Lockheed seeks US mineral supplies after Trump supply-chain push, sources say

Overview

President Trump signed an executive order that tightens the criteria for waivers previously allowing defense contractors to purchase critical minerals from China and other prohibited foreign suppliers. The policy shift is prompting prime contractors such as Lockheed Martin to move toward establishing domestic supply chains for critical minerals — the Summary specifically names scandium and germanium — that are essential to military equipment production. This change will affect procurement costs, supplier relationships, and sourcing strategies across the defense industrial base. Contractors should expect new sourcing constraints, closer scrutiny of supplier origins, and an increased emphasis on domestic or approved supplier qualification. Early action is needed to audit current supply lines, identify domestic alternative suppliers, and update capture and proposal plans to reflect higher supply-chain compliance burden. For operational guidance on secure handling of supply-chain sensitive data, see the Secure Operations Guide linked below.

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• [ ] Inventory and map current suppliers and sub-tier suppliers for scandium, germanium, and other critical minerals used in your products and assemblies; flag any suppliers sourcing from China or other prohibited jurisdictions.
• [ ] Monitor for official agency and solicitation guidance tied to the executive order and set up real-time alerts for updates from affected agencies; Monitor for the official solicitation or policy updates.
• [ ] Convene cross-functional team (sourcing, contracts, legal, program management) to run a rapid risk assessment on impacted programs and to identify immediate mitigation steps (dual-sourcing, material stockpiles, qualified domestic suppliers).

Short-Term Actions (30 Days)

• [ ] Initiate outreach to existing domestic suppliers and to potential domestic or allied alternatives; request capability statements, lead times, MOQ, and evidence of origin or traceability.
• [ ] Update bid/no-bid and capture assessments for impacted programs and contract vehicles based on projected cost and schedule impacts from supply-chain changes.

Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)

• [ ] Develop or expand supplier qualification and traceability programs for critical minerals, including supplier audits, certificate of origin requirements, and long-term supply agreements.
• [ ] Incorporate domestic sourcing and supply-chain resilience into technical approaches and cost proposals; document mitigation strategies (e.g., secondary sources, inventory buffers, vertical integration) for inclusion in capture plans and solicitations.

Compliance Checklist

• [ ] DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) 252.225-7009 — review implications for sourcing limitations and reporting requirements.
• [ ] DFARS 252.225-7018 — confirm acquisition restrictions applicable to specialty metals or similar materials.
• [ ] Buy American Act — assess applicability to impacted procurements.
• [ ] Berry Amendment — assess applicability where clothing, textiles, or related specialty items are involved.
• [ ] ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) — ensure technical data and exports related to supplier engagements remain compliant.
• [ ] CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) — confirm contractual cybersecurity and controlled unclassified information handling requirements for supply-chain data.
• [ ] Defense Production Act — monitor for priority rating or allocation actions affecting critical material production.
• [ ] Supply Chain Risk Management — implement or enhance SCRM controls to demonstrate supplier origin, traceability, and risk mitigation.

Resources

• DFARS 252.225-7009 — regulation text (/resources/dfars-252-225-7009)
• DFARS 252.225-7018 — regulation text (/resources/dfars-252-225-7018)
• Department of Defense — agency guidance and notices (/resources/dod-supply-chain-guidance)
• Defense Logistics Agency — Strategic Materials guidance (/resources/dla-strategic-materials)
• See also: Secure Operations Guide (/insights/secure-operations-guide)

Related reading:

• CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide)
• CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information)-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide)

How Cabrillo Club Automates This

• Cabrillo Signals War Room — Already detected this event and delivered this briefing within minutes. War Room continuously monitors federal sources for executive orders, policy shifts, and contract-vehicle updates so you receive immediate, contextual alerts when events like this change sourcing risk or contract requirements.
• Cabrillo Signals Match Engine — Automatically rescales your opportunity pipeline when supply-chain events alter fit or risk. The Match Engine updates match scores, relevancy keywords (e.g., "critical minerals", "scandium", "germanium"), and agency alignment in real time so capture leads and opportunities that are newly affected surface at the top of your pipeline.
• Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub — Tracks the affected agencies, NAICS groups, and contract vehicles associated with this event and lets you save targeted searches. Configure saved searches and get alerted when follow-on solicitations, guidance, or DLA Strategic Materials postings appear that match this event’s profile.
• Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) — Generates compliance matrices, evidence checklists, and first-draft technical approaches that incorporate your supplier mitigation strategies and past performance on domestic sourcing. Proposal OS’s bid/no-bid engine factors in signals like this executive order so your capture teams get an automated readiness score and recommended content priorities.
• Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker — Triggers a 9-gate capture workflow when War Room or the Match Engine marks an opportunity as impacted. The Workflow Tracker automatically routes supplier certification requests to sourcing, sends compliance reviews to contracts and legal, tracks evidence of origin for critical minerals, and compiles audit‑ready documentation packages for proposals and audits.

Explore these features in the Secure Operations Guide and use the saved searches in the Signals Intelligence Hub to start receiving follow-on alerts.