NATO Allies launch new project on critical raw materials for defense

Speaking at the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum in Ankara today (July 7), NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte launched a new multinational High Visibility Project on defense critical raw materials.

The project brings together 12 NATO Allies to strengthen defense supply chains. It focuses on the acquisition, storage, transport and management of critical raw materials, components and recycled products essential for defense production.

The 12 Allies participating in the project on critical raw materials for defense are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye.

In December 2024, NATO published a list of defense-critical raw materials that the Alliance considers essential and integral to the manufacture of advanced defense systems and equipment. These include aluminium, used in lightweight and robust military aircraft and missiles; graphite for the production of main battle tanks and corvettes as well as in submarine construction; and cobalt for producing superalloys used in jet engines, missiles and submarines.