Beijing maintains a commanding lead over global supplies of gallium, germanium, antimony, and tungsten, minerals that are integrated into roughly 1,400 U.S. weapons systems. Core platforms such as Virginia-class submarines and B-2 bombers depend on hundreds of specialized components derived from these foreign-controlled resources. The U.S. government is responding with targeted stockpiling initiatives, refining investments, and military land leases. However, establishing alternative domestic sources remains difficult because opening a new mine in the United States takes an average of 29 years.
Key points
Extensive reliance on Chinese-dominated minerals leaves major frontline U.S. combat syste…: Extensive reliance on Chinese-dominated minerals leaves major frontline U.S. combat systems vulnerable to overseas supply interruptions.
Federal programs like the $12 billion Project Vault aim to mitigate risk through domestic…: Federal programs like the $12 billion Project Vault aim to mitigate risk through domestic stockpiling and expanded processing leases.
Prolonged domestic permitting timelines of nearly three decades continue to complicate sw…: Prolonged domestic permitting timelines of nearly three decades continue to complicate swift diversification away from foreign supply chains.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
China may have found a way to put pressure on America's military power without firing a single missile.
Its dominance over critical mineral supplies is threatening the industrial backbone of the US defence sector. Thousands of components used in weapons ranging from F-35 fighter jets and B-2 stealth bombers to nuclear-powered submarines depend on materials that Washington cannot easily replace.
According to a report by The War Zone (TWZ), an assessment by the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), based on supply-chain intelligence from technology firm Exiger, has identified significant vulnerabilities across the US military's weapons inventory.
The assessment examined nearly nine million components across 3,000 weapons systems and found more than 28,000 components containing four critical minerals across approximately 1,400 systems.
The four minerals identified in the assessment are gallium, germanium, antimony and tungsten. They are used in a range of military applications, including advanced radar systems, night-vision equipment, ammunition, semiconductors and missile components.
Their importance lies in their role in manufacturing specialised parts that are difficult to replace quickly, making uninterrupted access to these materials crucial for the US…
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