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The New Arsenal
A 2024 Pentagon document says demand for 155mm cannon tubes exceeds 30 per month. Watervliet makes fewer.

Nov 3, 2026

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3 min read

A 2024 Pentagon document says demand for 155mm cannon tubes exceeds 30 per month. Watervliet makes fewer.

Rheinmetall's Telford Gun Hall opened on 22 October 2026 and is the first site producing large-caliber gun barrels in Britain since 2001.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
One facility in Cedar City, Utah is the only DoD-approved domestic supplier of ammonium perchlorate, per a 2020 Inspector General audit

Nov 2, 2026

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2 min read

One facility in Cedar City, Utah is the only DoD-approved domestic supplier of ammonium perchlorate, per a 2020 Inspector General audit

In March 2011, trading house Sojitz and Japan's Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation invested $250 million in Lynas Rare Earths to develop an alternative processing chain.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The only antimony smelter in the United States is at Thompson Falls, Montana, and it is targeting 400 tons a month, up roughly 500 percent

Nov 1, 2026

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4 min read

The only antimony smelter in the United States is at Thompson Falls, Montana, and it is targeting 400 tons a month, up roughly 500 percent

China, Russia, and Tajikistan accounted for roughly 85 percent of estimated world mine production in 2025, per the USGS.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
Japan mines no titanium ore. It supplied 73 percent of US titanium sponge imports through July 2025

Oct 30, 2026

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3 min read

Japan mines no titanium ore. It supplied 73 percent of US titanium sponge imports through July 2025

The investment was revised from approximately ¥33 billion to ¥39 billion on March 13, 2026, citing rising construction and labor costs.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The US Navy lost 15,000 submarine operational days to maintenance delays between fiscal years 2016 and 2025, according to GAO, August 2026

Oct 29, 2026

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3 min read

The US Navy lost 15,000 submarine operational days to maintenance delays between fiscal years 2016 and 2025, according to GAO, August 2026

The four US public naval shipyards hold eighteen dry docks among them, according to a Heritage Foundation assessment.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
Europe's artillery shell programme runs on one TNT plant in Bydgoszcz producing 10,000 tonnes a year

Oct 28, 2026

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2 min read

Europe's artillery shell programme runs on one TNT plant in Bydgoszcz producing 10,000 tonnes a year

Russia's estimated annual TNT output is 50,000 tonnes, per data cited by Swebal.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
Everyone is counting shells. Nobody is counting cotton linters.

Oct 26, 2026

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2 min read

Everyone is counting shells. Nobody is counting cotton linters.

European nitrocellulose output stood between 4,500 and 10,000 tonnes per year, per a 2025 European Policy Centre report.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The mine is four industrial steps from the magnet, and the magnet is the part that goes into the motor

Oct 25, 2026

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4 min read

The mine is four industrial steps from the magnet, and the magnet is the part that goes into the motor

The Fort Worth Independence facility holds 1,000 metric tonnes of annual capacity against global demand of 385,000 tonnes.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The United States ran a $4.57 billion machine tool trade deficit in 2025

Oct 23, 2026

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2 min read

The United States ran a $4.57 billion machine tool trade deficit in 2025

In 1981 the United States was the world's largest machine tool producer. It now ranks fourth.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
Everyone is counting reactors. Nobody is counting hafnium.

Oct 22, 2026

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2 min read

Everyone is counting reactors. Nobody is counting hafnium.

Two American plants separate the metal from zirconium by solvent extraction.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
SCHOTT's Duryea Optical Glass Melter has 136 employees

Oct 20, 2026

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3 min read

SCHOTT's Duryea Optical Glass Melter has 136 employees

Japan allocated 100 billion yen for rare earth countermeasures in October 2010, after China halted exports for two months.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
South Africa’s ferrochrome output halved in 2025

Oct 19, 2026

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4 min read

South Africa’s ferrochrome output halved in 2025

South Africa supplied 41 percent of US ferrochrome imports between 2021 and 2024.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The stockpile set out to buy 380,360 pounds of niobium ingot

Oct 18, 2026

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2 min read

The stockpile set out to buy 380,360 pounds of niobium ingot

A 1950s federal purchase program found niobium abroad and one placer dredge in Idaho.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
Chinese hexamine carries a 405.19 percent dumping margin

Oct 16, 2026

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2 min read

Chinese hexamine carries a 405.19 percent dumping margin

Commerce set the margin in July 2025. Orders now cover China, Germany, India and Saudi Arabia.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
An Ohio plant planned to exit manganese metal in 2000

Oct 15, 2026

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3 min read

An Ohio plant planned to exit manganese metal in 2000

Fiscal 2025: the stockpile listed 5,000 tonnes of electrolytic manganese metal for potential purchase.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
In 1981 the US led the world in machine tools. In 2025 it ranked fourth.

Oct 13, 2026

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2 min read

In 1981 the US led the world in machine tools. In 2025 it ranked fourth.

US machine tool production as a share of GDP ranked 25th of 29 nations in 2022, per a December 2025 ITIF report.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The Army bought 6.4 million pounds of cotton linters for one plant

Oct 12, 2026

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2 min read

The Army bought 6.4 million pounds of cotton linters for one plant

Hurricane Helene flooded it in September 2024. An explosion struck a production bay in February 2025.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
6,720 tons a month: the Army’s target for 155mm shell steel v

Oct 11, 2026

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2 min read

6,720 tons a month: the Army’s target for 155mm shell steel v

HF-1 fragmentation steel, melted at Faircrest and heat treated at Gambrinus, both in Canton, Ohio.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The Navy’s public dry docks average nearly 100 years old

Oct 9, 2026

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3 min read

The Navy’s public dry docks average nearly 100 years old

Dry Dock 3 was built in 1942. Its replacement is now due in March 2029.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The Pentagon committed $3.5 million to restart America's only black powder plant

Oct 8, 2026

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2 min read

The Pentagon committed $3.5 million to restart America's only black powder plant

Production stopped in June 2021. The owner says it is producing again as of September 2026.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The world's beryllium comes mostly from one county in Utah

Oct 6, 2026

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2 min read

The world's beryllium comes mostly from one county in Utah

One company mines it there. For a decade after 2000, its metal came from the stockpile and from abroad.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
The Army's new cannon forge was picked partly to fit the old foundation

Oct 5, 2026

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2 min read

The Army's new cannon forge was picked partly to fit the old foundation

Steel at 2,000 degrees, hammered over a mandrel, about 14 minutes per tube.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
American reactors bought 26 percent of their enrichment from Russia in 2025

Oct 4, 2026

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2 min read

American reactors bought 26 percent of their enrichment from Russia in 2025

Sixteen centrifuges run in Ohio. Their carbon fibre carries a foreign obligation.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
No American anode graphite maker had finished qualification by March 2026

Oct 2, 2026

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2 min read

No American anode graphite maker had finished qualification by March 2026

A 66.86 percent subsidy finding, a two to one vote, and a clause called material retardation.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal
China made 94% of sintered magnets in 2024

Oct 1, 2026

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2 min read

China made 94% of sintered magnets in 2024

The furnace step before the magnet got its own Defense Production Act determination in 2019.

The New Arsenal
The New Arsenal

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