President Donald Trump is expected to announce that Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein will oversee the Golden Dome missile defense system.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were scheduled to discuss the Golden Dome effort Tuesday afternoon at the White House.
The system will combine existing ground-based missile interceptors and satellites to better protect against threats that include hypersonic glide weapons and low-flying ballistic missiles, The Wall Street Journal reported. Military officials have described the Golden Dome as a "system of systems" that will include a mix of traditional defense systems and newer, unproven technology.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated parts of the system could cost as much as $831 billion over two decades, much of that going toward advanced satellites. Congressional Republicans are proposing spending as much as $25 billion in the next federal budget as a down payment on the system.
Guetlein, a four-star general with experience in space operations, acquisitions, and missile defense, is vice chief of space operations at Space Force. He has advocated for greater investment in U.S. space capabilities, and in recent months has raised alarms about "an enormous amount of threats" emerging from adversaries such as China.
Guetlein told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that the Golden Dome effort is like the Manhattan Project — "a very bold vision that is going to have a lot of complexity to it," the Journal reported. He said the project would need to unite several agencies and organizations, embrace nontraditional contractors and possibly include technology from allies.
Pentagon officials earlier this month briefed Trump on potential Golden Dome options, the Journal reported. Trump told the department to move forward and to prioritize elements of the project that could be finished during his term.