The United States has no active defence against hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles or advanced cruise missiles, a senior Pentagon official told Congress, as the Trump administration presses ahead with the Golden Dome missile shield programme.
The warning lands as the cost of Golden Dome has risen to $185 billion, raising questions over whether Washington can close a key defence gap on time and within budget.
The remarks came during a Senate hearing on Monday, where Marc Berkowitz, assistant secretary of defence for missile defence and deterrence policy, outlined the current vulnerability and positioned Golden Dome as the planned response.
Defence Gap
"We have no defence against hypersonic weapons or cruise missiles today, or advanced cruise missiles," Berkowitz said during the hearing.
He said the programme is intended to change that position. "The Golden Dome will strengthen deterrence by denying adversaries the ability to achieve their objectives through coercion or aggression," he told lawmakers.
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Berkowitz also named China as the main strategic focus. "China is our pacing competitor. We will deter China from a position of strength with a denial defence along the first island chain."
Rising Cost
Trump proposed the space-based interceptor system last year, with a goal of making it operational before the end of his second term in January 2029.
The project was first priced at $175 billion through 2035. That estimate was later raised by $10 billion by the US Space Force, taking the total to $185 billion.
General Michael Guetlein, Golden Dome's programme manager, said the extra funding would support airborne moving target indication, space data networking and hypersonic missile tracking.
He also said he was confident the programme would remain within the $185 billion estimate.
Golden Dome marks a wider shift in US missile defence planning, moving beyond limited protection against smaller threats to a system aimed at handling larger attacks from countries such as China and Russia.
Whether the programme can meet that goal, stay on schedule and hold costs remains a key test for policymakers in Washington.
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