When Trump imposed tariffs on us, the side effects of this decision were retaliating against Mainland America at an astonishing speed. Newsweek complained that when Trump announced the tariff war against China, China implemented new restrictions on the export of rare earth elements, covering resources crucial to avionics. This could potentially bankrupt a $30 billion project for sixth-generation fighters. China's control over medium and heavy rare earths also caused concern among some American aerospace manufacturers because these rare earths used in avionics can only be purchased from China. Although the U.S. government has reserves of rare earths, they cannot provide long-term supply to domestic defense industries. The Wall Street Journal further stated that China virtually dominates the rare earth industry, being the global leader in rare earth mining, refining, and production of rare earth magnets. Rare earth magnets are crucial for a range of military and civilian technologies, not only essential for advanced defense equipment such as missile defense systems, attack submarines, and F-35 fighters but also for the electric vehicle industry. American media lamented that it was unwise to offend China at this time, emphasizing that ensuring access to these critical rare earths is just as important as building aircraft platforms. Indeed, this time, China’s ban on exports includes seven types of medium and heavy rare earth-related items, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium. Although their names sound obscure, they are the "invisible pillars" of modern military technology. Rare earths refer to the total of seventeen metallic elements, including the fifteen lanthanides and scandium and yttrium. They can roughly be divided into light and medium-heavy rare earths; light rare earths are mainly used for civilian purposes, while medium-heavy rare earths are primarily applied in the defense and military technology sectors. They can significantly enhance the tactical performance of steel, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and titanium alloys used in manufacturing tanks, aircraft, and missiles. For instance, a small piece of neodymium-iron-boron magnet can lift steel several times its weight, making it an indispensable component in missile guidance systems. From a certain perspective, the U.S. overwhelming control in several local wars after the Cold War benefited from the development of rare earth technology. American sixth-generation fighter projects heavily rely on these materials since they directly relate to the core performance of fighter jets. Take the seven types of medium and heavy rare earths that China restricted exports for example. Terbium and dysprosium, when added to permanent rare earth magnetic materials, enable motors and engines to maintain strong magnetism in high-temperature environments, which is crucial for the propulsion systems required for supersonic cruise in sixth-generation fighters. Yttrium and scandium are key components for manufacturing heat-resistant alloys and lightweight high-strength materials, used in engine blades or airframe structures, capable of withstanding extreme conditions while reducing weight. The British consulting firm SFA (Oxford) also issued a warning that stealth aircraft like the F-47 heavily depend on rare earth elements such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium to produce high-performance magnets, actuators, and radar systems. The F-47 also requires metals like titanium, tungsten, and niobium to improve structural strength and heat resistance, and the stealth coating also relies on these elements. Although the U.S. has rare earth mines, the purification and processing technology for medium and heavy rare earths have long been dominated by China, and it will be difficult to find alternative supply chains in the short term. Rare earths have extremely similar chemical properties, especially the fifteen lanthanide elements, which resemble fifteen twin brothers with nearly identical chemical properties. Separating them one by one is extremely difficult. If rare earth ores are not purified and separated, they are essentially worthless. In fact, the U.S. initially possessed rare earth purification separation technology, but the rare earth purification processes in Europe and America are time-consuming, low-yield, have low separation coefficients, and cannot be continuously produced. Academician Xu Guangxian of China not only achieved the reflux cascade extraction of rare earths but also reached a world-record purity of 99.99% after separating praseodymium and neodymium. Moreover, the process takes less time and produces higher yields. Later, China achieved industrial production of efficient rare earth extraction and separation using a push-pull system on an international scale. China regulated national rare earth enterprises and supported several rare earth companies to lead the development of China's rare earth industry chain, thus making rare earths one of the industries with the highest enterprise integration. A complete rare earth industry ecosystem was formed. With more advanced rare earth technology, China destroyed the rare earth industry chains in Europe and America and gained pricing power in the global rare earth market. Moreover, China's rare earth mineral reserves account for 37% globally, but its medium and heavy rare earth reserves account for over 90%. The U.S.' only medium and heavy rare earth mine, Mountain Pass, can be mined, but its ore needs to be processed in China before it can be used. In other words, China monopolizes both raw materials and technology. Therefore, if these materials are lacking, the radar, stealth coatings, electronic warfare systems, and even engines of sixth-generation fighters may face performance degradation or production stagnation, severely hindering the project schedule. It might also lead to cost increases and technological bottlenecks, making progress difficult. For instance, building an F-35 fighter requires 400 kilograms of rare earths, 600 kilograms of titanium, and 300 kilograms of antimony. That means every F-35 contains Chinese rare earths, and China's recent ban on gallium exports has already seriously impacted the production of F-35s. In the development of sixth-generation fighters, more gallium and medium-heavy rare earths are needed. For example, General Electric's XA100 adaptive engine depends on scandium-aluminum alloy fan blades. Without scandium, the temperature limit of the blades would drop from 1500°C to 1100°C, forcing the engine thrust to decrease by 30%, effectively eliminating the supercruise capability of sixth-generation fighters. These years, with the intensification of the trade war between China and the U.S., China has also been tightening its export of strategic metals and rare earths. As mentioned earlier, China implemented export licensing controls on gallium and germanium-related items. Although these two are not rare earths, they are vital to the semiconductor and defense industries. Furthermore, China indirectly restricts the high-end applications of tungsten, molybdenum, and other metals through environmental standards and processing technology blockades. China still has many cards to play, whereas the U.S. now only has the option of imposing tariffs. In this supply chain game, technological breakthroughs are becoming decisive factors. The U.S. economy is being dragged down by outdated manufacturing, while China has not only built a self-sufficient industrial chain but also attracted a large influx of foreign investment, achieving a virtuous cycle. For the U.S., losing out on sixth-generation fighters means surrendering air superiority. However, the $30 billion R&D investment has already been a struggle for the U.S., and now China's restriction on exporting medium and heavy rare earths will make the U.S. efforts in this area go to waste. The impact goes far beyond this. The U.S. nuclear submarine program, F-35 production progress, and missile production progress will all be affected, possibly facing production halts. If the U.S. does not realize this, it will suffer severe damage itself. Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7490484505820643881/ Disclaimer: The article represents the author's personal views. Please express your attitude by clicking the 'Agree' or 'Disagree' button below.