The race for technological supremacy has rapidly increased demand for critical minerals and elevated market access as a top national security priority. Volatile and non-transparent global markets, uneven concentrations of geologic sources, foreign ownership concerns, and environmental, energy, and labor-intense production processes continue to stress supply chains and encumber American industry access to these key materials. This one-page fact sheet documents 12 critical minerals that are critical to the U.S. aerospace and defense industry in addition to recommendations on how to secure global A&D supply chains.
This document was last updated in April 2024.
