U.S. Drone Ambitions Meet China Rare Earth Leverage
China said Wednesday it will talk with the U.S. about “reasonable” concerns on rare-earth export controls, but defended its rules as legal. Washington gets a chance to work on supply-chain issues, but not the broader rollback it wanted. Rare earths go into high-strength magnets, semiconductors, cars, and weapons. Export controls mean rules that can slow or block shipments. Pentagon officials want drones to move from a niche solution to a standard weapon. The Drone Dominance program says its first Gauntlet competition finished with 30,000 drones ordered. The program also plans to buy over 200,000 drones by 2027.