Unlike elemental boron whose combustion is incomplete through the glassy oxide layered impeding oxygen diffusion, magnesium diboride burns completely when ignited in oxygen or in mixtures with oxidizers. Thus magnesium boride has been proposed as fuel in ram jets. In addition the use of MgB in blast-enhanced explosives  and propellants has been proposed for the same reasons. Most recently it could be shown that decoy flares containing magnesium diboride/Teflon/Viton display 30–60% increased spectral efficiency, E (J gsr), compared to classical Magnesium/Teflon/Viton(MTV) payloads.
An application of magnesium diboride to hybrid rocket propulsion has also been investigated, mixing the compound in paraffin wax fuel grains to improve mechanical properties and combustion characteristics.