China says it has control of the world's most powerful explosive

According to scientists , this breakthrough could speed up the large-scale application of explosives in combat, making Chinese weapons far superior in destructive power.

China says it has controlled the world's most powerful chemical, picture 1 — Chinese weapons. Photo: Reuters

CL-20 is the most dangerous non-nuclear explosive today. When detonated, it can create a devastating shock wave with an explosion pressure many times higher than other common explosives such as TNT and RDX.

Mass-producing the CL-20 is extremely difficult. China is the only country to have such industrial capacity and has used explosives in some of its latest weapons, according to a 2021 study by the Pentagon-commissioned US Energy Technology Center.

The use of CL-20 remains limited due to previous technical problems, according to a research team in China led by explosives scientist Guo Changping from the Sichuan Military-Civil New Energy Materials Co-Innovation Center.

However, Guo and his colleagues have developed a new nanotechnology that can synthesize CL-20 with extremely high stability. “CL-20 has high mechanical sensitivity, so it is prone to safety incidents due to friction and impact during its development, production, storage, transportation and use. Its safety performance needs to be improved,” Guo’s team said in a paper published in the Chinese Journal of Explosives and Propellants in April.

“We are looking for a new method to overcome current technological barriers. It will inspire the design and preparation of high-energy, high-safety propellants and explosive formulations in the future,” the scientists added.

More powerful explosives could reduce the size of nuclear weapons and allow intercontinental ballistic missiles to fly farther. China has invested a lot of research resources into mass-producing the CL-20 in factories.

In 2016, the team of Professor Yu Yongzhong, an explosives expert at the Beijing Institute of Technology, won China's special award for scientific and technological progress in national defense for their contributions to mass production of the CL-20.

This is China's highest award in the field of military science and is given to individuals or groups that have made significant contributions to the development of defense technology.

Mai Anh (according to SCMP)

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