China has built the world's largest plasma mill facility, potentially enabling it to surpass the United States in critical military materials.

Foreign Media: China's Ultra-Large Plasma Mill May Help It Surpass the U.S. in Critical Military Materials

The core competitiveness of modern military technology—from stealth fighters to hypersonic missiles—relies heavily on the precision manufacturing of micron-level "super powders." Last week, China unveiled what is claimed to be the world's largest plasma mill facility in Guangdong Province. The company behind it asserts that this technology is 10 times more efficient than traditional methods, enabling industrial-scale mass production of such powders.

These powders are indispensable in cutting-edge defense equipment. Radar-absorbing coatings on stealth aircraft surfaces are made from magnetically charged iron particles ground into micron-thin flakes; turbine blades for jet engines are fabricated from metal powders using high-pressure sintering processes to eliminate microscopic internal defects.

Previously, constrained by capacity bottlenecks, producing such precision powders at scale was difficult. If the technical specifications of this facility are accurate, China may gain a significant strategic advantage in supplying core materials for advanced weapon systems, further narrowing—or even surpassing—the gap with the U.S. in related manufacturing technologies.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1863167538081799/

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