President Donald Trump marked his 100th day in office on April 29 with a rally in Michigan.
At the rally, he highlighted some of his accomplishments during his second presidency, including his executive order to begin construction on the Golden Dome Defense Shield, a next-generation missile defense system aimed at protecting the U.S. homeland from advanced missile threats.
The Golden Dome initiative, dubbed initially “Iron Dome for America,” has undergone a significant rebranding.
The Pentagon confirmed the name change in February, with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency advisory to contractors stating, “Please note the Department of Defense has renamed this program from ‘Iron Dome for America’ to ‘Golden Dome for America.’”
The shift came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referred to the system as “Golden Dome, or Iron Dome,” while discussing budget priorities, prompting the official redesignation. While inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, the Golden Dome is designed to operate on a much larger scale, protecting the entire U.S. territory from ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missile threats.
The program’s roots trace back to a January 27 White House statement titled, “The Iron Dome for America,” which outlined the administration’s goal of deploying a next-generation missile defense shield.
The statement emphasized the urgency of the initiative, noting, “The threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks, remains the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.”
It also highlighted the need to “guarantee its secure second-strike capability” while deterring attacks on U.S. soil.
The Golden Dome Defense Shield has garnered support from key defense players, including Lockheed Martin, which has positioned itself as a major partner in the project. The company describes the initiative as “a revolutionary concept to further the goals of peace through strength and President Trump’s vision for deterring adversaries from attacks on the homeland.”
Lockheed Martin emphasized its readiness to integrate advanced technologies like space-based interceptors and hypersonic defenses, calling the effort a “Manhattan Project-scale mission.”
Legislative backing for the program has also emerged.
In February, Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced the IRONDOME Act of 2025, which allocates $19.5 billion to bolster missile defense capabilities. The bill includes $12 billion specifically for 80 Next Generation Interceptors to be deployed at Fort Greely, Alaska. The goal is to counter threats from adversaries like China, which is rapidly advancing hypersonic technology.
However, the ambitious project has raised concerns among some experts.
Critics point to the complexity and cost of scaling a system like Israel’s Iron Dome to cover the entire U.S., noting that the Golden Dome will require advanced space-based sensors and interceptors to address hypersonic threats.
The Golden Dome system will incorporate space-based sensors, advanced interceptors, and directed-energy weapons, which also highlight potential challenges in funding and technological development.
Budget constraints are a particular concern, as Hegseth has pushed for $50 billion in defense cuts to redirect funds to priorities like the Golden Dome, a move that has sparked debate within the Pentagon.
Proponents argue the system is a necessary deterrent in an increasingly volatile global landscape.
The White House policy statement referenced the failure of President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, which was canceled before completion. It stressed that the missile threat has grown more complex over the past 40 years. Supporters like Cramer and Sullivan see the Golden Dome as a critical step to stay ahead of rogue states and peer competitors.
The Trump administration, backed by defense industry leaders, is betting on the system to redefine U.S. homeland security.