A new bill in Congress cosponsored by Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan calls for the federal government to spend almost a billion dollars on new military projects in Alaska.
The Golden Dome Act, cosponsored by the Alaska Republican; Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota; and Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Indiana, seeks to implement a presidential executive order that calls for the creation of an extended missile defense system for the United States.
Envisioned by the president and modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, the Senate proposal envisions a system that could protect the United States against long-range missiles fired by a foreign country.
Overall, the act authorizes more than $23 billion to buy new missiles and build and plan new facilities.
That figure is on top of $25 billion earmarked for missile defense in the under-construction budget reconciliation bill, colloquially known as the Big, Beautiful Bill.
Sullivan has been a longtime proponent of America’s current limited missile defense system, which includes a large radar system in the Aleutian Islands and missiles based in underground silos at Fort Greely, near Delta Junction.
The effectiveness of that system and similar efforts has been repeatedly questioned, and tests have not shown that it is effective against significant numbers of missiles or when decoys or other countermeasures are used, a March 2025 report concluded.
The first-draft text of the Golden Dome Act, posted online Tuesday, calls for $460 million to be spent on new missiles and missile silos at Fort Greely.
Another $500 million is earmarked for a separate, as-yet-unbuilt missile defense system known as “Aegis Ashore.”
The Aegis missile system is ordinarily used by the U.S. Navy, and after several successful uses, proponents have called for ground-based Aegis missiles as well.
The $500 million would cover planning, site selection and construction of an Aegis Ashore facility in Alaska. Additional funding may be needed to complete that project.
Additional money is earmarked for the Cobra Dane radar system in the Aleutians, currently used to track objects in space.
During a news conference, Sullivan noted that on Monday, the missile defense radar at Clear Space Force Station, near Healy, tracked a live intercontinental ballistic missile in a test for the first time since being upgraded in 2021.
The test had been delayed for more than three years due to a variety of problems, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was a huge success,” Sullivan said of the test. “We can do this. The Golden Dome Act will ensure a long-term statutory framework that will make us safer and cement this critical national security initiative into the laws of our nation.”