On June 22, 2025, the United States conducted a major military operation against Iranian nuclear facilities, with President Donald Trump announcing that US forces had "successfully completed our attack on three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan". The operation involved six B2 Spirit stealth bombers, 14 GBU57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator MOP "bunker buster" bombs, and 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from submarines.
Rare Earth Magnet Content in the June 22, 2025 US Strike on Iranian Nuclear Facilities
While the exact number of submarines involved was not disclosed, Virginia-class submarines were likely used to launch the Tomahawk missiles. Each Virginia-class submarine contains approximately 4,175 kg of rare earth elements integrated throughout propulsion, sonar, and weapons systems. However, since the submarines themselves were not expended in the operation, their rare earth content represents supporting infrastructure rather than materials directly involved in the strike.
This is a rough estimation, close to industry standard information.
The 4.56 tonnes of rare earth elements involved in this single military operation represents approximately 0.152% of the US Department of Defence's annual requirement of 3,000 tonnes of permanent magnets. This demonstrates the substantial rare earth content embedded in advanced military operations and highlights the strategic importance of secure rare earth supply chains for US defence capabilities.
The June 22, 2025 US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities involved approximately 7.16 tonnes of rare earth elements embedded within the military platforms and precision-guided munitions used in the operation. This substantial quantity highlights the critical dependence of modern military capabilities on rare earth magnets and the strategic importance of maintaining secure supply chains for these materials in an era of increasing geopolitical tensions surrounding rare earth element access and control.
The point of this post is to show the importance of Rare Earths to the US DoD, without RE these operations can not be carried out
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)