India develops explosive twice as powerful as TNT – media

A private company in India has developed a new explosive that is more than twice as powerful as standard TNT, according to the Economic Times. Named SEBEX 2, the formulation has been certified by the Indian Navy and can enhance the lethality of bombs, artillery shells, and warheads without increasing their weight, the report noted.

The new explosive was developed by Economic Explosives, a subsidiary of private defense company Solar Industries, based in Nagpur, Maharashtra, under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing in the defense sector.  

In an announcement last week, the Indian Navy said SEBEX 2 will “enhance [the] potency and efficiency” of the country’s weapons and ammunition. 

Solar Industries officials, quoted by the ANI news agency, said the new explosive could prove to be a game changer for India’s armed forces due to the “sheer enhancement” of firepower. “SEBEX 2 is a new explosive formulation that provides a much more powerful blast effect than any currently available solid explosive.”  

The Economic Times noted that currently India’s most powerful conventional explosive, used in the warhead of BrahMos missiles co-developed by India and Russia, is at a TNT equivalence of around 1.50. Solar Industries is reportedly developing another explosive that will be 2.3 times more powerful than TNT. The explosive has export potential as military forces worldwide seek to increase the lethality of existing weapons systems, the report stated.  

On Monday, the Indian Army’s newly appointed chief, General Upendra Dwivedi, stressed the need to equip its soldiers with the latest armaments while continuously revising its strategic planning. The general also emphasized that the Indian Army aims to be “atma-nirbhar” (self-reliant), and urged the procurement of equipment locally.

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