“Black Powder” factory explosion reveals Pentagon only has one supplier for certain equipment.

Two years ago, there was an explosion at a black powder factory in Louisiana. The destruction of this single plant resulted in no black powder production in the whole of North America. Black powder was the original form of gunpower. It is highly combustible and has hundred of military applications. There is no substitute for black powder. Using just a small amount of it allows munitions to ignite powerful explosions.
After the Cold War, military suppliers consolidated under cost pressures. Defense firms at the bottom of the tier often are the only manufacturer of crucial parts and components, like black powder. When a factory explodes or goes offline, it halts production. This will ripple up the chain as other factories that used things like black powder have to halt their own production. Remember how auto manufacturing slowed to a crawl when there wasn’t enough microchips during the pandemic?
The US can hardly keep Ukraine stocked with munitions. If there were to be a larger conflict, the United States would be at great risk of lacking the equipment and ammo it needs to fight it.
Works Cited:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-military-has-an-explosive-problem-6e1a1049?mod=hp_lead_pos7