gold, page-132354

500 ounces or 1 to 2 ounces of Silver goes into a Tomhawk or Patriot missile.
Certainly a big difference in the below article.

The claim that Tomahawk or Patriot missiles contain up to 500 ounces of silver likely stems from misinformation, exaggeration, or misinterpretation of data in certain online narratives, particularly in precious metals communities or conspiracy circles. Here’s why this figure is implausible and where it might come from:

1. **Overestimation of Silver Use**: Silver is used in trace amounts in military electronics (circuit boards, connectors, and sometimes silver-zinc batteries). A single missile’s electronics weigh only a small fraction of its total mass (e.g., a Tomahawk weighs ~3,500 lbs, Patriot ~2,000 lbs). Even high-end aerospace applications use milligrams to grams of silver per component. 500 ounces (31.25 lbs) would imply an impractical and costly volume of silver, far exceeding what’s needed for conductivity or battery functions.

2. **Confusion with Other Materials or Systems**: The 500-ounce figure might result from conflating silver with other metals (e.g., copper, gold, or rare earths) or misunderstanding the total material cost of a missile. For context, silver at $30/ounce means 500 ounces costs $15,000—significant but a tiny fraction of a Tomahawk’s $2 million or Patriot’s $4 million price tag. Stories may inflate silver’s role to hype its scarcity or value.

3. **Urban Myths and Precious Metals Hype**: Some blogs, forums, or X posts (especially in investment or survivalist circles) exaggerate silver’s use in military tech to promote investing in silver. These claims often lack primary sources and cite vague “industry estimates” or anecdotal “insider” info. For example, a 2020 X post or blog might claim “each missile uses 500 oz of silver” without evidence, and it spreads unchecked.

4. **Historical Context or Misquoted Data**: Older missiles or space tech (e.g., 1960s Apollo program) used silver-zinc batteries with more silver than modern systems. Someone might have misapplied such data to current missiles. Additionally, total silver consumption for an entire missile *program* (e.g., thousands of units) could be misreported as per-unit usage.

5. **Verification Challenges**: Exact material compositions are classified. Without public specs from Raytheon or Boeing, speculation fills the gap. I checked X and web sources for “500 ounces silver missile” claims; most trace to unverified posts or articles from 2010-2023, often tied to silver market speculation, with no primary documentation.

**Reality Check**: Aerospace industry data suggests 1-2 ounces of silver per missile is a reasonable estimate, aligning with silver’s role in electronics (e.g., ~0.2-0.5 grams per smartphone). 500 ounces would be more than the silver in a small data center’s wiring, not a single missile. These stories persist due to lack of transparency and the allure of “hidden value” narratives in volatile markets.

Exact military use numbers are never released but the clue is the derivatives trading at 380 to 1 physical Silver compared to 80 to 1 Gold which is extreme and unnecessary unless it's to keep the price capped for these military use purposes.