 trillion.
But it is risky to expect the reconciliation measure to go anywhere, a former defense official said. That means the money for the Golden Dome will have to compete with the rest of the Pentagon’s wish list in regular congressional spending bills.
The goal of a potential reconciliation bill is “not a great signal by this White House about the perceived dire need for the Golden Dome,” said the former official, who, like some others in this story, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive budget issues.
The Pentagon is convinced.
“To the skeptics, let me say this,” Guettlin said Thursday. “The Golden Dome can be achieved. It is not a single point of failure.” It is intended “to strengthen global stability by creating deep suspicion in the minds of adversaries that they will not win.”
When Guettlin was asked Thursday to explain how the administration plans to spend those billions of dollars, he said most of the program will involve currently classified technologies. He declined to say what was involved.
“I can’t tell you exactly where the money is going,” he said, adding that it will be layered between ground, air and space systems. “We’re actually buying hardware. We’re not prototyping.”
The first new piece of that technological puzzle is already being tested.
A unique triangle of stars and pillars stands in the middle of the field at the base where Guettlin spoke. Despite its drab appearance, the Army’s Long Range Persistent Surveillance System is up and running, featuring a 360-degree sensor system designed to detect cruise missiles, drones and aircraft.
The equipment is collecting data in the airspace around the base. This is the first time that it has been used domestically.
But some lawmakers have been frustrated by the lack of dialogue with the administration, which could prove problematic if the Pentagon needs to work with Congress to move Golden Dome money.
Although there has been some communication, it “has not reached the level of detailed spending plans,” the representative said. george whitesides (D-Calif.), who sits on the House Armed Services subcommittee that oversees the Golden Dome.
He said, “I have no objection to not throwing a lot of money out there without having a very cohesive vision of what it should do.”
What’s more, Guettlin recently said the centerpiece of Trump’s plan could be too costly. He warned lawmakers on April 15 that space-based interceptors, which are intended to destroy missiles just minutes after launch, could end up on the cutting room floor.
“We’re very focused on affordability.” Guettlin told the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee. “If we can’t do it affordably, we won’t go into production.”
The Golden Dome received about $23 billion through a reconciliation package passed last summer. But that funding has faced delays, frustrating defense companies eyeing lucrative contracts.
Jeff Hanke, president of space systems at L3Harris, a defense contractor, said the reconciliation process was a “new animal” and both the Pentagon and Congress had to figure out how exactly the money would flow.
“The industry would have loved to move faster,” Henke said. “We just have to continue to work with them, share with them, help them move as fast as they can.”
If Congress chooses the reconciliation path a second time — which is still very uncertain — Hanke said he expects it will be an easier journey.
The White House plans to shift Golden Dome funding to the base budget after 2027 and not rely on the reconciliation process. efforts, according to OMB budget document","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-resources/budget/supplemental-materials/","_Identification": :"0000019d-bc61-df48-a9bf-beebae660005","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-bc61-df48-a9bf-beebae660006","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>OMB budget documentThe “Golden Dome for America Fund” program will be funded down the line, allocating $14.7 billion in 2028, $15 billion in 2029, $16 billion in 2030, and $15.8 billion in 2031.
But for now, the project’s fate hinges on a GOP Congress wary of reconciliation. And top Pentagon officials are already thinking about other options.
Acting Pentagon comptroller Jules Hurst told reporters this week, “If the White House and Congress decide that reconciliation is not the right (path), we will go back to the White House and work with Congress to develop a new strategy.”
Conor O’Brien contributed to this report.
