Raytheon Secures 10% of Sheep Creek Rare Earth Output for Defense Gear
REAlloys secured 10% of Montana's Sheep Creek rare earth output, including dysprosium, terbium, yttrium and NdPr. Its Ohio metallization facility targets 525 t/year NdPr in Phase 1 and expands to 3,000 t NdPr, 200 t dysprosium and 45 t terbium in Phase 2, shoring up Raytheon’s systems before the Jan 2027 ban.
1. Sheep Creek Supply Agreement
REAlloys signed a memorandum with U.S. Critical Materials Corp. to secure up to 10% of production from Montana’s Sheep Creek project, tapping one of the highest-grade rare earth deposits in North America. The agreement covers dysprosium, terbium, yttrium and NdPr—key elements for high-performance magnets used in Raytheon’s Patriot, AMRAAM and other defense systems.
2. Metallization Facility and Capacity
REAlloys is constructing a metallization plant in Euclid, Ohio to convert rare earth oxides into finished metals and magnet-grade alloys. Phase 1 will deliver 525 t/year of NdPr, while Phase 2 ramps up to 3,000 t NdPr, 200 t dysprosium and 45 t terbium, with modular design enabling replication as demand grows.
3. Implications for Raytheon Systems
The domestic supply chain addresses the U.S. defense requirement to eliminate Chinese-origin rare earths by January 2027. Securing a reliable midstream source reduces procurement risk for Raytheon’s precision-guided munitions and radar platforms, which depend on magnet-grade alloys for guidance and control subsystems.