Golden Dome funding lags as industry partners line up

By John T. Seward – The Washington Times – Tuesday, October 28, 2025

The head of President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense program gave a classified briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee last week that described the secretive architecture of the project, The Washington Times has learned.

U.S. Space Force Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, who was tapped earlier this year by Mr. Trump to lead the design of Golden Dome, told committee members about key target dates for the project’s delivery.

Gen. Guetlein also outlined how the project will integrate missile detection capabilities and early warning systems, said two sources familiar with the briefing who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss aspects of the classified meeting.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, Alaska Republican and a member of the Armed Services Committee, confirmed the meeting to The Times but declined to comment on specifics because of the classified nature of the planned Golden Dome architecture.

Mr. Sullivan, who is routinely involved with the military’s missile defense programs because of his state’s strategic geographic location, said he was impressed with Gen. Guetlein’s presentation.

“He just has a really good sense of how he wants to layer it and put it together,” the senator said. “He’s got a plan, you know, it’s got like 30-day, 60-day, 120-day, and I thought it was good.”

Speculation about the specific architecture of the Golden Dome is rampant among defense industry insiders. So is unease over the status of some $24.5 billion in funding that Congress approved this year for the missile shield’s development.

Multiple sources have told The Times that none of the money has been allocated for contracts and that White House Office of Management and Budget is holding the funds.

Some defense strategy analysts say Congress’ approval of the money was unprecedented.

The initial $24.5 billion was included in the passage of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in July. At the time, Mr. Trump touted the money as an initial down payment for the Golden Dome.

“Congress pre-appropriated $24.5 billion without a program plan, scheduled requirements — nothing,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

“Never have we seen that much money appropriated in advance of a program actually starting,” Mr. Harrison said during a virtual panel discussion last week.

The discussion, hosted by the Center for New American Security, was titled: “Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac: How U.S. Defense Spending Prioritizes Innovation over Deterrence.”

Mr. Harrison said the Pentagon and the Trump administration have not publicly defined Golden Dome’s capability goals.

Analysts estimate the missile shield will be a multidecade program costing hundreds of billions of dollars for space-based and other futuristic missile defense capabilities that will continue to evolve technically over time.

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, initial funding was made available for the next four years, with spending flexibility baked into the law that could make congressional oversight difficult.

There is consensus among many in the national security community that Golden Dome is urgently needed amid rising nuclear and ballistic missile threats from U.S. adversaries, most notably Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

Mr. Harrison said the potential exists for the systems involved in the project to be focused on every threat, from small drones fulfilling a counter small uncrewed systems (C-sUAS) role to protecting against things “like a strategic nuclear strike from Russia or China, or both of them simultaneously, or a rogue missile from North Korea.”

Such concerns didn’t stop the initial funding for Golden Dome from being approved by law, a situation that has drawn criticism from some Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, has called the $24.5 billion for Golden Dome a “slush fund” and said the Trump administration may try to use the funds however it sees fit.

“We’re still waiting for really detailed plans,” Mr. Reed said. “It’s such a comprehensive program, but there’s nothing there yet. What is the priority?”………………………………… https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/oct/28/golden-dome-funding-lags-industry-partners-line/