4 March, 2026
In A Modern Military Begins Underground, Lt Gen (Ret’d) Andrzej Fałkowski argues that modern defence power depends as much on critical minerals and supply chains as on budgets or weapons systems. Metals such as tungsten, lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements underpin the sensors, motors, electronics, and precision guidance systems that make modern militaries effective. When access to these materials is disrupted, production slows, modernization stalls, and defence spending cannot translate into real capability.
Fałkowski highlights the strategic risks created by concentrated global processing and supply chains, many of which lie outside Western control. He examines Poland’s position, noting its strengths in copper production and industrial capacity while acknowledging its dependence on imported critical minerals for advanced military technologies.
The article also points to Ukraine’s large but underdeveloped mineral resources, which could play an important role in strengthening European and NATO defence supply chains. Ultimately, Fałkowski concludes that 21st-century military advantage begins long before the battlefield—in mines, refineries, and logistics networks that determine whether advanced systems can actually be built when they are needed.
A Modern Military Begins Underground by Andrzej Fałkowski as originally published on defence24.com