IMX-101

IMX-101 is a high-performance insensitive high explosive composite mixture developed by BAE Systems and the United States Army to replace TNT in artillery shells, starting as soon as 2011. IMX stands for "Insensitive Munitions eXplosives", which refers to the purpose of IMX-101: to provide explosive force equivalent to TNT without its sensitivity to shocks such as gunfire, explosions from improvised explosive devices, fire, and shrapnel. For example, it is believed that a training incident in Nevada which killed seven Marines would not have occurred with the new explosive. On March 23, 2013, the United States Army ordered $780 million worth of the explosive, with a production of millions of pounds annually, to be produced by BAE at Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. The new explosive will cost $8 per pound, compared to $6 per pound for TNT.

Composition

It is composed of ingredients including 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) and nitrotriazalone (NTO). The nominal composition is DNAN, NQ (nitroguanidine), NTO. Trace amounts of MNA(n-methyl-p-nitroaniline) are included in some formulations to aid in processing.