Trump, Hegseth Announce Plans for America's Future 'Golden Dome' Missile Program

President Donald Trump announced his plans on Tuesday to move forward with the future Golden Dome missile defense program.

The president made the announcement at the White House, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Space Force Vice Chief of Operations, General Michael Guetlein.

Trump referred to the vision President Ronald Reagan had for such a missile defense system but didn't have the technology to build it in the 1980s.

For the first time, the Golden Dome will put U.S. weapons in space and would allow them to be fired to destroy an incoming missile during flight.

Trump also noted that "everything in the Golden Dome will be made in the US." He said the program will become operational in three years.

Guetlein was named as the lead program manager for the Golden Dome project.

The Pentagon has been developing different options for the system, a U.S. official told AP, describing the versions as  medium, high and extra high choices based on their cost.

The administration picked the high version, with an initial cost ranging between $30 billion and $100 billion, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

So far, $25 billion has been designated out of next year's defense budget for this system, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates it could cost as much as $500 billion over the next 20 years, Fox News reports. 

In January, Trump signed an executive order that gave Hegseth 60 days to come up with plans to build an "Iron Dome for America" that will protect Americans from an "attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks."

The order outlines that advanced aerial weapons remain "the most catastrophic threat facing the United States."