(UPDATE) WASHINGTON, D.C. — United States President Donald Trump has unveiled new details and initial funding for his "Golden Dome" missile shield system, with geopolitical rival China accusing Washington of undermining global stability.
Trump announced on Tuesday that $25 billion was earmarked for the project, which he said could eventually cost around $175 billion in total and would be operational in about three years.
Beijing hit back on Wednesday, denouncing Golden Dome as a threat to international security and accusing Washington of fueling an arms race.
During "the campaign, I promised the American people I would build a cutting-edge missile defense shield," Trump said at the White House on Tuesday.
"Today I am pleased to announce we have officially selected architecture for this state-of-the-art system," he added. "Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space."
"This is very important for the success and even survival of our country."
He said US Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein would lead the effort, and that Canada has expressed interest in being part of it as "they want to have protection also."
While Trump put the total price at about $175 billion, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost of space-based interceptors to defeat a limited number of intercontinental ballistic missiles at between $161 billion and $542 billion over 20 years.
Golden Dome has more expansive goals, with Trump saying it "will deploy next-generation technologies across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors."
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, speaking alongside Trump, said the system was aimed at protecting "the homeland from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones, whether they're conventional or nuclear."
China, Russia opposed
The plan's Golden Dome name stems from Israel's Iron Dome air defense system that has intercepted thousands of short-range rockets and other projectiles since it went into operation in 2011.
The US faces various missile threats from adversaries, but they differ significantly from the short-range weapons that the Iron Dome is designed to counter.
The 2022 Missile Defense Review pointed to growing threats from China and Russia.
Beijing is closing the gap with Washington when it comes to ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow is modernizing its intercontinental-range missile systems and developing advanced precision strike missiles, the document said.
It also said the threat of drones — which have played a key role in the ongoing war in Ukraine — is likely to grow, and warned of the danger of ballistic missiles from North Korea and Iran, as well as rocket and missile threats from nonstate actors.
Beijing on Wednesday expressed "serious concern" over the plan, saying it undercuts "global strategic balance and stability."
"The United States prioritizes its own interests and is preoccupied with achieving complete security for itself, thereby contravening the notion that one nation’s security shouldn’t be achieved at the cost of another’s,” stated Beijing's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during a routine press conference.
She stated that [the plan] increases the likelihood of space turning into a battleground, escalates an armaments competition, and weakens global security.
This month, China has already sided with Russia in criticizing the idea as being "highly destabilizing."
The statement released by the Kremlin following their discussions noted, "This significantly bolsters our capabilities for executing combat missions in outer space."
In recent years, the US has acquired significant practical knowledge in safeguarding against missile and drone attacks.
In Ukraine, American defense systems have been employed to neutralize sophisticated Russian missiles. Meanwhile, U.S. aircraft and naval vessels assisted in protecting Israel from Iranian assaults last year, and they've also intercepted multiple missiles and drones targeting ships that were launched by Yemen’s Iran-supported Houthi insurgents numerous times.