The Department of Defense is intensifying efforts to secure critical minerals essential for military systems, amid growing concerns over supply chain vulnerabilities and China’s export restrictions.
Speaking at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, Adam Burstein, technical director for strategic and critical materials in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, outlined ongoing challenges.
“Recent disruptions [due to] adversarial actions have underscored what we have long recognized, that it is more urgent than ever to build capability and resilience in supply chains for critical minerals,” Burstein said.
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The Pentagon has invested over $439 million since 2020 to establish domestic rare earth element supply chains. These 17 elements on the periodic table are needed in nearly all Defense Department systems, from unmanned aerial systems to submarines, with only one rare earth mine currently active in the United States.
China’s attempts to impose export bans on key materials like gallium, germanium, and antimony have “demonstrated China’s willingness to cause such a disruption to critical US supply chains and highlights the urgency of securing our supply chains against such tactics,” Burstein said.
The department maintains 19 security supply cooperation arrangements with partner nations and has expanded Defense Production Act authorities to include the United Kingdom and Australia alongside Canada as domestic sources.
To further strengthen these efforts, the Pentagon announced January 6 the creation of the Strategic and Critical Materials Board of Directors, established as a non-discretionary federal advisory committee under the Stock Piling Act.
Read: Pentagon Creates Board to Secure Critical Materials Supply
The board will advise the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment on supply chain security and National Defense Stockpile management, drawing expertise from multiple federal departments including Defense, Energy, State, Commerce, and Interior, along with representatives designated by the Armed Services Committees of both chambers of Congress.
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