HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Work on the Golden Dome national air defense shield could come to a grinding halt in October if lawmakers do not figure out a way to continue funding for the presidential initiative, the general in charge of the massive project warned today. 

“I will tell you that if they don’t figure it out, there’s no Golden Dome because there is no funding,” Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein told an audience at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium today in Huntsville, Ala.

“Without continued funding, Golden Dome will stop with everything we’ve already built and delivered,” he later told reporters.

Guetlein’s comments come as lawmakers are preparing for the upcoming midterm elections and grappling with just how to fund the Defense Department in fiscal 2027, which kicks off on Oct. 1. Part of that challenge revolves around the White House’s strategic gamble when it asked for $1.5 trillion for the department in FY27 by splitting it into two pots — $1.15 trillion in the base budget request and an additional $350 billion in a reconciliation request. 

“There are discussions within the department about how to go forward because we have diversified execution of a lot of these capabilities, and a lot of these capabilities are already requested by combatant commands,” Guetlein told reporters. “There are some alternatives that we can pursue. We have not made any decisions on any pathway.”

For example, there are space capabilities with funding streams from the larger Golden Dome coffer and from the Space Force, the four-star general explained. “So, if Golden Dome is not able to continue to invest in those type of capabilities, then the Space Force could decide at that time to continue the investments,” he said. 

As Pentagon leaders figure out a path ahead for FY27 funding, they are also working to spend the roughly $25 billion they received for the initial Golden Dome funding via the 2025 budget reconciliation legislation. Guetlein said that, so far, 90 percent of that total has been obligated and 95 percent committed to deals. 

Guetlein and other department leaders have been working furiously to move out on Golden Dome since early 2025 when US President Donald Trump rolled out his plans to build a sprawling, multilayered homeland air defense system. The Pentagon initially said the initiative would cost $175 billion before Guetlein upped it to $185 billion in March to accelerate the development of space capabilities to protect the homeland from incoming aerial threats. Other public estimates put the cost far, far higher over the coming years.

In a bid to better help connect with stakeholders, including industry looking to secure contracts, the Pentagon unveiled a new, online Golden Dome for America Hub today. 

The Pentagon said the new hub “represents a fundamental shift in how the United States builds its next-generation, multi-layered homeland missile defense shield.

“By removing legacy organizational barriers, the Hub serves as a unified entry point for traditional defense contractors, commercial tech companies, venture capitalists, academic institutions, research laboratories, and nontraditional entrepreneurs to deliver innovative capabilities at the speed of the market,” it said.