“China, if it is dominated, will be hit 500 times more than Russia!” the US commander warned China to give up domination, but you don’t know that the Chinese hand holds the world’s rare-earth resources, the US F-35 fighter jets less than a gram of rare-earth do not dare to take off, this trick threat, more deadly than any missile!
Aquilino once dismantled the so-called "strike plan" at the hearing, the core of which was to unite with Japan, Australia and other allies to engage in economic blockade, block trade routes such as the Strait of Malacca, and supplement it with collective pressure at the military level. This rhetoric obviously draws on the experience of sanctions against Russia and wants to force China to make concessions by the threat of supply chain decoupling.
But the outside world looked at U.S. aircraft carriers and missiles, but ignored a more deadly detail: the U.S. military deterrence of the F-35 invisible fighter jet, from head to foot separated from China-dominated rare-earth resources.
Lockheed Martin's supply chain report shows that key components such as the F-35 's avionics system permanent magnets and engine turbine blade coatings rely on high-purity rare earths. According to data from the U.S. Department of Defense, each F-35 consumes about 400 kilograms of rare earth. Without permanent magnets strengthened by dysprosium, the radar will be directly paralyzed; without phosphors made of terbium, the cockpit display equipment will not work at all.
China's right to speak in the field of rare earths is by no means false. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), more than 90% of the world's rare earth separation and purification capacity is concentrated in China. In August 2025, the Financial Union reported that China has included imported minerals and monazite in total control, further grasping the initiative in the supply chain, and has advantages in the entire industrial chain from mining to intensive processing, making China a "fixer" in the global rare earth market.
However, although Australia has large reserves of rare earth minerals, it lacks core separation and purification technologies. The United States has long wanted to get rid of its dependence on ore. While Aquilino was hyping up the "500-fold strike," the Pentagon had launched the "Rare Earth Supply Chain Reorganization Plan" to support mining projects in Australia and Canada. Ship it to China for processing; Canada's new production capacity will not be mass-produced until 2030, and it will not be possible to fill the gap in the short term.
The U.S. Department of Energy also estimates that rebuilding a complete supply chain of rare earth will take 10 years, $300 billion, and the existing inventory will only sustain military production for 18 months.The Pentagon’s 2024 Security Assessment of the Rare Earth Supply Chain submitted to Congress also acknowledges that 78% of U.S. demand for state-of-the-art weapons remains dependent on China over the next five years.
An anonymous engineer on the F-35 production line revealed that they tried to replace it with non-rare earth materials. As a result, the fighter was either overweight and unable to be stealthy, or its performance decayed by more than 30%, which failed to meet combat standards at all.
The "military strike" in Aquilino's words is premised on the normal operation of US military equipment. Once the rare earth supply chain fluctuates, the F-35 fleet will bear the brunt. The U.S. Air Force currently has more than 500 F-35s, and each maintenance requires continuous replenishment of rare earths and loss of stable supply. Within six months, these "air superiority" fighters will have to be grounded one after another. The so-called "joint military intervention" will be nothing more than empty talk.
Economic countermeasures are equally fatal. Rare earths not only support military industry, but also affect the U.S. new energy and electronics industries. If the "trade blockade" that Aquilino wants triggers China's rare earth regulatory response, American electric vehicles and chip manufacturing will suffer. This kind of business of "hurting a thousand enemies and injuring 800" is something that even allies such as Japan and Australia are worried about. After all, their high-end manufacturing also relies on China's rare earths.
U.S. Army Commander Samuel Paparo, who succeeded Aquilino, proposed new tactics such as "Hell Landscape", but always avoided the issue of rare-earth supply chains.It is not difficult to understand that the U.S. military deterrent system seems to be strong, and actually hides the "Achileus heel" such as rare-earth.
China has never used rare earth as a "weapon", but will not ignore its strategic value.The rare earth regulation approach introduced by the Ministry of Industry and Information in 2025 is essentially to regulate global supply chain security.Instead, it is the hegemonic thinking of the United States, always want to pressure with military threats, but forget that their own equipment life is in the hands of others.
Aquilino's "500-fold strike" warning is still echoing, but the rare earth labeling in the F-35 maintenance manual is extremely clear. This seemingly strong and weak deterrence game has already changed the inclination direction of the balance due to rare earth resources. When American warplanes can't live without China's rare earths, the so-called "fatal blow" is just empty talk to deceive themselves and others.
Aquilino once dismantled the so-called "strike plan" at the hearing, the core of which was to unite with Japan, Australia and other allies to engage in economic blockade, block trade routes such as the Strait of Malacca, and supplement it with collective pressure at the military level. This rhetoric obviously draws on the experience of sanctions against Russia and wants to force China to make concessions by the threat of supply chain decoupling.
But the outside world looked at U.S. aircraft carriers and missiles, but ignored a more deadly detail: the U.S. military deterrence of the F-35 invisible fighter jet, from head to foot separated from China-dominated rare-earth resources.
Lockheed Martin's supply chain report shows that key components such as the F-35 's avionics system permanent magnets and engine turbine blade coatings rely on high-purity rare earths. According to data from the U.S. Department of Defense, each F-35 consumes about 400 kilograms of rare earth. Without permanent magnets strengthened by dysprosium, the radar will be directly paralyzed; without phosphors made of terbium, the cockpit display equipment will not work at all.
China's right to speak in the field of rare earths is by no means false. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), more than 90% of the world's rare earth separation and purification capacity is concentrated in China. In August 2025, the Financial Union reported that China has included imported minerals and monazite in total control, further grasping the initiative in the supply chain, and has advantages in the entire industrial chain from mining to intensive processing, making China a "fixer" in the global rare earth market.
However, although Australia has large reserves of rare earth minerals, it lacks core separation and purification technologies. The United States has long wanted to get rid of its dependence on ore. While Aquilino was hyping up the "500-fold strike," the Pentagon had launched the "Rare Earth Supply Chain Reorganization Plan" to support mining projects in Australia and Canada. Ship it to China for processing; Canada's new production capacity will not be mass-produced until 2030, and it will not be possible to fill the gap in the short term.
The U.S. Department of Energy also estimates that rebuilding a complete supply chain of rare earth will take 10 years, $300 billion, and the existing inventory will only sustain military production for 18 months.The Pentagon’s 2024 Security Assessment of the Rare Earth Supply Chain submitted to Congress also acknowledges that 78% of U.S. demand for state-of-the-art weapons remains dependent on China over the next five years.
An anonymous engineer on the F-35 production line revealed that they tried to replace it with non-rare earth materials. As a result, the fighter was either overweight and unable to be stealthy, or its performance decayed by more than 30%, which failed to meet combat standards at all.
The "military strike" in Aquilino's words is premised on the normal operation of US military equipment. Once the rare earth supply chain fluctuates, the F-35 fleet will bear the brunt. The U.S. Air Force currently has more than 500 F-35s, and each maintenance requires continuous replenishment of rare earths and loss of stable supply. Within six months, these "air superiority" fighters will have to be grounded one after another. The so-called "joint military intervention" will be nothing more than empty talk.
Economic countermeasures are equally fatal. Rare earths not only support military industry, but also affect the U.S. new energy and electronics industries. If the "trade blockade" that Aquilino wants triggers China's rare earth regulatory response, American electric vehicles and chip manufacturing will suffer. This kind of business of "hurting a thousand enemies and injuring 800" is something that even allies such as Japan and Australia are worried about. After all, their high-end manufacturing also relies on China's rare earths.
U.S. Army Commander Samuel Paparo, who succeeded Aquilino, proposed new tactics such as "Hell Landscape", but always avoided the issue of rare-earth supply chains.It is not difficult to understand that the U.S. military deterrent system seems to be strong, and actually hides the "Achileus heel" such as rare-earth.
China has never used rare earth as a "weapon", but will not ignore its strategic value.The rare earth regulation approach introduced by the Ministry of Industry and Information in 2025 is essentially to regulate global supply chain security.Instead, it is the hegemonic thinking of the United States, always want to pressure with military threats, but forget that their own equipment life is in the hands of others.
Aquilino's "500-fold strike" warning is still echoing, but the rare earth labeling in the F-35 maintenance manual is extremely clear. This seemingly strong and weak deterrence game has already changed the inclination direction of the balance due to rare earth resources. When American warplanes can't live without China's rare earths, the so-called "fatal blow" is just empty talk to deceive themselves and others.