The sense I get from some comments is that if you need a type system and to compile to an executable, Rust is the only option, otherwise you can use pretty much anything. But, as you say, MLs have been compiling to binaries for decades. One of the first online books on OCaml is for systems programming.

I know that isn't everyone's view, but I do hope posts like this, even if not technicaly deep, at least let people know that there are lots of options out there.