Aerospace & Defence
The sector that designs, builds and maintains aircraft, spacecraft and military systems, several of which depend on germanium-based infrared optics and gallium-based semiconductors with few alternative suppliers outside China.
Covered in 8 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on October 15, 2026.
Overview
Aerospace and defence covers the design, manufacture and maintenance of commercial and military aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, missiles and the systems that support them. It is one of the most metallurgically demanding manufacturing sectors: parts must survive extreme heat and cyclic fatigue while staying as light as possible, pushing designers toward specialised alloys rather than ordinary steel. Global industry revenue passed $1 trillion for the first time in 2025, driven by record commercial-aircraft backlogs, rising defence budgets and growth in space programs.
Metals It Depends On
Nickel is the backbone of the industry's hot-section components: nickel-based superalloys, engineered to hold their strength at turbine-inlet temperatures other alloys would sag or melt at, typically make up 30 to 50% of a jet engine's total mass, from turbine blades and discs to combustion liners. Lithium plays a smaller but growing role, supplying the lithium-ion batteries used in avionics, emergency power, uncrewed drones, satellites, and the guidance electronics of modern munitions.
Sources
- Global aerospace and defence industry revenue passed $1 trillion in 2025 — PwC Global Aerospace & Defense: Annual Performance and Outlook 2026 (2026)
- Nickel superalloys are 30-50% of jet engine mass — Nickel Superalloys in Aerospace (2025)
Coverage
NioCorp Now Has Buyers for All of Elk Creek's Planned Output After a Traxys Deal
Defence makers could gain a domestic supply of scandium and rare earths.
EU Seeks Closer Critical Minerals Ties With Vietnam to Hedge Against China
More secure tungsten and antimony supply supports European defence production.
Viridis Mining Pitches Brazil's Colossus Project as Europe's Alternative to Chinese Rare Earths
Moreno names military jets among the applications exposed to China's rare-earth concentration, making a qualified non-Chinese magnet-material source relevant to defense manufacturers.
Gallium and Germanium Prices Are Still 9 Times Higher Three Years After China's Export Curbs
Defense contractors building fighter jets, tanks and radar systems depend on germanium-based infrared optics and gallium-based semiconductors with limited substitutes, exposing them to the same supply squeeze as commercial buyers.
US Puts Over $10 Billion Into Critical Minerals, But China Still Refines Most of the World's Supply
The MP Materials offtake agreement and the 2027 Pentagon deadline on Chinese- and Russian-sourced tungsten are both aimed at securing non-Chinese supply of magnet and tungsten materials critical to defense manufacturing.
China Refines 90% of the World's Rare Earths, and Latin America Is Caught in the Middle
Nogués names satellite production, fighter aircraft and radar systems among the sectors most exposed to a rare-earth supply shortage, given China's near-total control of refining capacity.
Chhattisgarh Puts 5 Lithium and Rare Earth Blocks Up for Auction in India's Critical Minerals Push
Rare earth elements from Katghora and Bastar feed magnet and alloy supply chains defence manufacturers depend on, a sector Union Minister Satish Chandra Dubey explicitly linked to mineral self-reliance at the roadshow.
India Plans Four Critical Mineral Processing Parks, Starting With Lithium and Nickel
India has finalized four states for new critical mineral processing parks, backed by Rs 500 crore under its National Critical Mineral Mission, prioritizing lithium and nickel first.
