Furthermore,
Terrible dependence american defense industry:
To produce military equipment, a number of equipment and components are needed. Consequently, And to produce these components, you need easily accessible resources and at controlled costs. Similarly, An increasingly complicated equation for the American defense industry.
The conclusions of the report are final: according to the audit organization of the US Congress (Government of Accountability Office – GAO). Nevertheless, the supply chain in terms of military equipment is still too dependent on foreign sources. Consequently, What represent a danger in terms of sovereignty. In addition, especially when the materials or equipment come from China, a country with which the reports are notoriously complex and which has imposed drastic restrictions on exports of rare earths.
To build helicopters. Furthermore, combat aircraft, warships or tanks, the Pentagon has more than 200,000 suppliers in terms of military equipment and components, but there is, according to GAO, that “little terrible dependence american defense industry visibility on the origin of manufacturing of the parts and materials used”.
In addition. there would be no national manufacturers for more than half of the 99 critical materials identified by the American Department of Defense in 2023.
Electronic magnets. submarines and chips – Terrible dependence american defense industry
Dependence on China is particularly critical for the production of magnets, which are used in the production of cars as well as combat aircraft. The production of the F-35 of Lockheed Martin was for example stopped for six months in 2023-2024 after the discovery of this component of Chinese origin. the time to identify alternative suppliers and to determine whether these parts represent a danger to security.
The Pentagon recently concluded a public-private partnership for the exploitation of rare land on American soil. and thus secure the production of magnets, with a production target of 10,000 tonnes per year.
Submarines are also affected by supply difficulties: the United States only terrible dependence american defense industry has a single foundry capable of producing large amounts. of titanium. The manufacturers of submarines (like General Dynamics or Northrop Grumman) therefore still largely depend on foreign sources.
As for microelectronic components, the subject is known: the largest producers are in the Asia-Pacific region. The Pentagon estimates that 88% of production. 98% of the assembly, packaging and tests are carried out outside the American continent – with Taiwan, South Korea and China.
Export. price increase
While China concentrates more than 60% of the extraction of rare earths and dominates the world production of other critical minerals, such as gallium or germanium, used in particular in electronic components, the export restrictions imposed by Beijing weaken the world industry, explains the Wall Street Journal.
Drawing on software developed for defense applications. the WSJ evokes the number of 80,000 components used by the Pentagon made up of critical minerals affected by Chinese restrictions.
The American media terrible dependence american defense industry evokes a multiplication by five or more, the price of certain critical minerals for the defense industry. A company contacted by the WSJ even evokes a price 60 times higher to buy samarium. essential for the manufacture of magnets capable of resisting the very high heat of combustion engines.
According to industrialists interviewed by the American media. the search for alternatives to Chinese resources faces questions of cost and availability, certain materials being “niche products”, which it would not be economically viable to produce.
China has implemented other measures which complicate the task of suppliers. by requesting information – sometimes sensitive – on the use that will be made of magnets and other rare imported land, to ensure that it will not be made of military. An equation that considerably complicates the task of companies, in addition to representing a threat to industrial espionage.
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