RTX Teams With UAE Partners to Produce Defense-Critical Gallium
RTX has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tawazun Council and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) to explore gallium production at EGA’s facility in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Announced by US President Donald Trump during the last leg of his three-nation trip to the Gulf region, the agreement entails the creation of extraction and refining capabilities of gallium at EGA’s alumina refinery.
It will make the UAE the world’s second-largest gallium producer behind China.
“Gallium is an important metal for the most advanced electronics systems but remains commercially challenging to produce,” CEO of EGA Abdulnasser Bin Kalban said.
“This agreement between Tawazun Council, EGA and RTX makes the development of a new source of gallium in the UAE feasible, creating an additional revenue stream for EGA and a new industrial capability for the UAE in line with our nation’s industrial growth strategy Operation 300bn.”
Critical Mineral
The critical mineral has applications in a range of sectors, including defense.
For RTX, the compound Gallium Nitride is used in advanced radars such as the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, and the GEM-T missiles of the Patriot air defense system.
Following their memorandum of understanding, RTX and EGA could launch a feasibility study for a “high purity gallium plant” at EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery, which processes bauxite ore into alumina.
Gallium is found in very small amounts in bauxite.
“The aerospace and defense industry relies on stable access to rare earth elements,” senior vice president for operations and supply chain at RTX, Paolo Dal Cin, said.
“Today’s agreement puts us on a path towards a reliable supply of gallium, needed for production of critical aerospace and defense solutions.”
China’s Monopoly
The agreement follows China’s decision to ban the export of a group of three critical minerals with military applications — gallium, germanium, and antimony — to the US in December.
This was in retaliation for Washington’s export ban on semiconductors, semiconductor-making equipment, and machinery to China.
The move was intended to stall Beijing’s advance in the development of advanced weapons and artificial intelligence systems with military applications.
China produces and exports an estimated 90 percent of gallium in the world, which puts the US and its allies in a vulnerable position.
The mineral’s unique properties allow for the production of specialized semiconductors that are vital to advanced weapon systems such as radars, missile defense, electronic warfare, and communications.
An alternative source of gallium would ease Washington’s concerns about future supplies.
