On January 27, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Defense to develop and implement a homeland missile defense architecture to defend against "ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries."1 On May 20, 2025, President Trump asserted that this "Golden Dome for America" concept would cost $175 billion, and be completed by the end of his term.2 Other cost and timeline estimates have exceeded those of President Trump.3 The Golden Dome concept and the Trump Administration's approach to homeland missile defense introduces several potential oversight and funding issues for Congress.
This report compiles a selection of CRS products on various aspects of U.S. homeland air and missile defense. To contact the authors of these CRS products, congressional staff may use the contact information provided in the links below.
CRS Insight IN12544, The Golden Dome (Iron Dome) for America: Overview and Issues for Congressional Consideration, by Hannah D. Dennis
CRS Insight IN12568, Golden Dome: Potential Strategic Stability Considerations for Congress, by Anya L. Fink
CRS Insight IN12576, Golden Dome: Proposed Funding in H.R. 1, by Hannah D. Dennis and Daniel M. Gettinger
CRS In Focus IF10541, Defense Primer: U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense, by Hannah D. Dennis
CRS In Focus IF11623, Hypersonic Missile Defense: Issues for Congress, by Hannah D. Dennis, Jennifer DiMascio, and Kelley M. Sayler
CRS Report R48477, Department of Defense Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Background and Issues for Congress, by Daniel M. Gettinger
CRS In Focus IF11882, Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons, by Kelley M. Sayler
CRS Report R46925, Department of Defense Directed Energy Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress, coordinated by Kelley M. Sayler
CRS Report R47643, Guam: Defense Infrastructure and Readiness, by Andrew Tilghman
CRS Report RL33745, Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke
CRS In Focus IF12645, The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) System, by Andrew Feickert
CRS Report R47620, Canada: Background and U.S. Relations, coordinated by Peter J. Meyer (see, in particular, the section on the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD)
CRS In Focus IF12610, Defense Primer: The United States Space Force, by Hannah D. Dennis
CRS In Focus IF12840, Defense Primer: U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM), by Robert Switzer and Jennifer DiMascio
CRS In Focus IF12981, Defense Primer: U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), by Anya L. Fink and Robert Switzer
CRS In Focus IF11737, China: Nuclear and Missile Proliferation, by Paul K. Kerr
CRS In Focus IF12621, Congressional Commission on the U.S. Strategic Posture, by Anya L. Fink
CRS In Focus IF11459, Defense Primer: Hypersonic Boost-Glide Weapons, by Kelley M. Sayler
CRS Report R45811, Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress, by Kelley M. Sayler
CRS In Focus IF13035, Iran's Ballistic Missile Programs: Background and Context, by Daniel M. Gettinger and Clayton Thomas
CRS In Focus IF10472, North Korea's Nuclear Weapons and Missile Programs, by Mary Beth D. Nikitin
CRS In Focus IF12672, Russia's Nuclear Weapons, by Anya L. Fink
CRS In Focus IF12964, U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control: Overview and Potential Considerations for Congress, by Anya L. Fink
CRS In Focus IF12817, Defense Primer: Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), by Alexandra G. Neenan
CRS In Focus IF11697, Defense Primer: Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3), by Anya L. Fink
CRS In Focus IF10519, Defense Primer: Strategic Nuclear Forces, by Anya L. Fink
CRS Report R48559, Proposed Spectrum Provisions in the House Reconciliation Bill (H.R. 1), by Jill C. Gallagher
CRS In Focus IF12350, Repurposing 3.1-3.55 GHz Spectrum: Issues for Congress, by Jill C. Gallagher
| 1. |
Executive Order 14186 of January 27, 2025, "The Iron Dome for America," 90 Federal Register 8767, February 3, 2025, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/03/2025-02182/the-iron-dome-for-america. The Trump Administration initially called this effort "The Iron Dome for America," and subsequently renamed it "The Golden Dome for America." See, for example, U.S. Department of Defense, "Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Statement on Golden Dome for America," press release, May 20, 2025, https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4193417/secretary-of-defense-pete-hegseth-statement-on-golden-dome-for-america/. |
| 2. |
The White House, "President Trump Makes an Announcement with the Secretary of Defense," video, May 20, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/president-trump-makes-an-announcement-with-the-secretary-of-defense/. |
| 3. |
For example, in May 2025, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated findings from 2004 and 2012 studies that assessed the cost of various space-based interceptor (SBI) architectures to counter the North Korean missile threat. (President Trump has mentioned SBIs will be part of Golden Dome.) CBO found that, depending on the desired architecture and certain assumptions made about SBI technology and despite decreasing launch costs, the notional architectures assessed in the 2004 and 2012 studies could cost from $160.7 billion to $542.4 billion over 20 years. In addition, these notional constellations were not sized for the threat posed by North Korea in 2025, nor the threat posed by all aerial threats in 2025. CBO noted that "North Korea is probably now capable of launching attacks with enough ICBMs to overwhelm the SBI defenses examined in [previous studies]." Letter from Phillip L. Swagel, director of CBO, to Senator Deb Fischer, chair, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Committee on Armed Services, and Senator Angus S. King Jr., ranking member, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Committee on Armed Services, May 5, 2025, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-05/61237-SBI.pdf. |