"Nail" Confuses the American Rocket Industry.. A Year to Produce It

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In the U.S. administration's race to increase missile and ammunition production and compensate for what has been consumed from weapon systems, American defense industries face an obstacle that seems marginal at first glance, represented by a "small, highly precise metal screw," which may take years to obtain and threatens to slow down the production of advanced missiles.

The so-called "microball screw" is a key component in the manufacturing of "Patriot" missiles, aircraft, and humanoid robots, while the United States suffers from a shortage of companies capable of producing it in the required quantities and specifications.

This microball screw contains balls that recycle themselves to reduce friction, converting rotational motion into linear motion, and it resembles a screw, with hardly anyone outside a small circle of metalworking technicians and engineers having heard of it.

However, in military applications, it requires exceptional levels of precision, according to a report by the "New York Times."

While the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump works on replacing or developing weapon systems that have been depleted due to the war in Iran, these pins are facing a supply shortage, adding months, if not years, to the time required to manufacture a missile.

Nick Kolar, the executive vice president of sales in the aerospace, defense, and space sectors at the Italian company "Ombra Group," which has a factory in Michigan, considered this component to have "created a bottleneck," estimating that demand for it has increased by up to 50 percent since 2020.

Only a handful of companies in the United States have the capability to manufacture these pins for the U.S. military, but with most of them already at their maximum production capacity, increasing the production of the required quantities of pins for the weapons that the Trump administration wants to manufacture will require time and investments.

Kolar stated, "It is a highly engineered component, and there are not many manufacturers capable of providing it."

It is worth noting that missiles are controlled by electronic mechanisms known as actuators, which move the missile's fins at precise angles to reach their targets, with each actuator containing a spherical pin that is so precise that its accuracy is measured in units about one-hundredth the width of a human hair, and missiles typically contain at least four actuators, thus requiring at least four spherical pins.

The spherical screws contain balls that recycle themselves to reduce friction and convert rotational motion into linear motion, similar to a screw. However, screws designed for common industrial uses, such as those used in electric steering systems for cars, do not require the same level of precision and are relatively easy to obtain.

However, screws used in rockets often take a year to produce, and the cost of one can exceed a thousand dollars. A precision spherical screw can be assembled within weeks, but obtaining the special heat-resistant steel from the metal factory to start manufacturing the parts takes several months. Additionally, a series of other steps takes extra time, starting from heat-treating the steel to prevent warping, to sending the screws to another factory for chrome plating or other coatings.

The difficulties in producing spherical screws are not limited to the United States. According to a report released in 2025 by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, China set a goal to produce at least 80 percent of the high-quality spherical screws it uses, but it has not achieved this goal.

It is worth noting that the importance of this issue is increasing with the United States' plans to raise the production of major missile systems; in January, Lockheed Martin signed an agreement with the Trump administration to triple the annual production of Patriot missiles, also known as PAC-3 interceptors.

Patrick Roche, the CEO of Moog, said during a call with investors in July that the company is ready to meet demand, but he pointed out the potential difficulties in obtaining the required components, adding, "The critical issue now is expanding industrial capacity."

The American operations have consumed thousands of missiles, each costing millions of dollars, while the response to Iranian attacks has depleted the air defense missile stockpile to a degree that has raised concerns among senior officials in the Trump administration, prompting the United States to delay some arms shipments to clients in Europe and Asia.

Therefore, the Trump administration is trying to accelerate weapons production in collaboration with defense companies, but even with increased production, the United States may need more than two years to replace the "Patriot" missiles used in the war, while experts believe that the current ammunition crisis may continue beyond Trump's term.