TSA Orders Over Half-Ton Of High Powered ExplosiveJames Smith While this is not new, the explosive they are requesting has not been ordered/solicited in the past 10 years. Explosive takes down airplane (top image) Flight 11 debris covers a field, 1962. Investigators determined that one of the passengers brought down the airplane for the life insurance proceeds to his family They are requesting a total of 1,386 pounds of dynamite, specifically UNIMAX extra gelatin NG- SIZE, which comes out to 1,980 sticks of 1 1/2 inch by 8 inches of nitroglycerin badness. According to Unimax, the dynamite is specifically suited for: UNIMAX is an extra gelatin dynamite formulated to consistently deliver high detonation UNIMAX is an excellent primer for Dynomix (ANFO), Dynomix-WR (WR ANFO) or Minimum diameter is 25 mm (1 in). Minimum detonator is No. 8 strength. Storage at elevated temperatures and/or high humidity for 1 to 6 months can reduce Dynamites are susceptible to sympathetic detonation when applied in very wet The TSA has ordered in the last few years, besides ammunition, 1400 pounds of high explosives, comprising of 700 pounds of RDX, and 700 pounds of Ammonium Nitrate, which is the AN in a ANFO (FO stands for Fuel Oil) explosive. And recently, the TSA ordered explosives from the same company that sold explosives to the perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In May 1962, Flight 11 from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, crashed in a clover field in Missouri because as investigators discovered, dynamite was used to bring the airplane down. See the video below for a brief history of the incident. The question then remains: Why would the TSA purchase dynamite? The explosive will be sent to the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, NJ. From their website: The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center (Technical Center) is one of the nations premier aviation research, development, test and evaluation facilities. Its world-class laboratories and top-notch engineering place the Technical Center at the forefront of the FAAs challenge to modernize the U.S. air transportation system. The Technical Center serves as the FAA national scientific test base for research and development, test and evaluation, and verification and validation in air traffic control, communications, navigation, airports, aircraft safety, and security. The Technical Center is the primary facility supporting the nations Next Generation Air Transportation System, called NextGen. Assuming that the Technical Center would be using the dynamite to test the results of a variety of explosions on a few types of aircraft, the total amount seems to be excessive. One stick can take down an aircraft. Repeating the exercise would futile as modern explosives trace analysis can be conducted in the field. Simply documenting levels of the traces on plane components that have a fixed location, investigators can determine the type and placement of the bomb. Or, the dynamite will be used with the RDX/AN for nefarious purposes. Only time will tell. This article first appeared at Prepper Podcast Radio Network. James is a father of four and grandfather to four. He and his wife of almost 30 years have been prepping since 2003. They live in a small town, with neighbors as close as 10 feet away and have raised chickens for 2 years covertly on less than 1/5 of an acre. He is a former corrections officer, insurance fraud investigator, and he served in the Navy for 6 years. He currently works for a corporation dealing with the disabled population and their benefits. He is the host of The Covert Prepper show and the Prepper Podcast Radio Network News, both heard on Blogtalk Radio. 