Muhlenberg County has landed a $435 million military project to build and operate the nation’s first source of trinitrotoluene (TNT) since 1986. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell helped announce the project Friday, citing also the importance of defense spending.

Officials said the state-of-the-art facility, which will be built in Graham, is expected to strengthen the Department of Defense’s munitions supply chain.

The contract was awarded to Repkon USA.

“Our role in the defense sector is a source of pride for the company. We are proud to help our nation’s military become the best-prepared, best-equipped and most powerful fighting force on the planet,” said Repkon President Bryan Van Brunt. “I cannot stress enough the importance of this facility.”

United States Army Major General John T. Reim is the commanding general of the Picatinny Arsenal.

“Our mission (at the arsenal) is to develop safe, reliable and lethal weapons and munitions, both quickly and at scale, to give our joint warfighters and international partners the capabilities they need to deter aggression around the world, or if necessary, the decisive tools to fight and win our nation’s wars,” he said.

Reim said that to fulfill this mission, they are increasing the production capacity of critical munitions, such as 155 artillery pieces, with the aim of producing 100,000 shots per month by 2026.

“This new TNT facility is a key part of our strategy to accelerate munitions production, giving us the added capability to stay ahead of evolving threats and production requirements,” he said. -he declared. “It is not lost on us that victory on the battlefield begins in our production facilities, just like the one that will be built right next to here. »

Reim added: “This historic initiative underscores our commitment to strengthening national security and reducing reliance on foreign sources for critical materials. A domestic source of TNT is a critical step in strengthening and enhancing the resilience of our defense industrial base to ensure our armed forces have rapid access to critical resources.

Project officials said the project is expected to create about 200 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs.

Van Brunt emphasized that the facility would be built using a modern approach focused on safety and efficiency.

“This unique facility will not look like the TNT plants of decades past. This TNT plant will benefit from state-of-the-art automation and a new waste neutralization process to make it one of the most high-tech, safest and environmentally friendly TNT plants ever built “, he said. “What’s also exciting for us is that we’re doing this in a way that breaks past paradigms to combine commercial production and commercial practices and concepts with the demands of military production. It took courage and vision to achieve this.

Van Brunt said he hoped the preparatory work would be completed in about six months, and the first batches of TNT should come out of the facility in about 36 months.

He also stressed the importance of the location of the facility.

“This facility takes advantage of Kentucky’s highly skilled workforce and creates new jobs in Muhlenberg County,” he said.

McConnell has spoken widely about the importance of putting money toward military defense efforts.

“We face a network of authoritarian regimes: North Korea, China, Russia, Iran and Iran’s proxies. … They want to reform the world order in a way that benefits autocratic regimes,” he said. “…One way to look at the situation is that there is an imminent conflict between the authoritarian parts of the world and the democratic parts of the world, and we must be the leaders. »

McConnell noted that much of the military aid provided by the United States to Ukraine takes the form of sending older weapons abroad, while the money allocated by the federal government is actually spent to replenish and modernize America’s industrial base.

McConnell said the TNT installation is a “spectacular development” and “a breath of fresh air” for Muhlenberg County, as well as an opportunity to get involved in something important to the nation.

“I couldn’t be happier to be here today because I have been one of those who preach the importance of preparing for a larger conflict, because how you prepare for it ensures that you won’t have it. It is much cheaper to prevent a war than to start one. It is much safer to prevent war than to start one. What’s going to happen here is exactly part of this larger effort to prepare America to prevent war by being strong.”

Congressman Brett Guthrie also stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine and noted that the United States benefits from the aid program.

“I remember being in a neighboring country and talking about funding Ukraine, and someone asked me if I really thought Vladimir Putin was crazy enough to attack a NATO country because I said that we had to defeat him in Ukraine,” Guthrie said. “I said that was a good question, but all I can go by is what he said he would do. He said he wanted to reestablish the old Russian empire. …Then I started to explain what Ukraine’s financing was, and more than half of the financing was intended to replenish here, spend in America and send equipment to Ukraine.

Guthrie said he voted for the funding because “while it is important not only to prevent Vladimir Putin from going to Europe and to involve our men and women there, not just our money, it is important because it rebuilds our military infrastructure that we let slip away.” .”

He added that he is proud that taxpayer dollars are going to an economic development project that will benefit Muhlenberg County.

Muhlenberg County Judge Executive Mack McGehee said he is grateful for the boost to the economy.

“Senator McConnell’s effort (to get the project) is the greatest thing we’ve seen in a long time. I appreciate everything he did,” he said. “It’s a great day for the United States, bringing this industry back to the United States. This will be the only place that will make this product, so it’s very special. This is great for the United States. This is great for Kentucky. And that’s great for Muhlenberg County.

McGehee also said the county’s history helped play a role in the siting of the TNT facility.

“I think one of the factors at play here is that we’ve been home to this type of industry for a very long time,” he said. “Our residents are comfortable with this. And on top of that, we’ve been using this type of material for hundreds of years to mine coal. We are quite familiar with explosives, which allows us to find the industry without problem.