US Military Needs Rare Earth Elements for Future Wars

By Dean Popps–Former US Army Acquisition Executive

By the end of WWII, the US was producing a bomber an hour, a ship a day, and was feeding half the world. Combined with our unparalleled American warrior ethos, we unconditionally prevailed in a global struggle involving two massive theatres of operation.

When the first atomic bomb was dropped, leading to an almost immediate surrender, our enemies took notice that the US had a weapon that was unimaginable until that moment. Six decades later, when precision munitions and stealth warplanes were unveiled, the world again took notice that the US position is one of striving to have a secret, overwhelming, strategic and tactical advantage in weapons that creates a powerful deterrent.

Over a decade ago, Pentagon planners began to envision the next round of surprise super weapons, which eventually became known as the “Third Offset” policy. Amid fiscal constraints and our 15th year in The Long War, any endeavors for the next round of offset must thread the needle of technological superiority and self-reliance. After 25 years of misguided US globalization policies, our Achilles heel will be our failure to domestically source Rare Earth Elements (REE) for which we are wholly reliant on one of our primary adversaries: China.

Every one of the current and next round of super and unimaginable US weapons relies on REEs, an exotic assortment of 17 metals and elements, that are neither mined nor processed into ores in the US. We remain completely at the mercy of foreign governments and markets for these vital supplies, which are the building blocks for every major piece of military equipment or weapons system. 

From the Joint Strike Fighter to the next generation B21 deep strike bomber, from avionics to computers, REEs are irreplaceably pivotal to America’s military superiority. Their unique properties, such as strong magnetic qualities at high temperatures, help precision-guided munitions pinpoint targets, facilitate GPS navigation, and allow fighter pilots to eject safely. Given REE’s undeniable military and commercial value, it is difficult to overstate their importance to our national security.

The last American rare earth mine closed in 2015, leaving the U.S. government without a single domestic supplier of the rare earths and specialty metals it requires. Currently and purposefully, there is only one player in this space: China. China not only controls our nation’s access to REEs, it is one of two competitor nations explicitly mentioned in the Pentagon’s Third Offset strategy as presenting an incredibly dangerous situation for America’s most critical national security programs.

China has already set a precedent for using REEs as geopolitical leverage. Following a dispute with Japan in 2010, the country curtailed its REE exports, spiking prices as much as 600%. To believe China would keep supplying us with the materials needed to defeat them is both irresponsible and naive.