The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that President Donald Trump's proposed "Golden Dome for America" missile defense system would cost $1.2 trillion, according to a new analysis published Tuesday. The figure represents a substantial increase from the $175 billion price tag Trump cited when announcing the program in May of last year.

The nonpartisan CBO report describes the analysis as "one illustrative approach rather than an estimate of a specific Administration proposal." Trump ordered the futuristic defense system through an executive order during his first week in office, stating he expected it to be "fully operational before the end of my term" in January 2029.

The proposed system would include both ground and space-based capabilities designed to detect, intercept and stop missiles at all major stages of a potential attack. The concept draws partial inspiration from Israel's multitiered defense systems, collectively known as the "Iron Dome," which have been used to defend against rocket and missile attacks.

In his executive order, Trump cited evolving threats as justification for the program, stating that "over the past 40 years, rather than lessening, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons has become more intense and complex with the development by peer and near-peer adversaries of next-generation delivery systems."

Congress has already allocated approximately $24 billion for the missile defense initiative through a tax and spending measure signed into law last summer. The CBO previously estimated in 2024 that just the space-based components of the system could cost as much as $542 billion over 20 years.