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Golden Dome aims to block threats from China and Russia

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Program faces political scrutiny and funding uncertainty

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Democrats concerned by potential SpaceX involvement

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Potential for Palantir ( PLTR ), Anduril, L3Harris ( LHX ), Lockheed

Martin ( LMT ), RTX

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Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Indiana to benefit, Trump says

(Adds Carney statement; paragraphs 5,6)

By Mike Stone and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump

said on Tuesday he had selected a design for the $175-billion

Golden Dome missile defense shield and named a Space Force

general to head the ambitious program aimed at blocking threats

from China and Russia.

The program, first ordered by Trump in January, aims to

create a network of satellites, perhaps numbering in the

hundreds, to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming

missiles.

Trump told a White House press conference that U.S. Space

Force General Michael Guetlein would be the lead program manager

for an effort widely viewed as the keystone to Trump's military

planning.

Golden Dome will "protect our homeland," Trump said, adding

that Canada had said it wanted to be part of it.

In a statement, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark

Carney said he and his ministers were discussing a new security

and economic relationship with their American counterparts.

"These discussions naturally include strengthening NORAD and

related initiatives such as the Golden Dome," it added.

Trump said the defense shield, which would cost some $175

billion, should be operational by the end of his term in January

2029, but industry experts were less certain of that timeframe

and the cost.

"Ronald Reagan wanted it many years ago, but they didn't

have the technology," Trump said, referring to the space-based

missile defense system, popularly called "Star Wars", that

Reagan proposed.

The Golden Dome program faces both political scrutiny and

funding uncertainty.

"The new datapoint is the $175 billion, but the question

remains, over what period of time. It's probably 10 years," said

Tom Karako of the Center for Strategic and International

Studies.

Silicon Valley and U.S. software expertise can be leveraged

to bring advances, while also using existing missile defense

systems, he added.

This month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that

Golden Dome could cost as much as $831 billion over two decades.

Democratic lawmakers have voiced concern about the

procurement process and involvement of Trump ally Elon Musk's

SpaceX, which has emerged as a frontrunner alongside Palantir ( PLTR )

and Anduril to build key components of the system.

"The new autonomous space-age defense ecosystem is more

about Silicon Valley than it is about 'big metal,'" Senator

Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said at the White House event.

"So what's exciting about this is it makes it available to

everybody to participate, to compete."

"Big metal" refers to legacy defense contractors.

The Golden Dome idea was inspired by Israel's land-based

Iron Dome defense shield that protects it from missiles and

rockets.

Trump's Golden Dome is much more extensive, including a

massive array of surveillance satellites and a separate fleet of

attacking satellites that would shoot down offensive missiles

soon after lift-off.

Tuesday's announcement kicks off the Pentagon's effort to

test and ultimately buy the missiles, systems, sensors and

satellites that will constitute Golden Dome.

Trump said Alaska would be a big part of the program, while

Florida, Georgia and Indiana would also benefit.

Many of the early systems are expected to come from existing

production lines. Attendees at the press conference named

L3Harris Technologies ( LHX ), Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) and RTX

Corp ( RTX ) as potential contractors for the massive project.

L3 has invested $150 million in building out its new

facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where it makes the Hypersonic

and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor satellites that are part of

a Pentagon effort to better detect and track hypersonic weapons

with space-based sensors and could be adapted for Golden Dome.

Golden Dome's funding remains uncertain. Republican

lawmakers have proposed a $25-billion initial investment for

Golden Dome as part of a broader $150-billion defense package,

but this funding is tied to a contentious reconciliation bill

that faces significant hurdles in Congress.

"Unless reconciliation passes, the funds for Golden Dome may

not materialize," said an industry executive following the

program, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This puts the

entire project timeline in jeopardy."