Defence
The sector covering the governments, agencies and contractors that design, build and maintain military hardware, along with the radar, sensor and communications systems that support it.
Covered in 7 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on October 10, 2026.
Overview
Defence covers the governments and contractors that design, build and maintain military hardware — aircraft, ships, armoured vehicles, munitions, and the sensor and communications systems tying them together. Global military expenditure reached a record $2.89 trillion in 2025, up 2.9% in real terms, with Europe (+14%) and Asia (+8.1%) driving most of the increase.
Metals It Depends On
Neodymium is the defence industry's rare-earth workhorse, used in the NdFeB permanent magnets that drive precision-guidance actuators (steering fins on cruise missiles, tail-kit motors on smart bombs), radar and sonar arrays, and fighter-jet and submarine control surfaces — a single F-35 is estimated to carry around 417 kg of rare-earth material. Because a small number of countries process the overwhelming majority of the world's separated rare earths, neodymium supply has become a recognized vulnerability for defence procurement.
Sources
- Global military expenditure reached $2.89 trillion in 2025 — Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2025 (2026)
- F-35 contains ~417 kg of rare-earth material — Visualizing How Rare Earths Power U.S. Defense (2025)
Coverage
China Agrees to Speed Rare Earth Export Licences for the EU in a Wider Trade Deal
Faster licences ease supply risk for rare earth inputs used in defence equipment.
India Expects to Announce Its Critical Minerals Stockpiling Policy Within a Month
Defence needs shaped the list of minerals to be stockpiled.
Hertha Metals Raises $133.65 Million to Make Magnet-Grade Iron in Texas
Radar and aerospace systems rely on magnets whose inputs the US wants to make at home.
Midwest Energy to Start a Rs 250 Crore Rare-Earth Magnet Plant in Hyderabad
Midwest Energy will start commercial production at a Rs 250 crore rare-earth magnet plant in Hyderabad in mid-October. It is one of India's first attempts to make the magnets at scale instead of importing them from China.
DRDO's New Gallium Nitride Chip Delivers 30 Watts to Power India's Homegrown Radars
Indigenous GaN chip fabrication gives India's defence sector a domestic source for a previously import-dependent, export-controlled component used in radar, electronic-warfare and communications systems, reducing exposure to future supply refusals of the kind seen with Rafale in 2016.
India and Russia Set to Discuss a Critical Minerals and Rare Earths Pact as Modi Meets Putin
Rare earth magnets are critical inputs for defence systems, and the talks bundle critical minerals cooperation alongside potential Su-57 technology transfer discussions, linking supply security to India's broader defence relationship with Russia.
Canada and Denmark's Leaders Discuss Arctic Security and Critical Mineral Supply Chains
Canada and Denmark's recurring engagement explicitly links critical-minerals supply-chain resilience to defence cooperation, including Canada's new role in NATO's Multinational Division North.
