/ The challenge
Unmanned aircraft systems pack a lot of magnet-dependent hardware into a small airframe. Brushless propulsion motors, gimbal motors that steady cameras and sensors, and servos that move control surfaces typically rely on NdFeB magnets. Flight controllers and speed controllers often use tantalum capacitors, and some designs use dense tungsten parts for balance or ballast.
Many of these components are bought from commercial catalogs, and catalog suppliers rarely publish where their magnets or metals came from. When a part has passed through several distributors, the chain back to the magnet maker, let alone to separation and mining, can be hard to rebuild. From 1 January 2027 DFARS 252.225-7052 reaches those upstream stages for covered material in parts delivered to the Department of Defense.
Lodeline helps UAS component suppliers find out which of their parts are likely to contain covered magnets, tungsten or tantalum, then works back through suppliers and distributors to collect origin documents stage by stage. Where a distributor cannot answer, we note that plainly and identify who upstream is able to.
Separate rules also govern unmanned aircraft and their components, such as Section 848 of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act. This page and our service cover covered-material documentation under 252.225-7052 only. Your contracts team should confirm which rules apply to each contract.
Lodeline provides supply-chain documentation and analysis, not legal advice or government certification. Applicability, exceptions, and acceptance depend on the contract and the responsible reviewer.
