The development, deployment and operation of the futuristic “Golden Dome” anti-missile defense system that the President of United States, Donald Trump, wants to promote will cost around US$1.2 trillion over two decades.

It is the figure estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO by its acronym) and which represents a considerable increase in the initial sum of US$175,000 million that had been allocated for this purpose.

And it's possible that this system, designed to protect the United States against ballistic and cruise missiles, doesn't even work. The new CBO report warned that the “Golden Dome” could be vulnerable to a large-scale attack by Russia or China.

The acquisition costs alone would exceed a trillion dollars, including interceptor layers and a space-based missile alert tracking system, the head of the fiscal audit noted in a new report.

The plan to implement this system was one of Trump's first announcements after his return to the White House to start his second term.

He then stated that the objective was to counteract “next-generation” air threats. He further explained that this protection of the U.S. continental space is necessary given the increase in capabilities that other countries have had.

“Our adversaries have rapidly modernized their nuclear forces, building ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, building hypersonic missiles capable "It's to attack the United States in one hour while traveling 9,600 km/h," said General Michael Guetlein, the Pentagon's deputy chief of space operations, who will supervise the project.

“The golden dome is a bold and aggressive approach to quickly protect our territory from our adversaries,” he added.

“Gift to defense companies”

Last year stated that the program would require an initial investment of US$25,000 million and placed the total cost of the project at US$175,000,000,000,000,000.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who requested that the estimate be included in the report, noted Tuesday that “the so-called”Golden Dome” “ from the president is nothing than a massive gift to defense contractors paid in full by American workers.”

The BBC has contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comments.

There have been doubts about whether the United States would be able to provide a comprehensive defense system for such a large landmass.

Authorities have warned that existing systems are not up to par with the increasingly sophisticated weapons possessed by potential adversaries.

Despite the projected costs of the “Golden Dome,” “the system could be overwhelmed by a large-scale attack organized by a peer or close-adversary,” the commission report states.

The most catastrophic threat

An executive order calling for the creation of what was initially called the “Iron Dome” to the United States pointed out the threat Next-generation weapons have “become more intense and complex” with the passage of time, which represents a potentially “catastrophic” scenario for the United States.

Trump ordered the Department of Defense to submit plans for a system to deter and defend against air attacks inmates, which according to the White House at that time remained “the most catastrophic threat” that the United States faces.

Trump claimed that the system would consist of “next-generation” technologies distributed across land, sea, and space, including space sensors and interceptors.

The system would be“able to even intercept missiles launched from the other side of the world or launched from space,” the president said last year.

Last month, SpaceX and Lockheed Martin won contracts worth up to $3.2 billion to develop space-based missile interceptor prototypes for the system.

This article was originally written in English and we used an artificial intelligence tool to translate it. A BBC journalist reviewed the text before publication. Learn more about how we use AI.