China has 'significantly' improved safety of its biggest explosive: Report

China has significantly improved the safety of the world's most powerful non-nuclear explosive, CL-20, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Friday. This could make Chinese explosives superior in terms of destructive power. The bomb has a destructive potential higher than trinitrotoluene (TNT) and RDX.

The use of CL-20 is limited due to the bomb's sensitivity to shock and a group of Chinese scientists has developed a new nanotechnology that can synthesise CL-20 composites with ultra-high stability, the SCMP report added.

After the innovation, the impact sensitivity of the bomb rose from 13 cm to 68 cm.

The CL-20 research is closely linked to its nuclear weapons programme, SCMP said citing media reports. More powerful explosives can reduce the size of nuclear weapons and allow intercontinental ballistic missiles to travel further.

 

Recently, Chinese defence researchers sank a US aircraft carrier in a war game with the help of 24 hypersonic missiles. These missiles were believed to be equipped with CL-20 warheads.

Notably, China is the only country that has the capacity to produce CL-20. The country has reportedly invested a lot in the mass production of CL-20.