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.
Trinitrotoluene, or TNT, is used in artillery shells, bombs and grenades.
Establishing U.S. 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. There has not been an American TNT facility since 1986.
The contract was awarded to Repkon USA to construct the plant in Muhlenberg County. The project is expected to create about 200 to 250 construction jobs and about 50 permanent jobs. There was no indication when the new facility will open.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell 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.
McConnell, in the twilight of his tenure as Senate Republican leader, has stressed the need to build up the nation's defenses as a deterrent against foreign adversaries. McConnell, who has two years left in his current term, said months ago he would step down from his leadership post sometime after the election.
Muhlenberg County Judge-executive Mack McGehee speaks Friday in Greenville, Kentucky, announcing that the U.S. Army will award Repkon USA $435,000,000 to construct a TNT production facility in Graham, Kentucky. (Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP)
