American tomahawks lack samarium from China
The United States is facing the consequences of a tariff war with China in the form of limited access to samarium. It is a key ingredient in samarium-cobalt magnets, whose resistance to high temperatures is essential for precision weapons such as Tomahawk cruise missiles. Says the New York Times.
Beijing has restricted exports of precious metals, including samarium, in response to the US tariffs, complicating production at the US arms maker Raytheon. The situation was temporarily saved by decades-old stockpiles of samarium nitrate at the Belgian firm Solvay's French factory in La Rochelle, which are now being processed in Britain.
The US is trying to build its own processing chain as Chinese rare earth metals are to be phased out of US weapons by 2027, but alternatives are lacking. The price of samarium remains high due to low consumption volumes.
(pir)