Western militaries risk losing access to key materials
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE Ray Locker, USA TODAY 8:21 a.m. EST February 12, 2014
(Photo: Gwenn Dubourthoumieu, AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON -- Western militaries may lose access to critical materials
needed for weapons and other systems, because of the growing demand
for new technologies, questionable supply lines and production in
unfriendly or dangerous countries, NATO documents show.
"Key strategic materials are those that are crucial in the manufacture
of sophisticated military hardware or components such as airframes,
gas turbines, rocket motors, munitions, armor and electronics,"
according to a newly released NATO request for information. "These
materials are becoming increasingly scarce."
Most troubling, the NATO report says, is that "many of these materials
and products are not produced within NATO countries." Instead, they
come from rival nations, such as China and Russia, or those mired in
internal conflicts and civil war, such as the Democratic Republic of
Congo. That limits NATO's access to the metals and minerals that make
up key parts of important weapons and aircraft.
Competition for these resources is also coming from a variety of
developing technologies, such as alternative energy and
semiconductors, which also need the same materials. For example, the
metal gallium, which is used in military electronics, is also used in
the burgeoning solar energy and computer fields as part of solar
panels and semiconductors.
NATO says it and its partner governments have been working since 2008
to find a way to maintain access to these critical materials. Its new
report cited a 2010 study outlining 41 critical materials that are at
risk, including 14 with a combination of high economic importance and
a high supply risk. They include:
- Cobalt. Primarily mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
cobalt is used in alloys with other metals to make gas turbines and
jet engines. The DRC has been troubled by civil war and rebellion
since it gained independence from Belgium in the early 1960s. At least
5.4 million people have died there since 1998, many because of
preventable diseases, according to a report by the International
Rescue Committee.
- Tantalum. A rare, hard, blue-gray metal that is used in jet engines,
nuclear weapons and missile parts. Its non-military uses include
electronics as well as medical equipment and implants. The Democratic
Republic of Congo is one of the world's largest sources of tantalum.
- Tungsten. The hard metal is often used in missiles and ammunition,
while its non-military uses include fluorescent lighting and
electronics. The world's main tungsten producers include China, the
Democratic Republic of Congo and Russia.
NATO says its Collaboration Support Office wants to enlist industry
officials and academic experts to create a new list of rare materials,
document problems with the materials and their supply chains, analyze
the risks surrounding the materials and then recommend steps to fix
the supply risks.
The organization warns that the importance of the various critical
materials in military technology limits the potential to redesign
equipment to use other materials.
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