Moving Beyond the Patriot || Aug 14, 2026
The U.S. is hesitant to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missiles locally, partially to protect U.S. military IP, but more so because it doesn't want Ukraine to do it better. The reality is that highly sophisticated weapons like the Patriot aren't the right tool for modern warfare.
Sure, in an American-led globalized system, these weapons are the cream of the crop. But that's not the world we live in anymore. $4 million price tags and complicated supply chains are no longer viable. Modern wars require cheap weapons that are easy to produce locally at scale, like the drones we've seen across the Ukraine War.
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Comments (20)
Is that a helicopter over your left shoulder at the beginning? Short easy hike to get on top…
The s
The USA learned something in China with forced technology transfer. Especially important now because this administration can't tell allies from enemies.
If you already bought your scopolamine motion sickness patches, good news, you're all set.
I can’t believe we’re about to spend $280,000,000,000 on battleships but we’re ignoring drone warfare.
please explain how gallium can be used for chips. it melts at 85F
i asked ai to answer.... cool...AI Mode All Images Videos News More Upgrade can i buy bars of gallium like silver or gold or similar ets etc Yes, you can buy pure gallium in small ingots, bars, or vials online from metal hobbyist stores, scientific suppliers, and specialty mints. Unlike gold or silver, gallium melts at just 29.78°C (85.58°F)—meaning it will literally melt in the palm of your hand. Where to Buy Gallium RotoMetals: Offers RotoMetals Gallium in 10g, 50g, 100g, 500g, and 1000g ingots. Luciteria Science: Sells high-purity Luciteria Science Gallium Metal and element display cubes. RWMM Mint: Provides collectible element bullion, including RWMM Mint Gallium Ingots stamped like traditional precious metal bars. General Retailers: Smaller quantities and science kits are frequently available via Amazon Gallium Metal and specialty sellers on Etsy Gallium Metal. Important Properties to Know Melting Point: It transitions from a solid to a silvery liquid just above normal room temperature. Expansion: Gallium expands by about 3.1% when it freezes. Never store solid gallium in a rigid glass or metal container, because if it liquefies and solidifies again, it will crack or break the container. Container Interaction: Gallium wets glass and alloys with or degrades many other metals (like aluminum and steel) by soaking into their crystal lattice. If you're planning a project, let me know: Are you looking for a small display vial, a poured ingot, or a larger quantity? Do you need advice on safe storage and handling molds? Rare Metals For Sale Gallium (Ga) - RWMM Purchase Gallium (Ga) metal at RWMM Mint. Rare, collectible, and industrial-grade metals available online today. Etsy Gallium Metal - Etsy Gallium Metal * 20 Grams of . 999999 Ultra High Purity Gallium Metal - Glass Vial - Grimm Metals. (1.7k) $85.00. * 5 Grams Sintere... RotoMetals RotoMetals Gallium, and Gallium Spoon Mold Rotometals offers 99.99% pure gallium in ingots of 10, 50, 100, 500, or 1000 grams. Shop our store today for the absolute best pri... Show all any etfs or similar There are no ETFs that back physical gallium or track its spot price directly, unlike gold or silver funds (such as GLD or SLV). Because gallium has a tiny global market size and a melting point near room temperature, financial institutions do not offer physically-backed gallium trusts. However, you can get indirect investment exposure to gallium through equity ETFs that track critical minerals and rare earth mining companies, or by investing in technology sectors reliant on gallium: 📊 Strategic Metal ETFs These funds pool together global mining, recycling, and refining companies that process minor, high-tech, and strategic metals—including gallium: VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX): This is the largest and most liquid pure-play fund in this category. It tracks the MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index, which explicitly includes minor high-tech metals like gallium and germanium alongside rare earths. Sprott Critical Materials ETF (SETM): Focuses heavily on the upstream supply chain of critical materials necessary for global technological infrastructure and clean energy transition. Global X Rare Earth & Critical Materials ETF (EART): Invests broadly in companies extracting and refining the raw or composite components needed for robotics, EV components, and radar systems. ⚠️ Important Investment Risks to Consider Company Performance vs. Spot Price: Buying these ETFs means you are investing in mining company equities rather than the physical metal itself. If a mining company experiences poor management or operational issues, its stock price could drop even if the price of gallium is rising. Geopolitical Concentration: China controls over 90% of global gallium supply chains. Because of this, funds tracking rare and strategic metals carry significant geopolitical risk. Diluted Exposure: Gallium is typically a byproduct of aluminum or zinc processing rather than being mined on its own. As a result, the companies inside these ETFs often have their primary revenues tied to larger industrial metals. 💡 Alternative: Tech Sector Exposure Instead of the mining side, many investors choose to target the demand side by investing in semiconductor ETFs. Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) are rapidly replacing traditional silicon in high-efficiency power electronics, 5G base stations, data centers, and electric vehicles. Broad chip-sector ETFs like the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) or the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) include top-tier semiconductor manufacturers that develop advanced gallium-based chips. AI responses may include mistakes. For financial advice, consult a professional. Learn more VanEck Rare Earth ETF | Invest in strategic metal stocks - VanEck FAQ * What is the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals UCITS ETF? The rare earth ETF is an exchange-traded fund that offers dive... Million Dollar Journey Investing in Rare Earth, Strategic, Minor and Industrial Metals Apr 23, 2026 — If you seek to truly invest in the value of strategic and rare metals, you could buy ETFs for copper, aluminum, and zinc but you c... rare-earth-mining.com Top 10 Rare Earth ETFs and Investment Vehicles 2026 Mar 21, 2026 — 1. VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX) — United States. REMX is the largest and most liquid pure-play rare earth ETF... Show all how is gallium used to make compurter chips espcially formillitay application In the semiconductor industry, gallium is not used as a raw metal; instead, it is synthesized into advanced compound materials—primarily Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs). These compound semiconductors are classified as "wide bandgap" materials. They have vastly outperformed traditional silicon in high-voltage, high-frequency, and extreme-temperature environments, making them absolutely vital for modern military hardware. 🛠️ How Gallium Chips Are Made Unlike silicon chips, which are sliced from large, easily grown cylinders of pure silicon, making a gallium chip requires complex, atomic-scale material science: Chemical Synthesis: Pure gallium metal is reacted with other elements at extreme temperatures. For example, injecting ammonia gas (NH₃) into molten gallium at roughly 900°C creates Gallium Nitride powder. Epitaxial Wafer Growth: Because pure GaN or GaAs crystals are incredibly difficult to grow into large blocks on Earth, engineers use processes like Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE). They fire precise beams of gallium and nitrogen or arsenic atoms at a base substrate (like silicon or silicon carbide), building the semiconductor crystal structure layer by single atomic layer. Photolithography & Etching: Once the gallium-compound layer is deposited on the wafer, standard microchip manufacturing takes over. Light is used to burn intricate electrical circuit designs into the material, which are then chemically etched to form microscopic transistors. 🪖 Why the Military Needs Gallium Chips Traditional silicon chips "break down" (leak electricity, overheat, and fail) when pushed to high power limits or exposed to extreme radiation. Gallium-based chips solve these physics bottlenecks, providing three massive tactical advantages: 1. Next-Generation Radar & "AESA" Systems Military radars rely on Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESA), which feature thousands of tiny, individual Transmit/Receive modules. The Advantage: Switching from legacy silicon or GaAs to Gallium Nitride (GaN) allows radar modules to operate at much higher voltages and power densities. The Result: Systems like Raytheon’s GhostEye (LTAMDS) missile defense radar blast out unprecedented levels of radio frequency energy. This drastically extends detection ranges, shrinks the required hardware size, and provides enough raw power to "burn through" enemy electronic jamming sweeps. 2. Electronic Warfare (EW) and Signal Jamming In modern warfare, dominating the radio spectrum is crucial. The Advantage: Gallium chips handle massive electrical power while operating at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies. The Result: EW systems can process signals faster and pump out highly concentrated, high-frequency disruptive static to blind enemy communications, deactivate incoming drone swarms, or disrupt precision-guided munitions. 3. Radiation Hardening & Space Systems Space and nuclear battlefields are full of intense radiation that destroys standard commercial electronics by causing trapped electrical charges. The Advantage: Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) naturally features incredibly high electron mobility and inherent radiation tolerance. GaAs devices lack the sensitive oxide gates found in silicon transistors where radiation charge typically builds up. The Result: GaAs is the gold standard for communication satellites, military spy satellites, and space-grade solar cells that must survive decades of cosmic bombardment without failing. 🌍 The Geopolitical Bottleneck Because gallium chips are fundamentally intertwined with national security, the raw material itself is a major geopolitical flashpoint. China refines over 90% of the world’s supply. To counter the risk of export bans, the U.S. Department of Defense heavily funds initiatives like the AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory) and DARPA programs to build independent domestic manufacturing hubs for gallium semiconductors.
Interesting podcast discussion with a US VC investing in Ukraine. Not only is NATO defense spending disjointed and obsolete, but fails to address hypersonics and ballistic missiles where Russian production is vastly higher than all of the US & NATO. Not sure if this is representative if what others are seeing https://open.spotify.com/episode/1O0s6XhJ6rmLocI0C3fp3D?si=U2NSJSJiSImt-LVadrwnkw&utm_source=copy-link&sci=spotify%3Acard-config%3A7bkXwEgDznzhB1QXutJFyQ
Michael (MNNO) and other Zeihan on Geopolitics staff: What's going on with the flurry of "Comment hidden"? Did ZoG or Patreon impose an undocumented limit on comment length? I've asked before. No response yet.
So did I. No response.
Spot on analysis. Thank you PZ!
What is your take on the Euro-Ukrainian project FREYJA? The Ukrainians seem to be developing military technology at an incredible pace. How long might this development take?
Anyone know why PZ doesn't use one of those fuzzy clip on microphones so he won't get wind noise?
I’m
We can't afford our own weapons without overseas sales. Trumpf has screwed that too.
Agree. With the increasing and enormous Federal debt, the DOD should be prioritizing the most cost-effective weapons systems. $4m Patriot missiles to shoot down $20k Iranian drones is not wise and fiscally sound.
Love your blend of Geo-politics and nature. I'm an ex-hiker and very much miss the mountains:)
It seems like Orange Man is really trying to drag America into the modern dark ages. By attacking our colleges and universities through a brute attack on hundreds of research projects he set us back at least 100 years in research and growth. By appointing Hegseth, the most incompetent Secretary of Defense Orange Man has set us back several decades of military effectiveness. By imposing hundreds of fluctuating tariffs he has set back industrial growth by at least a decade or so. We'll get through it, but, DAMN has he damaged our country!
He's not the only one. Trump is the product of conservative media and conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. I'm not sure what the desired end state is, and I don't think all of these entities align. For example I think the Federalist Society wants to repeal the 14th Amendment, return the definition of a citizen to the States, and reduce citizenship to how it was in the 18th century - where only a small, wealthy group of white men were eligible to hold public office, vote, and participate in politics. Do the other conservative entities feel this way? IDK.
So have defense contractors forgotten how to write contracts? Ideally, you would have the US license the Patriot system to the Ukrainians and as part of the contract they would agree to share all improvements and manufacturing methods they develop. It's a win-win agreement that would in all likelihood extend the life of the system. So much for the art of the deal.
