U.S. Invests $450 Million in Elmet to Reduce China Reliance for Missile and Submarine Programs.

The United States is investing $450 million in The Elmet Group to expand domestic tungsten processing and establish an independent North American ammonium paratungstate production facility. The move reduces exposure to China-dominated supply chains for a critical material used across more than 100 U.S. defense programs and supports longer-term weapons production and replenishment capacity.

Elmet supplies tungsten and molybdenum materials for programs including the F-35, Patriot PAC-3, Precision Strike Missile, Trident D5, Next Generation Interceptor, and Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines. The investment targets a key upstream processing bottleneck as Washington links refining capacity, strategic reserves, and defense procurement to reduce the risk of material shortages during higher production demand or a prolonged conflict.

Related News: U.S. invests $6.2 million in domestic tungsten metal production critical for combat vehicles and munitions

A U.S. Army Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is launched from an M142 HIMARS. The long-range weapon is among the defense programs supported by Elmet’s tungsten and molybdenum supply chain. (Picture source: US DoD)

The investment addresses a vulnerability that emerges well upstream of final weapons assembly. Tungsten combines a density of approximately 19.3 grams per cubic centimeter with the highest melting point of any metal, at around 3,422 degrees Celsius. In carbide form, it also offers high hardness and resistance to wear. These properties explain its use in penetrators, components exposed to high temperatures, counterweights, certain electronic assemblies, and tooling required for the production of precision defense parts. They also make substitution difficult when performance margins are limited. For Washington, the issue is therefore not only access to ore, but also control over the processing stages required to convert concentrates into powders, alloys, and usable components.

On September 14, 2026, the Department of War stated that the $450 million investment would take the form of redeemable preferred equity in The Elmet Group through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, in coordination with the Economic Defense Unit. Within this framework, the planned ammonium paratungstate, or APT, production capacity is particularly relevant. APT is an essential intermediate product in the tungsten supply chain. It is produced from processed concentrates before being converted into tungsten oxides, powders, and then metallic products for industrial applications. The Department of War considers this stage one of the main vulnerabilities in the U.S. industrial base. China remains the world’s leading producer and processor of tungsten, with an estimated share of nearly 85 percent of global supply. A disruption at the refining stage can therefore affect sectors whose final production capacities may otherwise appear geographically diversified.

Elmet’s role is reflected in the list of programs cited by the Department of War. These include the F-35 fighter, Patriot PAC-3, Trident D5, Next Generation Interceptor, Precision Strike Missile, and the Virginia and Columbia submarine classes. Several of these systems are central to current U.S. modernization programs. The U.S. Army’s PrSM, for example, is launched from M142 HIMARS and M270A2 systems, has a range exceeding 400 kilometers, and allows two missiles to be carried per launch pod, twice the capacity available with ATACMS. In the naval domain, Virginia Block V submarines incorporate the Virginia Payload Module, which consists of four large-diameter tubes, each capable of carrying seven Tomahawk cruise missiles. This configuration increases the submarine’s strike capacity from 12 to as many as 40 missiles. The Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, for its part, carries 16 launch tubes for the Trident II D5 ballistic missile and uses a reactor core designed to operate throughout the vessel’s service life without midlife refueling.

The operational consequence is direct. Tungsten availability does not determine the performance of a missile battery or submarine once the system is deployed, but a shortage can constrain the pace of production, repair, and replenishment. For Patriot units and long-range strike forces, industrial continuity directly affects interceptor inventories and the ability to sustain high consumption rates during a prolonged campaign. For the submarine force, the issue is part of an industrial ecosystem already constrained by component production lead times and competition among multiple modernization programs. Removing an upstream bottleneck can therefore support operational availability by reducing the risk that a scarce material disrupts several production lines at the same time. This becomes even more relevant during a production surge, when wartime demand may exceed the ability of conventional commercial supply chains to adjust.

The Department of War estimates that the investment will expand industrial activity in Coldwater, Michigan, and Lewiston, Maine, preserve manufacturing jobs in Euclid, Ohio, and increase demand for mining activity in Nevada. Elmet has also secured an agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency worth up to $2 billion to supply the National Defense Stockpile with tungsten ores, concentrates, and sodium tungstate. Taken together, these measures point to a more integrated model in which extraction, refining, manufacturing, and strategic reserves are treated as components of the same defense requirement rather than as separate commercial activities.

China’s position across a large part of the tungsten market gives Beijing leverage over a material used throughout Western aerospace, missile, naval, and defense manufacturing sectors, at a time when critical minerals have become part of broader economic and strategic competition. Washington is responding by directing public capital into processing capacity while linking that capacity to defense procurement and strategic reserves. This effort to secure supply is already underway in the United States and among several of its allies, intending to reduce dependence on external suppliers for raw materials required by military systems. In the event of a major conflict, access to such resources could tighten at the same time that demand for missiles, ammunition, platforms, and spare parts rises sharply. Control over refining capacity, industrial reserves, and critical supply chains is therefore becoming part of preparation for a prolonged conflict, alongside production capacity and weapons stockpiles

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.