Dive Brief:
- MP Materials has launched a rare-earth magnet initiative in a bid to strengthen the U.S. drone and motors supply chain, according to a July 30 press release.
- Dubbed Project Swarm, the initiative will allow drone and motor manufacturers to reserve production capacity at MP Materials’ upcoming $1.3 billion 10X magnet facility in Northlake, Texas. MP is developing the plant with the Department of Defense.
- The supply agreement will also allow companies to make reservations without signing binding purchase commitments. Instead, manufacturers will be able to hone their specific requirements as new technologies and production processes advance.
Dive Insight:
Permanent magnets, specifically neodymium-iron-boron, use their magnetic fields to power drone motors, according to TopMag. NdFeB magnets also have a higher energy capacity compared to other magnet types, ranging between 40 and 50 Mega Gauss Oersteds.
The United States has largely depended on foreign sources for these components for decades. In 2021, China accounted for 75% of U.S. imports of sintered NdFeB magnets, according to a 2023 Bureau of Industry and Security report. This was up from 60% in 2016.
The U.S. has been working to alleviate dependence on China’s drones and components. MP’s initiative will allow any domestic or allied manufacturer to reserve up to 2 million drones of magnet capacity a year, Chairman and CEO James Litinsky said during a panel at the American Drone Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. on July 31.
He added that predicting demand is “tremendously difficult.” Project Swarm’s goal is to “aggregate this demand and allow certainty” to allow companies to develop new technologies.
“They're going to have a full American magnetic solution, starting with the mine, all the way through refined material, metal-wise, and magnetize all that we do vertically integrated with MP,” Litinsky said. “It'll all be out of the facility that we're doing in partnership with [DOD], and this is really important because not only are we going to aggregate the demand, but the goal here is also to standardize.”
MP mines and processes rare-earth materials at its facility in Mountain Pass, California. Its site in Fort Worth, Texas and Northlake will produce rare-earth metals, alloys and NdFeB magnets.
The initiative is expected to begin when MP’s 10X plant begins operations in 2028, Litinsky said. MP has begun forming agreements with multiple drone manufacturers. The company also aims to broaden its outreach in the industry to motor manufacturers, propulsion developers, defense technology companies, commercial operators and allied producers.
China currently dominates the drone market with the largest global presence and the “deepest component supply chain,” valued at $15.6 billion in 2025, according to research firm Drone Intelligence. The country’s government has also taken steps to limit exports with U.S.-based defense and aerospace companies, including MP.
China’s Ministry of Commerce took further action with its U.S. trade on Wednesday. The agency has added drones and components and other related technologies to its U.S. export control list, stating “each case will be strictly reviewed, and licensing facilitation measures will not apply.”
