U.S. President Donald Trump officially announced plans to deploy the next-generation missile defense system "Golden Dome" in operational use during his term.
President Trump noted during an announcement event held on the 20th (local time) in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth present that "Golden Dome must be fully operational before my term ends," adding that the goal is to achieve operational readiness by January 2029.
He said, "Next-generation technologies, including space-based sensors and interceptors, will be deployed on land, at sea, and in space," and added that "Canada also wants to be part of this system and has been in contact. Discussions are expected to happen soon."
President Trump emphasized that once Golden Dome is completed, it "will be able to intercept missiles launched from the other side of the Earth and from space," asserting it "will be the best defense system ever."
The total project size is expected to reach $175 billion (approximately 244 trillion won), of which $25 billion (approximately 35 trillion won) is included in the "big and beautiful single bill" related to the budget and tax cut policies of the Trump administration currently pending in Congress.
Golden Dome is a missile defense system similar to Israel's "Iron Dome," and President Trump initiated a full-scale push for this plan after signing an executive order on January 27.
The executive order directed the Ministry of National Defense to prepare a new interceptor system capable of defending against ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and new cruise missiles within two months.
The core of Golden Dome is the establishment of a space-based interceptor system. This method involves tracking new missiles that are difficult to detect with ground radars using sensors deployed in space, and interceptors placed in space will intercept the missiles during their ascent phase, indicating a differentiation from existing systems.
This plan is interpreted as a preparation for threats from countries with long-range attack capabilities against the U.S. mainland, such as China, Russia, and North Korea.
Meanwhile, during the Ronald Reagan administration in the 1980s, a program known as the "Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)" or "Star Wars" was promoted to intercept enemy nuclear missiles from space; however, it was suspended due to a lack of budget and technology at the time.
President Trump said regarding this, "We will truly complete the task that President Reagan started 40 years ago."