Defense & Security
How to actually share America’s defense burden with allies
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 calling for an “Iron Dome for America,” later rebranded as the “Golden Dome for America,” a missile defense system meant to protect the entire continental United States from all missile attacks. Once built, it would stand as the largest and costliest homeland missile defense effort ever attempted, with the Congressional Budget Office projecting it would cost roughly $1.2 trillion to develop, deploy, and run over two decades, a sum far greater than the Trump administration’s estimate of $175 billion.
Over a year and a half after the executive order, basic questions remain about Golden Dome’s architecture and mission. China’s growing missile arsenal, the rapid proliferation of drones, the erosion of arms control agreements, and a more unpredictable strategic environment all complicate the picture. Policymakers must weigh what kind of national air and missile defense makes sense on both strategic and budgetary grounds, and whether the ambitions behind Golden Dome match the resources for such a system.
On August 19, join the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings for a discussion on what lies ahead for Golden Dome. Online viewers can submit questions via e-mail to [email protected].
Agenda
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August 19
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Discussion
DMDavid Mosher Director of National Security Analysis - Congressional Budget Office
Steve Fetter Professor, School of Public Policy - University of Maryland
Michael E. O’Hanlon Director of Research - Foreign Policy, Director - Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy @MichaelEOHanlonModerator
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