Overview
- Gen. Michael Guetlein told House lawmakers Wednesday that space-based interceptors would not move into production unless they can be built at scale and at acceptable cost.
- The Pentagon requested $17.5 billion for Golden Dome in fiscal 2027, with only $398 million in the base budget and the rest tied to a reconciliation bill that could fail.
- Officials now cite an overall Golden Dome price near $185 billion for a layered shield designed to counter ballistic, hypersonic, and advanced cruise missiles.
- The Space Force has begun awarding classified prototype deals for space interceptors and asked for $2 billion in procurement under “Special Space Activities,” which may cover some of that work.
- Lawmakers pressed the program’s technical and fiscal basis, and leaders pointed to a kinetic midcourse interceptor path if boost-phase shots from orbit prove too expensive.