Establishing domestic production of TNT is vital for national defense, the Army said. The current supply chain for the crucial explosive material is entirely reliant on overseas sources, it said. The new TNT plant in Kentucky is part of the Army's strategy to ramp up munitions production to ensure the U.

The U.S. Army awarded a $435 million contract on Friday to build a TNT production plant in western Kentucky that will become the first domestic source for the explosive material in decades, officials said.

A production facility to manufacture TNT for the Army will be built in Western Kentucky. Repkon USA has been awarded a $435 million contract to build the plant in the Graham community in Muhlenberg County,