Скачать или смотреть Why does a million-dollar missile lose to 15 kilograms of powder?

Why does a million-dollar missile lose to 15 kilograms of powder?
Why can't a superpower avoid being choked by materials?
Can a million-dollar Tomahawk cruise missile really have its fate sealed by 15 kilograms of unassuming powder? Without this pile of rare earth materials, does an expensive missile become a headless fly, unable to find its target? It sounds like a tall tale, but this is the bizarre reality.
These rare earth elements are no ordinary powder; they are strategic materials that determine the outcome of modern warfare, acting as the "navigational brain" of a missile. Take dysprosium and terbium, two heavy rare earth elements. After precise processing, they are made into special alloys with superparamagnetic properties, which are used in the core structure of a missile's fiber-optic gyroscope. This gyroscope, in the midst of vibrations of thousands of rotations per second, can capture magnetic signals at the quantum level to control the missile's flight attitude error to within 0.01 degrees, ensuring it can accurately hit its target during intercontinental flights.
During the Gulf War, U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles, thanks to their rare earth-containing inertial navigation systems, broke through defenses in Operation Desert Storm and destroyed Iraqi strategic targets with an error of less than 10 meters. In the field of modern hypersonic weapons, rare earth materials are even more indispensable. The properties they provide, such as high-temperature resistance and strong magnetic stability, allow missiles to maneuver and change trajectory at speeds of more than Mach 5 at the edge of the atmosphere, completely breaking through the interception limits of existing anti-missile systems. Without these rare earth elements forming a "digital nervous system," even the most advanced guidance systems would become useless mechanical shells, instantly turning costly missiles into harmless "blind" devices.
What's even more mind-bending is that the United States, a military superpower, has stumbled on this small amount of rare earth. A look at confidential Pentagon reports reveals a shocking set of data: China controls 90% of the world's rare earth processing capacity, with separation technologies for elements from dysprosium oxide to terbium forming an almost impenetrable technical barrier. In contrast, the United States cannot even independently refine seven key mid-to-heavy rare earth elements. These elements are the core for manufacturing high-temperature resistant alloys and high-magnetic materials, directly affecting missile guidance accuracy and the performance of stealth coatings for fighter jets.
At rare earth mines in Arizona, stockpiles of raw ore sit idle for long periods due to a lack of refining technology. They have to be shipped across the Pacific to China for deep processing. Even more astonishing, 87% of the supply chains for more than 1,000 U.S. military weapon systems have a direct or indirect connection to Chinese suppliers. From the guidance chips of Patriot air defense missiles and the vector engines of F-35 fighter jets to the electromagnetic catapult systems on nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the core components of every piece of advanced weaponry bear the mark of Chinese rare earth. This seemingly asymmetric dependence is like a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the U.S. military, ready to shake the foundation of its military hegemony at any time due to supply chain fluctuations.
Next, we'll expose the material Achilles' heel of the superpowers, see what a mess Europe and the U.S. have gotten into trying to break free from their rare earth dependence, and discuss the true global technological and peace-related competition behind it all.