Golden Dome Price Dispute Heightens Defense Budget Battle

The clash over Golden Dome costs pits the CBO’s estimate of at least $1.2 trillion over 20 years against the Pentagon’s figure of about $185 billion over the next decade. DoD has obligated roughly 90% of a $22.5 billion initial appropriation and seeks more funding through a reconciliation bill. Space Force General Michael Guetlein dismissed the CBO figure as a myth, saying the program uses current technology to build a sensor-network and space-based interceptors, with Congress weighing funding and homeland-defense tests projected for 2028.