Trump unveils plans for 'Golden Dome' missile defense system

U.S. President Donald Trump has shared an ambitious plan to protect America from missile assaults, dubbed 'Golden Dome', that will come with a hefty price tag.

Lee Seung-jae has more.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday his plan for a missile defense program dubbed 'Golden Dome.'

The multi-layered system would allow for U.S. weapons to be put into space for the first time.

"Thank you very much, and thank you for being here in the Oval Office, one of the great places of the world, as we make a historic announcement about the Golden Dome Missile Defense Shield. That's something we want, and Ronald Reagan wanted it many years ago, but they didn't have the technology. But it's something that we're going to have."

The 'Golden Dome' will include ground and space-based capabilities that can detect and destroy missiles at all major stages of a potential attack.

Trump said that he had promised the American people that he would build a "cutting-edge missile defense shield" to protect the U.S. from the threat of foreign missile attacks.

However, the ambitious plan also comes with a massive price tag.

"I'm also pleased to report that the one big, beautiful bill will include $25 billion for the Golden Dome to help construction get underway. That's the initial sort of down posit. And we have probably you're talking about, General, we're talking about $175 billion total cost of this when it's completed."

However, earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that deploying and operating just the space-based interceptors of the defense system could cost up to 542 billion dollars over the next 20 years.

Still, citing the increasingly sophisticated threats from North Korea, Russia, and China, Trump said the system could be operational within three years, as he named General Michael Guetlein, vice chief of operations for the U.S. Space Force, to oversee the 'Golden Dome' project.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.