The Defense Logistics Agency allocated $2 billion in fiscal 2026 to buy tungsten, antimony, cobalt and rare earth elements for the National Defense Stockpile, mostly through contracts designed as demand signals to incentivize domestic production.
The Defense Department's Office of Strategic Capital signed a $250 million conditional loan to expand NMC cathode material production in Tennessee, securing domestic supply for advanced defense batteries.
Germany's Mehler Systems has acquired a majority stake in Bulgarian ballistic protection manufacturer MARS Armor, expanding its EU-based supply chain and Eastern European presence in military and law enforcement armor.
The U.S. Army committed up to $40 million through the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium to evaluate tungsten production at Idaho's Stibnite Mining District. Perpetua Resources will match the investment in a 36-month program addressing critical supply chain vulnerabilities.
Vitol Aviation secured a $230.1 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity fuel contract from the Defense Logistics Agency to supply strategic regions in the Indo-Pacific and Europe through 2027.
The Pentagon mandates defense contractors eliminate critical minerals from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea by January 2027, but domestic production of aerospace-grade materials will not reach sufficient capacity until 2028 or later.
Mining investor Appian Capital Advisory opened a Washington, D.C. office and committed $2.5 billion over five years to develop rare earths, graphite and lithium capacity, hiring retired Rear Admiral John Meier to guide defense supply chain priorities.
The Defense Logistics Agency awarded Elmet Technologies, a subsidiary of The Elmet Group, a contract valued at about $36 million to supply TZM alloy billets, bar and ingots plus molybdenum and tungsten wire to the National Defense Stockpile.
The Defense Department is backing The Elmet Group, the only U.S.-owned integrated tungsten producer, with $450 million to rebuild domestic capacity before a January 2027 ban on imports from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea takes effect.
Hertha Metals secured $133.65M in Series A funding, including $65M from the U.S. government IBAS program, to build a facility producing 10,000 tonnes annually of magnet-grade iron ahead of the 2027 DoD ban on Chinese magnets.
Hertha Metals closed a $134M Series A including a $65M equity investment from the Defense Department to build a domestic facility producing high-purity iron for rare earth magnets.
Elmet Group received $450 million in committed investment from the Department of War and a Defense Logistics Agency contract with a $2 billion ceiling to expand domestic tungsten manufacturing and rebuild the National Defense Stockpile.
Los Angeles-based Fluxnium closed a $7 million seed round to commercialize uranium extraction from seawater, targeting a domestic fuel source as the U.S. imports over 90% of its uranium supply.
The Defense Department took a $450 million redeemable preferred equity stake in Maine-based Elmet Group to expand domestic tungsten production and supply chain integration supporting 100+ DoD programs.
The composite additive manufacturing company secured $40 million to scale production of its CBAM 25 system, which can produce 10,000 drone bodies monthly and is deployed with the U.S. Air Force and Army.
The Department of Energy awarded General Matter $900 million in milestone-based funding to develop domestic high-assay low-enriched uranium enrichment capacity, addressing a critical supply gap for advanced reactors.