PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C06

C06B - Explosives OR Thermic Compositions

Explosives or thermic compositions ; manufacture thereof; use of single substances as explosives. 579 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

579
US patents granted
C06
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-19%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Explosives OR Thermic Compositions ranks #523 of 670 CPC technology areas - 579 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 19% over five years.

#523
of 670 CPC technology areas
579
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The United States of…
leading assignee (50)
-19%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army (50 patents)

CPC subclass C06B - EXPLOSIVES OR THERMIC COMPOSITIONS ; MANUFACTURE THEREOF; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS EXPLOSIVES - covers 579 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C06 (EXPLOSIVES; MATCHES). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C06B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army leads with 50 patents, followed by Orbital ATK, Inc. at 14 grants and Dyno Nobel Inc. at 11.

Filing activity in C06B is down 19% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is C06B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C06B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 19% versus 2015–2019.

20304050607080 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 26

Who leads C06B?

The 12 most active assignees in EXPLOSIVES OR THERMIC COMPOSITIONS ; MANUFACTURE THEREOF; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS EXPLOSIVES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The United States of… is the most active filer in C06B, holding 50 of the 579 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass C06B
Rank Company Patents in C06B
#1 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army 50
#2 Orbital ATK, Inc. 14
#3 Dyno Nobel Inc. 11
#4 Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. 10
#5 LOS Alamos National Security, Llc 9
#6 Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, Inc. 9
#7 Bisn Tec Ltd. 8
#8 Autoliv ASP, Inc. 7
#9 Orica International Pte Ltd 7
#10 Spectre Materials Sciences, Inc. 7
#11 Agency FOR Defense Development 6
#12 Terves, Llc 6
#13 Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific Pty Limited 6
#14 Digital Solid State Propulsion Llc 6
#15 Otto Torpedo Company 5
#16 Joyson Safety Systems Acquisition Llc 4
#17 Saint Louis University 4
#18 Ensign-bickford Aerospace & Defense Company 4
#19 Armtec Defense Products Co. 4
#20 TK Holdings, Llc 3

About This Class

CPC subclass C06B belongs to class C06.

579 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C06B assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 C06B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C06B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C06B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C06B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520253035 0102030405060 Patents in C06B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The United States of…Orbital AtkDyno NobelAerojet RocketdyneLos Alamos National S…Northrop Grumman Inno…Bisn TecAutoliv AspOrica International P…Spectre Materials Sci…Agency For Defense De…TervesDyno Nobel Asia Pacif…Digital Solid State P…
Top 14 C06B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C06B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C06B?
CPC subclass C06B covers EXPLOSIVES OR THERMIC COMPOSITIONS ; MANUFACTURE THEREOF; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS EXPLOSIVES. It belongs to CPC class C06 (EXPLOSIVES; MATCHES), with 579 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C06B?
579 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C06B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C06B?
The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army leads C06B with 50 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C06B collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., C06) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C06B provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.