Lockheed Martin Confronts 2027 Rare-Earth Magnet Deadline Across Its Defense Supply Chain

Highlights

• DFARS 252.225-7052 expands January 1, 2027 to require SmCo and NdFeB magnet sourcing traced all the way back to mining or feedstock, not just the manufacturer country.
• The F-35 program was halted in 2022 after Chinese-origin samarium-cobalt alloy was found in a Honeywell subsystem, exposing how deeply prohibited materials can hide in multi-tier supply chains.
• Lockheed's own 2025 10-K acknowledges that achieving mining-level compliance across its multi-tier supplier base remains an active challenge with real cost and schedule consequences.
• Lockheed's MOU with NioCorp for scandium oxide signals a strategic shift toward upstream mineral sourcing, reflecting the same logic that now applies to rare-earth magnets.
• Investors lack visibility into which specific Lockheed programs still depend on magnet supply chains that cannot yet demonstrate 2027 compliance.