This graphical rendering provided by the US Air Force shows the Next Generation Air Dominance Platform, the F-47. On Friday, March 21, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced that the Air Force had selected Boeing to produce the next generation fighter jet. Photo: VCG

US media on Monday voiced concerns about the future of the US' sixth-generation fighter jet F-47, after China on Friday announced to implement export controls on certain medium and heavy rare earth-related items, including resources critical for avionics which could deal blow to the F-47 project.

China's export controls on rare earth-related items could hit hard on US defense industry, countering the US' so-called "reciprocal tariffs," a Chinese expert said on Tuesday, noting that the US' military industrial capabilities will very likely be affected.

Export restrictions China has imposed on its rare earth element exports to the US include resources critical for avionics which could deal blow to American plans for the F-47, US media outlet the Newsweek reported on Monday.

In accordance with the country's Export Control Law and other relevant laws and regulations, China's Ministry of Commerce, together with the General Administration of Customs, published an announcement on Friday regarding the implementation of export control measures on seven categories of medium and heavy rare earth-related items, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium. These measures are effective from the date of the announcement.

As Newsweek reported, China's export control comes only two weeks after the US government announced that Boeing had secured the contract to develop the F-47 which is designed to succeed the F-22 Raptor and form the backbone of the US Air Force's next-generation fleet.

But stealth aircraft like the F-47 depend on rare earth elements such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium for high-performance magnets, actuators, and radar systems, Newsweek quoted the consultancy SFA Oxford as saying.

From stealth coatings and radar systems to high-thrust engines and advanced avionics, sixth-generation platforms rely on a secure and resilient supply of rare earth elements and strategic metals SFA Oxford noted.

Yttrium is one item on the latest export control list of rare earth-related items. Yttrium is essential for high-temperature jet engine coatings, high-frequency radar systems and precision lasers, the publication Cleantechnica.com reported. It also allows thermal barrier coatings on turbine blades to stop aircraft engines from melting mid-flight, according to Newsweek.

Critically, around five percent of US use of rare earths goes on defense applications, according to the Congressional Research Service, Newsweek reported.

Bloomberg said on Friday that the controls are expected to have broad impacts on US companies because the elements are used in optical lasers, radar devices, high-powered magnets for wind turbines, jet engine coatings, communications, and other advanced technologies.

Two industry sources told Reuters that Chinese export restrictions on some rare earths are a concern for some US aerospace manufacturers because they are sole-sourced from China for use in avionics.

China has a near lock on the rare-earths industry as the world's dominant miner, refiner and producer of rare earth magnets, which are critical for a range of military and civilian technologies, including electric vehicles, according to The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

China's export control measures on rare earth-related items strike directly at a core spot of the US, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Medium and heavy rare earths are extensively used in many military fields such as missiles, radar, and permanent magnets. They are also more expensive and harder to mine, Song said. 

China's export control measures on the certain rare earth-related items, effective immediately on Friday, aim to better safeguard national security and interests and fulfill non-proliferation and other international obligations, a commerce ministry spokesperson said, Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.

These materials have both military and civil uses, imposing export controls on them is a common international practice, the spokesperson said, adding that the move reflects China's consistent stance in firmly maintaining world peace and regional stability as a responsible major country.