English translation

EN Page 2 NII Roskonversvzryvtsentr Hexogen Investigation
doc_016

Hexogen Properties and Usage

Chemical and Physical Properties of Hexogen

  • Melting Point: 202 degrees
  • Flash Point: 215-230 degrees
  • Sensitivity: Twenty times more sensitive than TNT.
  • Detonation Characteristics:
    • Detonates from a 10 kg weight dropped from a height of 25 cm.
    • Explodes when shot by a bullet or hit by a fragment.
    • Reliably explodes from blasting caps.
    • Energy of explosive transformation: 5.4 MJ/kg
    • Detonation velocity: 8380 m/s
    • Brisance: 24 mm
    • Explosive power: 490 cubic cm
  • Chemical Stability and Reactivity:
    • Does not dissolve in water.
    • Is non-hygroscopic and non-aggressive.
    • Does not enter into chemical reactions with metals.
    • Presses poorly.
    • Ignites and burns with a bright white hissing flame; combustion turns into detonation (an explosion).
    • Prolonged stay (60-70 years) in the ground, water, or ammunition casings does not change its explosive properties.
  • Applications:
    • Pure form: Used only for filling certain types of blasting caps.
    • Mixtures: Used in high-explosive fragmentation shells for NURS, GRAD, S-13, and other rockets and torpedoes.
    • Other uses:
      • Plastid (PVV-4) also contains hexogen.
      • Other hexogen-containing substances are used for the manufacture of naval mines and shaped charges.
      • For demolition work, it is used in a mixture with TNT, aluminum, and ammonium nitrate.
  • Safety Note: It is very toxic, requiring the use of personal protective equipment when working with it.

Hexogen in Moscow Terrorist Attacks

The text raises the question of whether hexogen, an inconvenient explosive requiring special skills and chemical protection due to its toxicity, was used during the terrorist attacks in Moscow and other Russian cities.

Official statements and reports regarding this matter lack clarity and can be divided into two opposing semantic groups: "hexogen was there" and "there was no hexogen."

Chronology of Official Statements and Reports

Date Source/Entity Event Summary Key Findings/Statements
1999 FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev Following the explosion of a residential building in Moscow on Guryanova Street. Reported in an interview about "hexogen and TNT" being used in the terrorist attack.
September 10, 1999 UFSB for Moscow and the Moscow Region Terrorist attack on Guryanova Street. Stated the attack used a "high-explosive mixture weighing about 350 kg." Physicochemical studies of seized objects revealed traces of hexogen and TNT.
September 13, 1999 (20:44 Moscow time) Polit.Ru (Online Publication) Law enforcement reported the seizure of 43 bags of ammonal in the basement of a house on Borisovskie Prudy Street in the Southern District of Moscow. Ammonal is an industrial explosive mixture consisting of ammonium nitrate, TNT, hexogen, and aluminum powder.
September 14, 1999 Kommersant (Newspaper) / Minister of Internal Affairs Rushailo Seizure at 16 Borisovskie Prudy Street. 38 bags labeled "sugar" and "potassium nitrate" were seized, containing a mixture of nitrate, aluminum, and TNT, along with 16 packs of plastic explosive (a hexogen-containing substance), 13 detonators, and 6 clock mechanisms.
September 15, 1999 General Kozlov (Head of GUBOP of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia) Regarding the explosion of the residential building on Guryanova Street. Stated that an "industrial explosive" was used, rather than a homemade pyrotechnic mixture.
Added 19 May 2026