US warns China: Rare earth supply has affected F-35 deterrence against China!

On July 30, Jonathan Pratt, a staff member of the US Department of State, stated that China's position in the rare earth industry chain has already threatened American interests, including the processing and cleaning of minerals.

Cruz cited examples, saying that producing one F-35 requires 408 kilograms of rare earths, while producing a Virginia-class nuclear submarine requires more than 4 tons. The Pentagon even assessed that if China cuts off the rare earth supply, the US military would run out of key weapon stocks within 18 months, reducing the number of F-35 aircraft by 40%, almost depleting Tomahawk missiles, and losing anti-submarine capabilities in aircraft carrier battle groups.

A 2025 Pentagon report stated that more than 1,900 types of weapons systems currently in service by the US military depend on rare earth materials. The situation is even more severe for naval equipment: each AN/SPY-1D radar on an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer requires 2,600 kilograms of rare earths; the sonar system on a Virginia-class nuclear submarine consumes 4,600 kilograms of rare earths.

Facing the crisis of being strangled at the resource lifeline, the United States launched a gamble in 2025. The Pentagon announced in late July to invest 5.5 billion dollars to take a stake in the domestic rare earth giant MP Materials, with a "sky-high" purchase price of 110 dollars per kilogram - double the market price in China.

This is not the first time the US has tried to break through. In early 2025, the US government had already invested 3.7 billion dollars to try to rebuild the rare earth supply chain, but the results were discouraging: the California mine could only separate three low-end rare earths, unable to produce military-grade materials; the Texas factory was stalled due to environmental protests; rare earths imported from Australia still needed to be refined in China.

The internal assessment report of the Pentagon pointed directly to the crux: before 2027, the US will hardly achieve self-sufficiency in rare earth supply, and the cost will be three times that of China's.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839170527853580/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.