The military said the US would restart domestic TNT production at a facility to be built in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – The U.S. Army awarded a $435 million contract Friday to build a TNT production facility in western Kentucky that will be the first domestic source of the explosive material in decades, officials said.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who played a key role in securing funding, said the new facility in his country is part of the overhaul of the American defense industry needed to deter foreign adversaries. Trinitrotoluene, or TNT, is used in artillery shells, bombs and grenades.

Establishing domestic production of TNT is essential for national security, the military said. The current supply chain for essential explosives is entirely dependent on overseas sources, it said.

The new TNT plant in Kentucky is part of the Army's strategy to consolidate weapons production to ensure that the US military has “timely access to critical resources,” said Maj. Gen. John T. Reim.

“It is not lost on us that victory on the battlefield begins in our manufacturing facilities,” Reim said during the announcement at the VFW post near where the facility will be built. “Today marks the beginning of the return of TNT production to American soil, an ability we haven't had since 1986.”

The contract was awarded to Repkon USA to build a plant in Graham in Muhlenberg County, about 136 miles (219 km) southwest of Louisville. The project is expected to create about 200 to 250 construction jobs and about 50 total jobs.

Republican U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, a former military chief, said the war between Ukraine and Russia underscores the importance of having a stockpile of artillery shells. TNT is the primary explosive for filling 155mm artillery shells, the Army said.

“It's an ongoing arms war and Ukraine and the West don't have 155 (mm artillery) rounds like Russia does,” said Guthrie, whose district includes Muhlenberg County.

Bryan Van Brunt, president of Repkon USA Holdings Inc., called it a “historic opportunity” to build a manufacturing plant that is critical to the military and will be relied on for decades.

“We thank the leaders of the military for their trust in us to establish this center,” he said in a statement released by the media.

McConnell, toward the end of his long tenure as Senate Republican leader, emphasized the need to build up the nation's defenses as a deterrent to foreign adversaries. McConnell, who has two years left in the post, has said in recent months that he will step down from his leadership position sometime after the election.

“We're up against a network of authoritarian states,” the Kentucky Republican said Friday. “North Korea, China, Russia, Iran and Iran's proxies are all in league with each other. They hate us and want to change the world order in a way that benefits totalitarian regimes.”

McConnell often evokes Ronald Reagan's “silence is strength” speech to address foreign policy risks. Notably, McConnell and President-elect Donald Trump differ on the role of the US in the world, which shows a significant struggle between Republicans about following Trump's “America First” teaching on foreign affairs or the international vision supported by McConnell of standing with American allies. McConnell has been adamant in urging the US to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.

“If the Russians are defeated in Ukraine, that will not be the last defeat,” the senator said. “That will be just the beginning. … The way to look at this is the coming conflict between the authoritarian parts of the world and the democratic parts of the world.”