The American Golden Dome missile defense system will require the deployment of 7,800 interceptor satellites in orbit. This became known on May 18 based on an analysis of documents from the U.S. Congress.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the program’s cost at $1.2 trillion—more than six times the Pentagon’s figure. The development, deployment, and operation of space interceptors alone will require $743 billion, accounting for 60% of the total project cost.
As noted in the documents, an echelon of thousands of satellites is necessary to ensure interceptors remain above rocket launch sites and can destroy targets within the first minutes of flight. Each satellite has a service life of approximately five years before descending from orbit. To maintain this constellation, the United States must launch about 1,600 new devices annually at a cost of $22 million each.
According to congressional assessments, the missile defense system will not be able to fully repel a massive missile attack from major nuclear powers, including potential strikes by the Russian Federation or China.
