Trump selects concept for $175-B Golden Dome missile defense system

President Donald Trump has announced the concept he wants for his future Golden Dome missile defense program — a multi-layered, $175-billion system that for the first time will put US weapons in space.

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Speaking Tuesday from the Oval Office, Trump said he expects the system will be "fully operational before the end of my term," which ends in 2029, and have the capability of intercepting missiles "even if they are launched from space."

It's likelier that the complex system may have some initial capability by that point, a US official familiar with the program said.

Trump, seated next to a poster showing the continental US painted gold and with artistic depictions of missile interceptions, also announced that Gen. Michael Guetlein, who currently serves as the vice chief of space operations, will be responsible for overseeing Golden Dome's progress.

Golden Dome is envisioned to include groundand space-based capabilities that are able to detect and stop missiles at all four major stages of a potential attack: Detecting and destroying them before a launch, intercepting them in their earliest stage of flight, stopping them midcourse in the air, or halting them in the final minutes as they descend toward a target.