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As a result, one drone-parts manufacturer that supplies the U.S. military was forced to delay orders by up to two months while it searched for a non-Chinese source of magnets, which are assembled from rare earths.

Certain materials needed by the defense industry now go for five or more times what was typical before China’s recent mineral restrictions, according to industry traders. One company said it was recently offered samarium—an element needed to make magnets that can withstand the extreme temperatures of a jet-fighter engine—for 60 times the standard price. That is already driving the cost of defense systems higher, say suppliers and defense executives.

The squeeze on critical minerals highlights how dependent the U.S. military is on China for much of its supply chain—giving Beijing leverage at a time of rising tensions between the two powers and heated trade negotiations. Defense manufacturers supplying the U.S. military rely on minerals that are mainly produced in China for microelectronics, drone motors, night-vision goggles, missile-targeting systems and defense satellites.

While companies have tried to find alternative sources of these minerals in recent years, some of the elements are so niche that they can’t be economically produced in the West, say industry executives.

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The Pentagon is requiring defense contractors to stop buying rare-earth magnets that contain China-sourced minerals by 2027. As a result, some companies have sizable stockpiles of magnets. But suppliers and defense companies often hold less than a year’s worth—some just a few months—of many other critical mineral stockpiles.

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More than 80,000 parts that are used in Defense Department weapons systems are made with critical minerals now subject to Chinese export controls, according to data from defense software firm Govini. Nearly all of the supply chains for key critical minerals used by the Pentagon rely on at least one Chinese supplier, Govini said, meaning restrictions from Beijing can cause widespread disruptions.