BAE Systems wins $781 mln U.S. Army munitions contract

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. unit of Britain's BAE Systems Plc has won a fixed-price contract worth $781 million to build a new type of munition for the U.S. military that is more stable and fire-resistant than TNT, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The contract for what the U.S. government calls "Insensitive Munitions Explosives" runs through the end of September 2017, according to the Pentagon's daily digest of major arms deals.

Compared with TNT, insensitive munitions are more stable and more resistant to things like fire, mechanical shocks, and other igniters, BAE said on its website.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

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Keywords: BAESYSTEMS MUNITIONS/