Called IMX-101 (which stands for Insensitive Munitions Explosive) the explosive is one successful result of a four-year Pentagon-funded effort that sought to replace TNT — military munitions’ longtime staple. ...
The appeal of eliminating TNT comes down to safety, both in transport and storage. The compound’s extreme volatility means that a TNT-loaded munition will detonate, with fatal implications, if struck by an IED or a rocket-powered grenade. ...
“But with IMX-101, all that would happen is the explosive would deflagrate (burn quickly), and the shell would break into a few pieces,” Charlie Patel, a program-management engineer for Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems, says of the key difference between the two explosives. “You wouldn’t have the big detonation that would wipe out the vehicle and driver or a whole storage area and crew.”
I'd think this would have great appeal for warships, which would reduce the impact of magazine hits that destroy a ship as the Hood experienced at the hands of the Bismarck in World War II.
