The US faces a shortfall in missile stockpiles for a prolonged conflict, especially versus a peer competitor like China, mainly because traditional missiles are too expensive to mass-produce. Ryan talks with three industry leaders trying to fix that: Ethan Thornton (Mach Industries), Sean Pitt (Castelion), and Steve Milano (Anduril). They explain their approaches to manufacturing multiple types of missiles at scale for a fraction of current costs. Can they actually deliver? Tune in to find out.
This challenge is further complicated by a critical supply chain vulnerability: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that China controls a dominant share of the global rare earth elements essential for modern electronics and advanced military equipment like F-35 jets and missiles. With China producing 61% of rare earths and handling 92% of their processing, it holds immense leverage over Western defense capabilities. Without access to these materials, the U.S. and its allies cannot build or replenish key weapons systems—a strategic weakness that prompted recent U.S. tariffs in response to China’s export restrictions, according to The Telegraph. They write:
Earlier this month, Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, said: “This is China versus the world. They’ve pointed a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world, and we’re not going to have it.” […]
Beijing controls about 61 per cent of rare earth production and – even more crucially – 92 per cent of their processing and refining, according to the International Energy Agency. […]
Things like F-35 fighter jets, Virginia-class submarines, and Tomahawk missiles cannot run without Chinese rare earths. […]
It’s a mind-boggling fact that’s rarely discussed or acknowledged, but it goes some way to explaining why when China brought in new export restrictions on seven rare earths earlier this month, Mr Trump hit back with 100 per cent tariffs.
But Beijing knows it has the ultimate leverage over the West.
Read more here.
