CNN: First Golden Dome Test Set for Late 2028

The Defense Department has scheduled the first major test of President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defense system for late 2028, CNN reported Friday.

The three-year timeline is ambitious given that the Pentagon has been pondering a space-based missile intercept for decades, a defense official told the outlet.

The official added that Golden Dome remains a "hard problem, and technically very risky."

"The possible number of satellites needed to achieve a probability of engagement success is going to be very high, given the time and area needed to cover the continental United States," the official told CNN.

The Golden Dome project's focus currently is to move quickly and rely on existing systems to prove the concept of a massive missile shield is worth more funding, a second source said.

The defense official told the mainstream media outlet that the timing of the test, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2028, suggested Republicans "want a win to point to in November [2028], and DOD wants to avoid anything they perceive will slow them down."

Trump in May said he expects the system will be "fully operational before the end of my term," which ends in January 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 U.S. official familiar with the program said.

Reuters reported last week that the Trump administration was expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome system, courting Amazon.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contractors as tensions with Elon Musk threaten SpaceX's dominance in the program.

Due to its size, track record of launching more than 9,000 of its own Starlink satellites, and experience in government procurement, SpaceX still has the inside track to assist with major portions of the Golden Dome, especially launch contracts, Reuters reported.

"I think the real technical challenge will be building of the space-based interceptor," Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, who's overseeing Golden Dome's progress, said at a space industry summit last week.

"That technology exists, I believe. I believe we have proven every element of the physics, that we can make it work. What we have not proven is, first, Can I do it economically? And then second, Can I do it at scale? Can I build enough satellites to get after the threat? Can I expand the industrial base fast enough to build those satellites?"

The Missile Defense Agency plans to call the test FTI-X, the Defense official told CNN. "FTI" stands for "flight test integrated," indicating the test will involve many sensors and weapons systems working to engage multiple targets.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.