Trump’s F-47 Fighter Dream is Now in China’s Hand

On April 4, China announced a series of countermeasures against the U.S., hitting back at the Trump administration’s unreasonable and aggressive trade policies. These retaliatory actions included: slapping a 34% tariff on all U.S. imports; suspending export licenses for six American companies; blacklisting 11 entities, including Skydio Inc., as “unreliable entities”; adding 16 U.S. firms, such as HighPoint Aerotechnologies, to an export restrictions list and more.

Among these measures, the one that struck me as most familiar was the “Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs imposing export restrictions on seven medium-heavy rare earth elements—samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium.” The Chinese Commerce Ministry explicitly stated that “these materials have both civilian and military applications, and export restrictions are a standard international practice.”

In this piece, let’s talk about how China’s latest rare earth export restrictions will hit the U.S. military.

The rare earth family consists of 17 elements – 15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium, which typically coexist with and have similar applications to the lanthanides. Based on atomic weight, they can be divided into light rare earths and medium-heavy rare earths. Light rare earths are relatively more abundant and widely distributed. In contrast, medium-heavy rare earths are far scarcer and unevenly distributed – the vast majority are concentrated in China. These particular elements serve as indispensable resources for national defense, military industries, and advanced technology sectors.

Mountain Pass in California, America’s sole rare earth mine, mainly produces light rare earths

So when people say “China dominates the rare earth market,” what they really mean is China’s overwhelming restrictions over the reserves, mining, and refining capacity of medium-heavy rare earths—the most critical and scarce category. According to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data, nearly 100% of America’s medium-heavy rare earth imports in recent years have come from China.

This exposes the fatal flaw in Western media claims that the U.S. can simply “find rare earths elsewhere” to break free from Chinese dependence. Whether it’s Australia or Ukraine, their so-called “rare earth resources” are overwhelmingly light rare earths—not the heavy, defense-critical ones China monopolizes.

So just how impactful will China’s latest export restrictions on medium-heavy rare earth materials be? Let’s take one example from China’s restrictions list: samarium-cobalt magnets.

Back in 2022, U.S. media overhyped when reports revealed that F135 engines—the power plant for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighters—contained a “prohibited” Chinese-made component. The Pentagon even halted F-35 deliveries during its investigation. Detailed investigation reports show that samarium-cobalt magnets from a Chinese supplier were used in the engine’s lubrication pumps.

The Wall Street Journal’s then coverage on this matter

Samarium-cobalt magnets are composed of cobalt, samarium, and other metallic materials. They exhibit exceptional magnetic properties (high remanence, high coercivity, and high maximum energy product), outstanding temperature stability, superior oxidation resistance, and corrosion resistance. These magnets are widely used in aerospace, defense/military systems, microwave devices, telecommunications, medical equipment, automotive systems, magnetic pumps, precision instruments, various sensors, and high-performance motors.

Different shapes of Samarium-cobalt magnets

Interestingly, despite facing widespread criticism from U.S. media, the Pentagon suddenly announced a “waiver” for Chinese-made samarium-cobalt magnets just one month later – explicitly allowing F-35s to continue using these Chinese rare earth products. This directly demonstrates America’s inability to find substitutes for these specialized Chinese components.

The reality is unavoidable: China dominates global production capacity for these samarium-cobalt magnets, whose exceptional heat resistance makes them irreplaceable for critical F-135 engine components like sensors and control systems.

An F135 engine prepared for installation on an F-35 fighter

In fact, samarium-cobalt magnets have applications far beyond just the lubrication pumps of F-35 fighter engines. They are also used in missile and aircraft gyroscopes and accelerometers, ensuring stability under extreme temperatures (such as during high-speed flight or high-altitude conditions) to maintain navigation accuracy. Additionally, they can be employed in sonar systems to improve the efficiency of sonar transducers and enhance underwater detection capabilities.

This example reveals that U.S. advanced weapons systems rely on medium-heavy rare earth elements far more than publicly acknowledged. America’s cutting-edge fighter jets and next-generation Aegis combat systems extensively use gadolinium, terbium, yttrium and dysprosium in their active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars. For instance, the AN/APG-81 radar equipped on F-35 fighters employs terbium-doped neodymium magnets – which are specifically included in China’s new export restrictions list.

The AN/APG-81 radar of the U.S. Air Force

On March 21st, Trump just announced the U.S. Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter program, officially designated it as the F-47 and assigned Boeing the contract. Notably, this aircraft’s stealth coating requires gadolinium, while its advanced engine blades incorporate yttrium to enhance heat resistance – both of the elements are included in China’s export restrictions list.

Thus it’s fair to say that before the U.S. Air Force’s much-touted sixth-generation F-47 fighter even completes its maiden flight, China has already severed its supply chain for critical materials. The F-47’s predicament merely epitomizes the broader challenge facing advanced U.S. weapon systems under China’s export restrictions – after years of suppressing China’s legitimate technological development (like drones) under the pretext of “military potential,” the Pentagon is now getting a taste of its own boomerang tactics.

Editor: Chang Zhangjin