The actuators that move an aircraft's control surfaces, its generators and radar, and missile fin actuators all use samarium-cobalt or NdFeB magnets - small tonnages, but supply has to be secure.
Aircraft, missile and defence-electronics makers build magnets into actuators, motors, sensors and microwave tubes. IREL has been setting up a small samarium-cobalt magnet facility at Visakhapatnam for strategic users.
China's export licences rule out defence end-uses, and from 1 Jan 2027 US defence rules bar magnets mined or processed in China anywhere in the chain. A domestic magnet base is a strategic need, even if the volumes are tiny next to EVs.
Very small tonnages at high prices. For listed defence majors, magnets are a minor bill-of-materials item; the benefit is supply assurance and indigenisation scores, not revenue.