The "Ground and Orbital Launched Defeat of Emergent Nuclear Destruction and Other Missile Engagements Act of 2025," or GOLDEN DOME Act, aims to significantly enhance the United States' missile defense capabilities against rapidly evolving and sophisticated threats. Congress finds that missile-related threats, including ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic weapons, have expanded in quantity, diversity, and sophistication since 2019, posing increasing risks to national security. The bill emphasizes the need for a comprehensive, integrated defense to deter and defeat coercive attacks and ensure a secure second-strike capability for the U.S.

To achieve this, the Act mandates the Secretary of Defense to develop a holistic missile defense strategy within one year, incorporating all-domain awareness from the seafloor to space and cyberspace, along with integrated, secure, and redundant command and control systems. A dedicated Golden Dome Direct Report Program Manager will be established, reporting directly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, with extensive authority over acquisition, contracting, budgeting, and oversight. This Program Manager is largely exempt from certain Department of Defense manuals to facilitate accelerated implementation and can work with other federal agencies to expedite research and testing.

The legislation directs the acceleration of various defense technologies and systems. This includes leveraging commercial solutions and advanced manufacturing, establishing a robust testing regime with virtual and semi-annual live-fire exercises, and developing non-kinetic capabilities such as cyber, directed energy, and high-power microwave options. It also prioritizes an AI-driven information fusion platform for all-domain awareness and early warning, capable of integrating novel and legacy systems.

Key provisions focus on strengthening space-based defenses, accelerating the Space Development Agency's proliferated warfighter space architecture, and deploying over 40 Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor vehicles by December 2025. The bill mandates expanding Next Generation Interceptor production and silo construction at Fort Greely, Alaska, to field up to 80 interceptors by January 2028, with consideration for an additional site. Development of the Glide Phase Interceptor for hypersonic threats, ground mobile interceptors, and resilient positioning, navigation, and timing solutions in GPS-denied environments are also accelerated.

Further accelerations include autonomous agents for cruise missile and unmanned system defense, low-cost scalable interceptors, and proliferated space-based sensors and interceptors that integrate with ground systems and leverage commercial capabilities. The Act also calls for modernizing terrestrial radar capabilities, including Cobra Dane and the Alaska Radar System, and the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System (PARCS). It requires site selection and program execution plans for a Southern Hemisphere-facing early warning radar, a flexible terrestrial missile defense network, and an Alaska-based Aegis Ashore system, while also accelerating the completion of the Hawaii Aegis Ashore system.

The bill authorizes the procurement and fielding of dirigibles for homeland missile defense and accelerates the procurement of Air Moving Target Indicator (AMTI) systems and the expansion of the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System. To ensure rapid deployment, the Secretary of Defense gains expedited military construction authority, allowing waivers of legal requirements for construction, deployment, and testing, subject to limited judicial review. The Act also promotes technology exchanges with trusted allies and mandates the development and securing of critical missile defense supply chains.

Finally, the legislation amends existing law to enhance the protection of U.S. assets from incursions, particularly from unmanned aircraft systems, by delegating authority to combatant commands and extending the sunset date for certain mitigation authorities to December 31, 2030. It also includes provisions to maximize competition in the space industrial base. The bill authorizes a substantial appropriation of $23,023,100,000 for fiscal year 2026, allocated across various programs to fund these critical advancements in U.S. missile defense capabilities.