The U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, in partnership with the Economic Defense Unit, announced September 14 that it would make a $450 million redeemable preferred equity investment in The Elmet Group through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program.
The Department says the investment, which gives it a 20% stake in the publicly traded company, will strengthen domestic tungsten capacity, bolster U.S. industrial resilience and military readiness, and help secure an essential material for the defense industrial base.
The Elmet Group, which says it is the last and only fully integrated U.S.-owned producer of pure tungsten and molybdenum, went public via an initial public offering (IPO) earlier in 2026. Its products support more than 100 U.S. defense programs, including the F-35, Patriot PAC-3, Trident D5, NGI, PrSM, and Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines.
"The Economic Defense Unit was created to identify critical industrial chokepoints before adversaries can exploit them and before they become battlefield risk," said George K. Kollitides II, director of the Economic Defense Unit. "Tungsten is essential to the systems that protect American warfighters and sustain deterrence, and this investment helps secure a domestic processing capability the United States cannot afford to leave exposed.”
According to Investing.com, a redeemable preferred equity investment is a hybrid financial security that gives the investor priority over common stockholders for dividends and liquidation, combined with a feature that requires or allows the shares to be bought back (redeemed) at a pre-agreed price after a specific time or event.
