US HAS ONLY TWO MONTHS OF RARE EARTH MINERALS VITAL TO MAKE NEW MISSILES, RADARDS

 US MILITARY OPERATION IN IRAN IS NOT SUSTAINABLE

From media

US officials and analysts say the war has intensified concerns about supply chains for the specialized minerals used in advanced weapons systems, SCMP reports. According to people familiar with the issue, the U.S. may have only about two months of rare-earth inventories remaining, raising questions about how long current military operations could be sustained if access to Chinese supplies were disrupted.

As we noted in 2023, former Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes admitted that Beijing effectively has the US military's supply chain by the balls thanks to its reliance on rare earths and other materials which come from, or are processed in, China.

According to Hayes, Raytheon has "several thousand suppliers in China," because of which "decoupling ... is impossible."

"We can de-risk but not decouple," he told the Financial Times, adding that he thinks this is the case "for everybody."

"Think about the $500bn of trade that goes from China to the US every year. More than 95 per cent of rare earth materials or metals come from, or are processed in, China. There is no alternative," Hayes continued, adding "If we had to pull out of China, it would take us many many years to re-establish that capability either domestically or in other friendly countries."

Hayes’ comments underline the difficulties facing western manufacturers amid growing friction between China and the US and its allies.

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The issue has gained urgency as the U.S. military burns through munitions in its campaign against Iran, which began Feb. 28. President Trump initially projected that the strikes could last four to five weeks but said Monday that American objectives had nearly been achieved and the crisis could end “very soon.”

The Washington Post, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported that the Pentagon expended roughly $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the first two days of operations alone, highlighting the pace at which advanced weapons stockpiles are being drawn down.

While existing missile inventories could support several months of combat, replenishing them could prove difficult if access to Chinese minerals is constrained, according to Amanda van Dyke, founder of the industry think tank Critical Minerals Hub.

“Missile stockpiles are more than sufficient to sustain the Iran war for at least three to six months,” she said. “But restocking those munitions afterward may take much longer without Chinese minerals.”

The Trump administration has attempted to mitigate the risk by launching “Project Vault,” a $12 billion public-private initiative aimed at building strategic stockpiles of critical minerals. Industry analysts say the program may help but could fall short of meeting the specific needs of modern weapons systems.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/washington-reportedly-has-just-two-months-rare-earths-left