An airman prepares an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile in Alaska in October. The versatile chemical sodium perchlorate can be converted into a key oxidizer in solid rocket motors for warfighting equipment like missiles and spacecraft. In mid-2025, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate reutilized about $63 million of the inorganic compound through the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services excess property stores for equipment manufacturing applications.