Golden Dome missile defense program won’t be operational by end of Trump’s term

Exclusive: Pentagon officials expect a space-based weapon to be ready only for a demonstration by 2028

Donald Trump's so-called Golden Dome missile defense program - which will feature space-based weapons to intercept strikes against the US - is not expected to be ready before the end of his term, despite his prediction that it would be completed within the next three years.

In the Oval Office last week, when he announced that the US space force would oversee the project under Gen Michael Guetlein, the president said he was confident that it would be fully operational" before he left office.