Golden Dome Missile Defense Shield At Risk Of Grinding To A Halt Due To Budget Impasse

- Golden Dome's space-based interceptor constellation — 7,800 autonomous kill vehicles in orbit — is the engineering marvel that might never fly, because Congress can't pass a budget. Gen. Guetlein insists $185 billion covers the full architecture: radars on contract, launchers on contract, space data network on contract, hypersonic tracking on contract. The Congressional Budget Office disagrees with a $1.2 trillion estimate over 20 years. Two tests already executed at White Sands, described as phenomenally successful. First operational site is under construction. But funding flows through reconciliation, not normal defense