What good is a tank if you can’t get the metals to build it?
A new piece in War on the Rocks ‘Tanks, Tech, and Tungsten: The Strategic Mineral Alliance the West Needs’ co-written by HCSS Strategic Advisor Peter Handley argues that the U.S. and EU need to rethink critical minerals cooperation — shifting from a climate and economic framing toward defence and security.
Why it matters:
🔹 Europe is scaling up its defence-industrial base with billions in new investments.
🔹 Both sides remain heavily dependent on Chinese supply chains for cobalt, tungsten, rare earths, and more.
🔹 Joint efforts on stockpiling, procurement, and supply chain intelligence could secure the materials needed for tanks, batteries, and advanced defence tech.
Closer U.S.-EU cooperation would not only strengthen NATO readiness and Europe’s defence resilience, but also free up U.S. capacity for the Indo-Pacific.
Read the full article by Fabian E. Villalobos, Khrystyna Holynska, and Peter Handley here.
Image: Midjourney
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