Arlington, Va. – The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) today released a new report finding that the aerospace and defense industry is undertaking extensive efforts to reduce reliance on adversarial sources of critical minerals through supply chain mapping, developing domestic and alternative sources, and strengthening resilience.
However, the report also expressed concerns that market conditions — including geological realities, limited processing and refining capacity, and lengthy qualification and certification timelines — continue to constrain the transition to domestic and allied sources. The report offers practical recommendations to align policy objectives with market realities and strengthen supply chain security.
“The Aerospace Industries Association’s new report underscores a fundamental challenge: America’s aerospace and defense industry depends on highly specialized critical mineral supply chains that cannot be reshaped overnight,” AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning said. “While companies are actively working to expand domestic production and reduce dependence on adversarial sources, current statutory and executive branch timelines do not reflect the realities of qualifying aerospace-grade materials and developing new sources of supply.
“The report — the first comprehensive industry response to these new requirements — highlights the gap between well-intentioned policy goals and actual market conditions and offers practical recommendations to strengthen supply chain security while preserving the flexibility needed to meet national security and economic demands.”
Key Findings
- A&D companies are making strides — conducting extensive supply chain mapping, reviewing specifications, and establishing enterprise-wide critical minerals teams — to strengthen resilience and reduce reliance on adversarial sources.
- Geological realities and the relatively small supply of quality, compliant minerals make some domestic aerospace-grade supply unavailable.
- The time to start, produce, and deliver through a domestic source exceeds the statutory and regulatory implementation deadlines.
- Without flexibility, industry is warning of potential production disruptions, increased costs, and delays.
Click here to read the full report.
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