In the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the West was stunned to find that due to the insufficient supply of cotton linter from China, European military industrial enterprises could not provide enough propellant for large-caliber artillery shells, which directly affected the supply of ammunition to the Ukrainian army. Worse discoveries are still to come, the "Bulgarian Military" website quoted Durant on the 27th, president of the Maryland High Energy Materials Science and Technology Research Center, saying that China and Russia, especially China, have made far more progress in the field of a new generation of military explosives than the West.
According to the report, traditional military explosives commonly used today include Octogen (HMX) and Hesorkin (RDX), which have a history dating back to the era of World War II. At the moment the West is facing difficulties with new types of military explosives. For example, the United States has taken a conservative approach in recent years, focusing more on improving existing materials rather than exploring new ones, and "in general, the U.S. military still relies on high-energy materials from World War II." Countries such as China and Russia are investing heavily in advanced high-energy materials, which could greatly enhance firepower and ammunition effectiveness.
For example, CL-20, known as the "king of explosives", is mainly composed of "hexanitrohexazaisowoodane", which belongs to a new generation of non-nuclear explosives, and the United States has conducted in-depth research and development on it. As early as the 80s of the 20th century, the United States found that the performance of this high-energy explosive is far more powerful than traditional explosives, its explosive power is 3 times that of TNT explosives, if this explosive is used as a propellant, then its range is more than 40% higher than TNT, which is very suitable for missile warheads and advanced ammunition. However, the actual production and utilization of it in the United States is very limited, and it has not been widely used.
On the contrary, China and Russia are constantly exploring relevant applications. Russia is working on the use of the CL-20 to improve the performance of its missile systems, using the new type of explosive in the warheads of cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles, making these weapons more powerful without increasing size or weight. Russia is also interested in the use of CL-20 in advanced torpedoes and depth charges in order to increase its effectiveness against underwater targets.
(The armor-piercing power of ammunition using CL-20 (left) differs significantly from conventional ammunition)
Western experts assess that China, having understood the potential of the CL-20, began to continue to develop and refine the fourth-generation energetic material, and began mass production in 2011. "China is working to apply the CL-20 to different weapons, such as anti-ship missiles, air-to-surface missiles and guided bombs, using powerful explosive power to improve the effectiveness of attacks, especially against solid targets." Some U.S. military experts even believe that most of the long-range missiles currently deployed by China against Taiwan are propelled by derivatives of the CL-20 and can pose a major threat to non-stealth aircraft such as U.S. warships and tankers.
For the Pentagon, the harsher reality is that China and Russia may still be developing a newer generation of explosive materials that surpass the CL-20, and both have made considerable progress. Durant revealed that Chinese scientists are working to create new types of explosives and improve their manufacturing processes, with the goal of making these materials safer and stronger, and they are testing these new compounds to ensure that they can be stably produced and used effectively. Russia is also known for its expertise in making powerful explosives, and Russian scientists are working on new chemical formulations to develop better explosives with less environmental impact. According to the report, China and Russia are also using advanced computer tools to accelerate the exploration and improvement of new explosives materials.
The head of the Center for Energetic Materials Technology (ETC), an American research organization, once told Forbes that the United States' backwardness in related fields could lead to being "beaten to the ground" by China. The United States, once the global leader in energetic materials, has "dangerously" lagged behind China. To make matters worse, the U.S. military-industrial complex relies on imports of six major chemical materials for the production of explosives and propellants, which are likely to be "stuck" by China in wartime.
Although the U.S. government's defense budget is increasing every year, not much of it is invested in the field of energetic materials. Almost all of the explosives in the United States are currently produced at a U.S. Army factory in Holston, Tennessee, which dates back to World War II and is operated by British defense contractor BAE Systems.