The United States Air Force in Summer 2024 acknowledged in Aether Journal that:
Both the United States and China seek to build and deploy significant numbers of space assets, most of which are mineral intensive. The mineral compositions of three important space assets– satellites, direct-ascent anti satellite weapons, and rocket bodies--require the United States to import minerals, particularly from China, for their construction. Consequently, the US space industry, and thus the US government, faces the associated risks of supply chain disruptions that can restrict mineral availability and cause price volatility, negatively impacting space asset production.
The Air Force suggests as a mitigation strategy of enabling the use of the National Defense Stockpile to prepare supplies of critical materials needed for the Aerospace domain; however, this, as of current date has yet to be implemented. Silver, specifically remains recklessly omitted from government level critical material lists worldwide.
Despite the risks of future supply chain issues, the US Military, due to growth of US-China conflict has chosen the strategy of redundancy by launching large satellite constellations. The sheer number of proposed satellites are a worrysome figure when considering the use of silver that just goes in each current and future satellite's photovoltaic array. Every satellite launched is silver that must be factored into the market as lost, forever.
The US Space Force's Space Development Agency aims for 1,000 satellites in orbit by 2026, and the US National Reconnaissance Office intends to quadruple its satellite fleet by 2033. Given the mineral intensity of satellites, these development targets have significant mineral demand implications.
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has never publicly disclosed that exact number of satellites it operates due to the classified nature of its missions. The NRO is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense. Its purpose is to design, launch, and operate the 'spy' satellites.
The satellite structure mainly consists of [aluminum]-alloys, [titanium]-alloys, or stainless steel, adding that solar arrays contribute substantially to satellite mass. These arrays are predominantly compose of silicone, SILVER, aluminum, glass, germanium, and gallium.
From the National Defense University Press, we were able to source public data on the 'Planned Proliferated Communications Constellations' satellites and their surprisingly short design lifespan. Although this doesn't give us a complete picture due to the classified nature of spy satellites, it is known publicly that companies like SpaceX are supplying to Department of Defense.
The aggressive deployment of satellites, both for commercial and military purposes is placing the United States in a vulnerable position due to its lack of political focus securing silver and other critical materials required for its 'strategic' aerospace ambitions.
EaglePicher, the leading manufacturer of batteries crucial for missile and space applications, admitted to a significant supply shortage of silver within the United States in April 2023.
In the video below, starting at 1:01:05, Camie Platner of EaglePicher expresses her concerns that the supply of silver is diminishing and how much longer that silver will be available. Her resume on Linkedin shows over two decades of experience in the aerospace industry working for EaglePicher.
…silver is very hard to come by right now, so it is very much a diminishing supply, so it is a growing concern, on how much longer that is going to be available.
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According to the European Dissemination Media Agency in 2023, the "scarcity of silver could be a risk" to the photovoltaic industry. They point out that "China is dominating the market, with a very large share of production of all required material..." which is alarming news for the United States, who for Silver alone is 69% reliant on imports per the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2022, based on estimates; and this statistic is growing in 2023 per the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The British Geological Survey data on Photovoltaic manufacturing locations for the individual components of the panels shows an aggressive takeover by the East of key components within the industry by China and the rest of Asia from 2010 to 2021.
What happens when China restricts the export of their critical materials?
All this data may suggest a major strategic vulnerability for the United States that China could now be exploiting to corner the market on vital resources needed for the continued, and future prosperity of the United States. This problem could be mitigated by a silver stockpile, but long term solutions that meet the silver demand needs of the US for its space warfare plans may come at significant concessions.
For the defense and economic wellbeing of United States, it may be time for Uncle Sam to pony up and pay to stockpile silver or it's future could be at the mercy of the East on the trade negotiation table.
In February of this year, the United States Air Force Secretary spoke on the aerospace capabilities of China as a "growing arsenal of long-range missiles and anti-satellite weapons, in particular, threatens American supremacy in areas like air combat and space-enabled intelligence". Secretary Kendall carries on describing an overhaul in US aerospace military interests as a multi-year endeavor while stressing the US is "...out of time".
In response, China pushed back on the excuses given by the US as opportunities to expand its military power in space. Explaining that the US has defined space as a warfighting domain and as we explored above is deploying a lot of satellites for its constellation networks.
China continued on to express for a peaceful use of space and opposes this arms race. As Silver is concerned, China may have found the United States' weakest link in the strategic supply chain.
Will the United States address its critical flaws, or will Uncle Sam rely on above ground supplies, i.e. investor silver, to continue on its military aggression world wide and literally beyond? This remains to be seen, but SilverWars will continue to follow this story.
Sources:
Contributors to Wikimedia projects
Sandra Erwin
Brett Tingley
Andrew Jones
Sandra Erwin
