Summary
An analysis of the U.S. energetics bottleneck and its impact on munitions production, examining industrial base weaknesses, supply chain risks, and DoD efforts to modernize explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics manufacturing amid rising global demand.
In 2023, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering led a cross-agency study involving representatives from the U.S. military services, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and NASA to assess the Department of Defense’s posture in energetics technology, sustainability, and modernization. Energetics, or base substances used in explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics, remain a foundational element of U.S. national security. The resulting assessment, the National Energetics Plan, delivered a notably sobering conclusion, highlighting structural weaknesses that could constrain the DoD’s ability to meet rapidly rising demand for munitions. Key findings pointed to a deteriorating domestic munitions industrial base driven by a chronic lack of funding, limited integration between government and commercial producers, increasing reliance on foreign sources for critical precursor materials, and a constrained, underdeveloped workforce pipeline. In the years since, these challenges have been further exposed by sustained high-intensity conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and ongoing regional tensions involving Iran, which have accelerated munitions consumption and placed additional strain on an already fragile supply chain.
The Weakened Energetics Manufacturing Industrial Base
Energetic materials (EM) are chemical compounds synthesized to release energy in a rapid, controlled manner. Energetics fall into three categories: explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics. Explosives are engineered to detonate and produce a sudden, violent shock of energy used to damage or destroy physical matter. Propellants are substances that are engineered to combust and release hot gases in a sustained, controlled manner to produce propulsion, such as in rockets, missiles, and artillery shells. Finally, pyrotechnics produce heat, light, smoke, and gases for specific purposes, such as flares, thermal decoys, and smoke grenades.
All three forms of EMs have one thing in common – they are all manufactured by synthesizing base precursor chemicals, many of which are obtained from suppliers abroad, which has inadvertently created single-source dependent scenarios. What has become increasingly worrying in modern times is that many of these raw chemicals are being sourced from adversarial nations such as China, Russia, and even Iran and North Korea. The DoD has taken steps to remedy this bottleneck with a $192.5 million investment in U.S. companies in 2024 to reshore the production of energetic and non-energetic precursor chemicals such as magnesium and oxidizers.
Aging facilities and new funding
A key issue highlighted in the National Energetics Plan was the widespread deterioration of the EM manufacturing industrial base as a result of a lack of government funding necessary for sustained production. Before the recent investment by the DoD, only six Government-Owned Contractor-Operated (GOCO) energetics and munitions plants existed domestically, all with different and specific missions. For instance, Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RAAP), located in southwestern Virginia, is the only domestic producer of nitrocellulose, an energetic material used in propellants and as a base for explosives in mortar, artillery, and tank ammunition. RAAP is a vital piece of the U.S. military-industrial base, yet the facility was opened in 1941 and has had little modernization in the decades since. BAE Systems has operated the facility since 2012 and has taken steps to update the facility to make it safer, more efficient, and up to the task of keeping pace with an aggressive rearmament push.
Along with updating established energetics and munitions manufacturing plants, the DoD has also begun to invest heavily in new facilities to keep up with staggering battlefield demand. The Army has invested approximately $1 billion in modernizing the Holston Army Ammunition Plant (HAAP) in Tennessee, a facility that will manufacture high-performance, military-grade explosives and some precursor chemicals. Additionally, the Army opened a new Load, Assemble, Pack (LAP) plant in Camden, AR, in April 2025. This modern facility is the final phase in the 155mm artillery ammunition production cycle, where explosives, propellants, and other critical aspects are assembled into metal projectiles and packaged for shipment. The LAP plant in Camden is expected to account for half of the required monthly output of 100,000 155mm artillery projectiles for FY26, outlined by the Army in a package of multi-year contracts worth more than $800 million it awarded to multiple companies.
A new and necessary energetics framework
The Army’s new monthly goal for 155mm artillery munitions production is just one aspect in the grand scheme of the U.S. Government’s push to revitalize the munitions manufacturing industrial base. As has been seen in recent years, the effort to reshore production of precursor chemicals for EM production has been revitalized through renewed DoD funding programs in order to secure that critical supply chain. Another positive trend that has begun to take hold is the production of solid rocket motors (SRMs) by domestic private companies such as industry giants Northrop Grumman and L3Harris Technologies and newer entrants into the defense market, Anduril Industries and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions. The continued updating of established GOCO energetics manufacturing facilities is also proving to show a renewed commitment by the DoD to establish the necessary sustained supply chain domestically.
In order to wrangle a very complicated and dense plan of action for a critical aspect of the military readiness plan, the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) directed the DoD to establish the Joint Energetics Transition Office (JETO), which would develop and implement a comprehensive energetics strategy and oversee the modernization of the country’s EM industrial manufacturing base. The establishment of JETO, though, was slow at best, with its official establishment not taking place until the first half of 2026 and with no clear outlook as to when it will begin its work in full force. Additionally, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, added provisions to the FY27 NDAA that will mandate the head of JETO to conduct a review of any advanced novel energetic materials for integration into military systems use. It will also call for the production rate of 155mm artillery ammunition to be sustained or increased over the next five years to fully meet or exceed the Army and Marine Corps’ needs and replenish diminished stockpiles. This means an increase in the production of energetics, metal parts, and other components of 155mm artillery ammunition to reach and sustain a monthly production goal of 100,000 rounds.
The Energetics Supply Chain Cannot Erode Again
On today’s battlefields, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and other uncrewed platforms have made headlines for their deadly effectiveness and, quite frankly, for their futuristic appeal in an era where cutting-edge technology has caught up to warfare. In reality, there is another significant, albeit less captivating, aspect to warfare that has stood the test of time – artillery. The use of drones during the Russo-Ukrainian War has grown exponentially since it began in early 2022, yet this is also an unforgiving artillery war. Ukraine has continued to see a growth in artillery shell use each year, with an estimated total use of around 2 million rounds in 2024 alone. This has proved to affect the U.S. military’s strategic munitions stockpile at a time when it is dealing with its own conflicts abroad. This raises the concern that our antiquated EM industrial manufacturing base has once again been called on reactively instead of proactively. Sure, the renewed funding by the DoD to modernize this critical player in our military readiness plan will help, but those investments take time to materialize. If we learn something from this massive endeavor it should be this: every aspect of military weaponry relies on energetics in one way or another, and we should plan accordingly for future conflicts that will surely arise.
Juan Lopez pursued an undergraduate degree in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations and a minor in Russian studies from the University of California, Riverside. Juan’s diverse background includes his work as a staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives and in federal law enforcement which gave him extensive experience and knowledge in federal government operations, international affairs, counter terrorism, and national security. His interests include land-based weapon systems, small arms, military fixed wing aircraft, and Latin American relations. He is proficient in the Spanish language at a native level.
