The Critical Minerals Trap Behind Directed-Energy Weapons

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian, Macdonald Amoah, and Senior Research Fellow Jahara Matisek write about how the Pentagon’s most promising answer to the munitions crisis requires materials controlled by the adversary it is designed to deter. Directed energy weapons (DEWs), high-energy lasers (HELs), and high-power microwaves (HPMs) that promise speed-of-light engagement and costs per shot measured in dollars are marketed as the solution to the broken economics of modern air defense. June 4, 2026.