Analysis of Rare Earth Element Supply Chain Resilience During a Major Conflict

Abstract

This report explores the extension of the conventional "kill chain" in a counterintuitive manner. Utilizing lessons learned from the SEA29 work in "Logistics in a Contested Environment," the "kill chain" is re-defined backward from warhead detonation to "metal bending and metal delivery." This process provides a more well-rounded examination of Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to maintain supply lines in a major conflict, specifically, those supply lines that provide key rare earth elements (REE) to DOD weapons contractors. Using linear programming and optimization, this report documents a design of three alternatives for the mining, refinement, and production of REEs. By defining a production equation around our Measures of Effectiveness and Performance (MOE/MOP), we maximized the weighted MOPs while minimizing damage to convoys. From the analysis of results, we found REE components produced remotely (OCONUS) and near CONUS had the best results while using medium and large convoys. Finally, the diverse background of the team, professionally and academically, allowed for a combination of perspectives during the research and modeling process, which ultimately led to the creation of this final report.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2021
Accession Number
AD1150824

Entities

People

  • Alexander P. Kavall
  • Collin R. Hust

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircraft Carriers
  • Antisubmarine Warfare
  • Commerce
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Science
  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Engineers
  • Environment
  • Information Science
  • Lessons Learned
  • Logistics
  • Manufacturing
  • Military Applications
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Operations Research
  • Rare Earth Elements
  • Supply Chain
  • Systems Engineering
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
  • Materials Science and Engineering.