The U.S. Army has awarded a $435 million contract to build a TNT production plant in western Kentucky.

The U.S. Army awarded a $435 million contract on Friday to build a TNT production plant in western Kentucky that will become the first domestic source for the explosive material in decades, officials said.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a key player in securing the funding, said the new facility in his home state is part of a broader retooling of the U.S. defense industrial base that’s needed to deter adversaries abroad. Trinitrotoluene, or TNT, is used in artillery shells, bombs and grenades.

Establishing domestic production of TNT is vital for national defense, the Army said. The current supply chain for the crucial explosive material is entirely reliant on overseas sources, it said.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    1·
    4 hours ago

    I don’t think that the military uses much TNT directly, but military explosives may be derived from TNT.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT

    Yeah, there’s a list under “Applications”.

    Composition B, for example, is a mix of TBT and other stuff.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_B

    Composition B (Comp B), also known as Hexotol and Hexolite (among others), is a high explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades, and various other munitions.[1

    • HellsBelleOPEnglish
      1·
      3 hours ago

      Trinitrotoluene, or TNT, is used in artillery shells, bombs and grenades.