The Army plans to replace old TNT- and Compound B-based artillery rounds with a new compound called IMX-101 next March. The IMX-101-filled ammunition will offer greater resistance to gunfire, fragments, shaped-charge impacts, and fires, Army engineers at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., said March 29. It also will be cheaper to maintain. While the new compound costs more than TNT or Compound B (a combination of TNT and a chemical called RDX), it requires less stringent standards for handling and storage. The Army has used TNT-based ammunition for more than 90 years. The service plans to expend the existing inventories of TNT and Compound B ammunition while the IMX-101 rounds are introduced to the inventory.
