Abstract: To enhance the lethality of discrete rod warheads, this study investigated the impact of CL-20-based explosives, incorporating varying aluminum powder contents, on the rod’s driving characteristics and shock wave power parameters. A static experiment was done on a certain discrete rod warhead with CL-20-based explosive. The validity of the simulation model was verified through the experiment. Four different aluminum powder contents in CL-20-based explosives (CA5, CA15, CA25, CA30), combined with corresponding contents of LiF (CF5, CF15, CF25, CF30), were selected as the primary charge for the warhead. Numerical simulations were performed to model the explosion process of the discrete rod warhead. The results demonstrate that, in comparison to explosives with equivalent LiF content, the aluminum powder facilitates heat release via redox reactions with the detonation products, thereby augmenting the detonation energy, increasing the velocity of rod dispersion, and amplifying the shock wave parameters. However, this enhancement also leads to an increase in the bending of the rods and a rise in the deviation angle. There exists an optimal ratio between the aluminum powder contents and the rod loading characteristics. In the optimized formulation, a 15% aluminum powder content results in the highest velocity and maximum shock wave overpressure.