American-Made Steel
Military & Defense
Deploy Nucor’s extensive portfolio of American-made military-grade steel products – backed by our network of state-of-the-art mills – to ensure durable strength for American military defense and combat systems.
Our service extends beyond delivery; we collaborate with customers to meet their unique technical specifications, timelines and evolving mission requirements.
Nucor can deliver every grade required for mission success across all branches of defense.
Speed to Market
As a leading domestic producer of military-grade steel products, Nucor can leverage its position in the supply chain to keep your mission moving forward.
Built to Protect
Our steel is manufactured to meet the highest MIL-DTL and NAVSEA standards, ensuring the quality and strength needed to protect our service members.
American Steel
Nucor’s network of 27 steel mills ensures a reliable domestic steel supply chain for military and defense applications.
Armor Steel Plate
Blast & Ballistic Protection
A high-strength steel engineered for penetration resistance and blast protection, armor steel is produced through a quenching and tempering (Q&T) process to achieve an optimal balance of hardness and toughness. It is generally classified into two categories: blast protection and ballistic protection, both of which are certified to applicable military standards.
Plate Production Capacity
Nucor has a production capacity equal to the output of its three largest competitors, capable of producing over 95% of the annual plate steel tonnage purchased by the American military.
Advanced Plate Production Capabilities
Nucor’s plate mill group features the most advanced plate steel mill in the world, with the largest slab caster in the Western Hemisphere.
Strategically Located Plate Mills
Positioned to increase throughput in support of national security, Nucor’s three plate mills offer geographic, quality and service advantages and are strategically located near major shipyards and armored vehicle manufacturing hubs.
The Most Advanced Plate Mill in the World
Nucor Steel Brandenburg
Nucor’s state-of-the-art steel plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, is the most advanced steel plate mill in the world and is positioned to serve our nation’s military, infrastructure, heavy equipment and other markets.
Located strategically in the country’s largest steel plate-consuming region, the Brandenburg plate mill can produce 97% of the plate products used domestically, with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons. It is also the first steel mill in the world to pursue certification under LEED v4 (“Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”), which is more rigorous than previous LEED rating systems and offers a globally recognized framework for sustainability achievement.
The Brandenburg mill features the largest slab caster in the Western Hemisphere, is within a one-day drive of 75% of the American population and can produce over 95% of the tons of plate purchased by the American military.
SBQ & Cold-Finished Bar
Engineered Bar
Nucor’s special bar quality and cold-finished bar products deliver the strength, precision and consistency needed for the most demanding defense applications. Featuring tight tolerances and excellent machinability, from gun barrel quality (GBQ) and munitions to steel for armored vehicle drivelines and aircraft-quality undercarriages, Nucor’s engineered bar products ensure reliable performance in critical systems. With a longer service life, smoother operation and reliability in the field, engineered bar supports mission readiness in every application.
Strategically Located Engineered Bar Mills
Positioned to increase throughput in support of national security, offering geographic, quality and service advantages, Nucor’s engineered bar mills are strategically located to offer superior on-time delivery from across the country to serve major military and defense manufacturers.
Steel Fasteners
Custom Military Specifications
Nucor Fastener manufactures high-quality steel fasteners including hex head cap screws, structural bolts, nuts, assemblies and flange bolts, engineered to fulfill the rigorous needs of defense applications. Our build-to-print fasteners feature customizable head styles, dimensions, grades and finishes to meet unique specifications. Through strategic alliances with processors, we offer specialized finishes, patches, adhesives and additional secondary processing requests certified to meet military specifications in ASTM A354 Grade BD, as well as B1821BH, AH, MS and more, ensuring performance and reliability in the most demanding environments.
Military & Defense Resources
Nucor’s advanced plate mills are capable of producing over 97% of the plate products commercially available in the American market, with capacity to meet the ongoing needs of the Navy and the Army.
See Nucor’s full range of product charts for cold-finished steel bar shapes, sizes and grades for challenging applications that demand precision and strength.
Veterans at Nucor
We deeply respect the values of the military personnel who serve our country, and we are committed to hiring veterans, current service members and military spouses or family members at all levels of our organization.
Veterans are an integral part of our operations and make up 7% of our overall teammate population, which is well above the industry benchmark of 3-4% for non-defense employers. Within the plate group, our mills employ an average of over 10% veterans. In 2025, we hired 322 new veteran teammates, and we offer an internal resource community called Veterans of Nucor, which is made up of over 700 teammates passionate about supporting our military-connected colleagues.