Pentagon to China-Dependent Battery Suppliers: You’re Done in 388 Days
388 Days to Decouple: How Section 842 of the FY26 NDAA Just Rewrote the Defense Battery Game
On December 8, 2025, the conference report for the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act dropped, and buried inside at Section 842 is a provision that should send every program manager, battery buyer, and defense contractor straight to their supply-chain spreadsheets.
Starting January 1, 2027, just 388 days from now, the Department of War will be prohibited from procuring any advanced battery whose cells, cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, or critical minerals were sourced, processed, or manufactured by a sprawling list of “covered foreign entities.” While the language is carefully diplomatic, everyone in the industry knows exactly who the target is: China and the handful of Beijing-linked giants that still dominate roughly 80 percent of global battery material refining and 70 percent of cell production.
This isn’t a gentle nudge toward diversification. It’s a hard stop. Miss the deadline without a compliant supply chain and you’re simply off the bid list for anything the Pentagon buys that needs a lithium-ion pack, from soldier-worn devices to drones, electric ground vehicles, and grid-scale backup at forward operating bases.

