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Tungsten is a key metal used in defence manufacturing.  Credit: Intothelight Photography/Shutterstock.com

UK tungsten projects are attracting renewed strategic attention as parliament examines how Britain’s defence-industrial base remains exposed to Chinese-controlled critical mineral supply chains.

During hearings held in May by the Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls, witnesses warned that Western defence production – including missile systems, aerospace technologies, advanced electronics and hardened steel manufacturing – remains heavily dependent on minerals processed or refined in China.

The inquiry, launched in March 2025, is examining whether Britain’s economic security framework is fit for purpose amid rising geopolitical competition and growing concern over concentrated mineral supply chains. 

While much of the discussion focused on rare earths, one of the clearest links between UK mining and defence manufacturing emerged around tungsten, a metal used in armour-piercing munitions, hardened steel, aerospace systems and high-temperature defence applications. 

Kathryn Moore, associate professor in critical and green technology metals at the University of Exeter, told MPs that tungsten remained strategically important for defence manufacturing and represented one area where the UK still retained domestic geological potential. 

The US Department of the Navy has unveiled its Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Shipbuilding Plan, which requests funding for 34 manned ships and five uncrewed platforms in FY27 alone. In total, 122 ships and 63 uncrewed platforms are planned across the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP).

This plan outlines a strategic approach to expanding fleet capacity and enhancing naval capabilities, forming a critical component of the US Navy’s long-term strategy to maintain maritime dominance and address evolving global threats.

Central to the plan is the operationalisation of the Golden Fleet Initiative, which aligns shipbuilding investments with the High-Low Mix Strategy and the operational demands of the Navy Warfighting Concept. The initiative aims to create a balanced fleet that integrates advanced combatants, cost-effective frigates, and uncrewed systems.

The Fleet of the Future is envisioned as an integrated system capable of generating combat power across multiple domains, relying on doctrinal concepts such as Expanded Maritime Maneuver and Distributed Maritime Operations.

Canada’s INKAS Defense and Aerospace integration has introduced two new products at the recently held defence trade show CANSEC 2026.

The new platforms include the INKAS Modular Light Tactical Vehicle (MLTV) and the INKAS ANURI Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The INKAS MLTV, designed to replace existing light utility vehicle fleets, is the result of a collaborative programme with INEOS Automotive and WELP Group.

According to the company, the vehicle leverages a proven original equipment manufacturer platform and provides factory-backed engineering and support throughout its lifecycle.

The modular design of the MLTV allows it to be reconfigured for various mission types, including armoured transport, reconnaissance, medical evacuation, assault operations, and search and rescue.

In addition, the vehicle features a scalable bolt-on protection system, which enables increased levels of protection to be added without affecting the vehicle’s structure or manoeuvrability.

Ukraine has planned to procure up to 20 Gripen E/F fighter aircraft from Sweden, as part of an effort to upgrade its air defence capabilities.

Alongside the planned purchase, Sweden has committed to donate up to 16 JAS 39 Gripen C/D fighter jets, along with advanced ammunition, from the current fleet of the Swedish Armed Forces. 

According to the Swedish Government, Ukraine will receive the free jets, valued at Skr22.2bn, only if they sign a contract to purchase Sweden’s brand-new, modern Gripen E/F models.

Saab said  detailed negotiations on the procurement and delivery schedules will follow, with Sweden also initiating discussions on how it will replace the donated aircraft within its own military.

The defence prime has confirmed that no contract has been signed at this stage, and no order has yet been received for the aircraft related to Ukraine’s intended acquisition.. The developments come after a letter of intent was signed between Sweden and Ukraine in October 2025.

Once conceived as a way to help boost the Royal Navy’s minimal surface combatant fleet, the Type 32 frigate was announced in 2020 with some hope that the service could plan for a future where aspiring for the bare minimum need not be the norm.

The concept evolved into a likely plan to see it act as a mothership for the service’s autonomous mine countermeasure (MCM) capability, desperately needed considering the rapid drawdown of the Hunt– and Sandown-class MCM vessels.

In the years since Type 32 announcement, it had cropped up periodically in parliamentary questions, in answers to MPs keen to understand more about a programme upon which so much was promised but so little known.

Consistently, governments of the day reiterated that the Type 32 was in concept stage.

However, since 2023, queries have reduced, with just three recorded in 2024 and four the following year, as government answers in April, October, November, and December of 2025 appearing to stop short of full commitment to the programme.