The most advanced US submarine has reached 60% completion, General Dynamics Electric Boat says next year is critical, and it urgently needs a large amount of Chinese rare earths!

Recently, General Dynamics Electric Boat stated that the Columbia-class nuclear submarine has been built to 60%, and next year is very critical. According to the current progress, it will be delivered to the US Navy in 2031. The construction of the Columbia-class submarine relies heavily on rare earth materials, especially key components such as sonar systems, anechoic tiles, and permanent magnets.

The US Department of Defense confirmed that each Virginia-class nuclear submarine requires about 9,200 pounds (approximately 4.2 tons) of rare earth materials, and the Columbia-class, as a more advanced platform, may have even higher demand.

China dominates the rare earth field, with about 80% of the US's rare earth imports coming from China, and the import dependency on medium and heavy rare earths reaching as high as 95%.

The US Department of Defense has allocated over $439 million since 2020 to establish a domestic rare earth element supply chain, aiming to build a sustainable "from mine to magnet" supply chain by 2027. The procurement cost of the first ship of the Columbia-class is estimated to have reached $15.179 billion, and the second one also reached $9.283 billion.

Since its construction began in 2019, the progress of this submarine has been slow, with only about 60% completed so far, and the delivery has been confirmed to be delayed by at least 17 months. General Dynamics Electric Boat released a statement at this time, implying that if there is a lack of rare earths, the schedule delay would not be our problem. This is a typical case of shifting blame.

Under the condition of ensuring the supply of rare earths, General Dynamics Electric Boat has also dragged its feet and seriously delayed the schedule, but the excuse was not easy to find. Now that the rare earth issue has emerged, it seems that this excuse is ready-made.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847120774101004/

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