The explosion at a Tennessee bomb factory could have a ripple effect on already stretched U.S. weapons production, experts told the Post.
The Oct. 10 blast at the Accurate Energetic Systems facility in Bucksnort, about 90 minutes west of Nashville, killed 16 and destroyed the factory, along with explosives used in landmines and other munitions being manufactured there for the Army and Navy.
Defense experts are now assessing the worrisome potential impact of the loss on military supply chains –which have already been strained by the war in Ukraine, and Israel’s two-year battle against Hamas in Gaza.
The feds are exploring how to break through supply chain problems while they wait to see “how any production issues might possibly impact current needs,” Tennessee GOP Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a House Armed Services Committee member, told The Post.
Those needs include include replenishing drawn down US stockpiles and resupplying allies amid heightened security concerns as the brutal four-year war in Ukraine drags on.
“Energetics [munitions like bombs that produce chemical reactions] have been a major bottleneck in munitions production,” said Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
The Accurate Energetic Systems facility in Tennessee made explosives that have been crucial to the war efforts being undertaken by U.S. allies — who have already seen shortages in heavy weapons and ammunition.
The company provides the bang for C4 explosives, landmines and other munitions, contracted with the Navy for demolition devices, and on Sept. 23 inked a $119 million contract with the Army for TNT.
Accurate also provided ammunition to Canada.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington Friday meeting with President Trump in search of sophisticated weaponry such as US-made Tomahawk missiles.
The US has provided four million artillery shells to Ukraine over the course of the war. On orders from President Trump, the government has switched to selling military equipment to NATO allies who can then transfer it to the Ukrainians.
The White House downplayed the impact on arming Ukraine through third parties.
“The administration’s ability and effort to execute President Trump’s historic deal to facilitate the sale of US-made weapons to NATO allies has not changed,” an official said.
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