America Can't Stockpile Missiles Without Reloading On Conflict-Free Critical Materials
America Can't Stockpile Missiles Without Reloading On Conflict-Free Critical Materials Authored by Anthony Milewski of The Oregon Group, Sixteen days of the Iran war left coalition forces needing an estimated 4,000kg of tungsten just to replace the expended gun ammunition — but US mines produced none of the metal in 2025 and, instead, China accounted for 79% of global tungsten mine production. And it's not just tungsten. In a RUSI analysis of the Iran war, researchers estimated coalition forces expended more than 11,000 munitions in the first 16 days. And replenishing these ar