Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what strategy is in place to secure domestic raw material inputs, such as rare earth elements, required for advanced military hardware.

The Ministry of Defence is taking forward a programme of work to improve the resilience of supply chains for the critical materials required to support Defence capability. This includes establishing a dedicated Defence critical materials team and developing a Defence Critical Minerals Priority List to identify and assess those materials most important to Defence, including Rare Earth Elements, tungsten and key steel inputs, helping to inform risk assessment, prioritisation and resilience activity.

The Department is working closely with industry through the Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC), alongside wider Government and international partners, to strengthen security of supply and improve understanding of supply chain vulnerabilities. This includes engagement on strategically important materials such as tungsten and steel, and collaboration with allies including Australia and Canada. In 2026, the UK and Australia agreed a Defence Critical Minerals Statement of Intent to support closer cooperation on critical minerals, supply chain resilience and shared capability priorities.