Explosive materials

Chemring Nobel is the largest and most experienced producer of HMX in Europe today, which we have been producing since 1968.

HMX is the most powerful high explosive produced in industrial quantities today. It is a relatively insensitive, temperature-stable and safe-to-handle high explosive that makes it useful in a variety of applications both in military and civilian end products.

HMX consists of opaque/transparent crystals with typical crystal sizes ranging from less than 10 microns to more than 1000 microns. Its melting point is 280 °C with a crystal density as high as 1.9 g/cm³. At maximum density its detonation velocity is 9100 m/s with a detonation pressure above 39 GPa.

RDX is a cost efficient, powerful high explosive produced in large industrial quantities. As a relatively insensitive, stable, and safe-to-handle energetic material, it is useful in a variety of applications -- both for military and civilian end products.

RDX consists of opaque/transparent crystals with typical crystal sizes ranging from less than 10 microns to more than 1000 microns. Its melting point is approximately 200 °C and its crystal density, 1.81 g/cm³. At maximum density, its detonation velocity is 8,700 m/s with a detonation pressure approximately 33 GPa. RDX is manufactured in the same process equipment as HMX.

NTO is a powerful yet very insensitive high explosive, making it attractive for a range of applications.

For more than 20 years, we have evaluated NTO as the most promising explosive candidate for future Insensitive Materials (IM) applications. We have been producing NTO in industrial quantities regularly since 2006.

NTO consists of white/off-white crystals with a melting point of approximately 272 °C and a crystal density of 1.9 g/cm³. We can supply a range of NTO crystal sizes and size distributions — and are developing new formulations for future IM applications.

Butyl-NENA is the most common product within the “NENA” family of energetic plasticisers. It looks very similar to Nitroglycerin but is less energetic and much safer to handle and use.

Butyl-NENA may replace Nitroglycerin in a number of applications and is also typically used as an ingredient in various propellants.

Butyl-NENA is a yellowish thin oily liquid with a density of 1.21 g/cm³. The product is classified as 1.3C. Chemring Nobel has produced NENA’s in industrial quantities since 1998 and uses a patented manufacturing process.

Chemring Nobel manufactures other members of the “NENA” family as well, such as MEN-42 (which is a eutectic mixture of Methyl- and Ethyl-NENA), Ethyl- and Propyl-NENA.