The Army Wants Non-Chinese Magnets for Small Drone Motors, and FPV Pilots Will Recognize the Sizes

Every brushless motor on a quadcopter has a ring of small curved magnets inside its bell, and most of those magnets come from China. The U.S. Army is now trying to find out who else can make them. As Defense Daily noted in its Defense Watch column on Friday, Army Contracting Command has been surveying industry for rare earth magnets built specifically for the motors in small drones. At least one company has publicly said it responded.

What the Army asked for

The sources sought notice on SAM.gov was posted September 28 by the Tobyhanna Division of Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, and responses were due October 28. The attached request for information spells out exactly what the Army wants:

• Material: Sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets. Grade N52SH is preferred and N42SH is acceptable. The “SH” suffix means the magnet keeps its strength at higher temperatures, which matters inside a hot motor.
• Shape and finish: Radially magnetized arc segments with nickel-copper-nickel plating, assembled in alternating north-south rings.
• Three motor sizes: Magnets for 2407 motors (4- to 6-inch-prop drones), 2807 motors (7- to 8-inch) and 3115 motors (10- to 12-inch), with 14 magnets per motor.

FPV builders will recognize those numbers right away. A 2807 motor has a 28 mm stator that is 7 mm tall. That is the kind of hardware behind 7-inch long-range FPV quads, not toy drones.

This is market research only. The notice says it is not a request for proposals and does not commit the government to buy anything.

Who answered

Miami-based Evolution Metals & Technologies (Nasdaq: EMAT) said in an October 28 press release that it submitted a capability statement. The company says it already makes N42SH magnets commercially at a plant in Pohang, South Korea. It plans to grow that plant from about 1,000 to about 10,000 metric tons a year. EM&T proposed a step-by-step path to qualify its magnets to the Army’s spec. It also offered a “mine-to-magnet” traceability record for each production lot, tied to Pentagon sourcing rules (DFARS 252.225-7052) that the company says expand on January 1, 2027.

“Every one of their motors depends on high-performance rare earth magnets that today come overwhelmingly from China,” EM&T president Andrew Knaggs said in the release. Being one respondent doesn’t mean the Army has picked EM&T, and other companies may have answered quietly.

Why the timing matters

The motor supply chain is getting squeezed from both sides. Beijing’s new export-license requirements for larger drone motors, speed controllers and propellers take effect November 18. In Washington, FCC Covered List actions are pushing U.S. buyers away from Chinese drones and parts. A drone that’s “American-made” on the outside can still depend on Chinese magnets inside every motor. The Army’s survey is a small, early attempt to see if that dependency can be broken for the motors its small drones actually use.

What this means for drone pilots

• Motor prices could get bumpy. If export licensing slows Chinese supply before non-Chinese magnet production scales up, FPV motors and replacement parts may cost more or be harder to find. Keep a few spares on hand.
• “NDAA-compliant” goes deeper than the label. Public safety and government buyers should start asking vendors where motor magnets, not just flight controllers and cameras, come from. Traceability rules are getting stricter.
• Know your hardware. Understanding how your aircraft is built, from props to performance limits, makes you a safer pilot and a better buyer. Drone U’s Part 107 course covers aircraft performance and loading along with the rest of what you need to fly commercially.

Sources: Defense Daily; SAM.gov sources sought notice; Evolution Metals & Technologies

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