Carbon fibre: a core US defence supply chain vulnerability

Countries are increasingly coming to terms with the realities of a new period of instability and insecurity in global affairs. For many nations this includes seeking solutions to protect their globalised defence supply chains, the complexity and susceptibility to disruption of which has left them vulnerable.

The extent to which nations are affected by this dynamic and how it manifests differs. Supply chain vulnerability is perhaps not surprising for smaller and mid-size countries, whether Australia's holistic exposure, or structural weaknesses in a fragmented European industrial base that is trying to step up production. And even in China’s rapidly expanding domestic defence industrial base, observers have assessed an over-reliance on hi-tech imports and labour shortages.

For the United States and its unmatched defence production base, carbon fibre is at the core of its vulnerability. Nearly all military programs use some elements of lightweight carbon fibre composites; they form an increasingly critical part of US aerospace and defence capabilities, and have become fundamental to enhancing the performance, stealth and overall operational effectiveness of US national security assets.

And yet, as highlighted by the Interagency Task Force in Fulfillment of Executive Order 13806, and more recently in a white paper produced by the Lexington Institute, the US remains heavily reliant on foreign sources of proprietary carbon fibres from Japan and Europe.

According to its own assessment, the US has “no substitutes readily available” to shore up domestic carbon fibre production due to the time and cost to do so, and “a sudden and catastrophic loss of supply would disrupt missile, satellite, space launch, and other defence manufacturing programs”. Further exacerbating these risks, there is a lack of visibility on the carbon fibre raw material supply chain, according to the US Government Accountability Office.

With the problems identified, a long-term strategic response is required. Action in a range of areas can develop a sovereign industrial capability that will ensure greater resilience in the US’ industrial base and deliver a traceable, domestic source of aerospace-grade carbon fibre.

From identifying secure sources of domestic feedstock, leveraging innovation to rapidly create critical parts, and building alternative advanced manufacturing pathways, Nandina REM provides an existing solution and will be scaling our US production. Contact us to find out more about how we enable manufacturers to improve mission capable rates.