Taxpayer Funds Flow to General Dynamics Despite Texas Shell Plant Fiasco
U.S. Army halted work on two production lines after eight missed deadlines, yet the defence contractor received $2.5 billion in new contracts and $26.3 million in progress payments for non-functional equipment.
A $533 million artillery shell factory in Mesquite, Texas, operated by General Dynamics, has failed to produce a single usable shell for Ukraine support, according to a ProPublica investigation. The facility, which utilised Turkish-made machinery, suffered from frequent equipment failures, fires, and structural issues. The U.S. Army halted work on two of three production lines in August 2025 after missing eight deadlines. Despite the failure, the Army has not held General Dynamics financially accountable and has awarded the company $2.5 billion in new contracts. General Dynamics denies the allegations, claiming it met contract requirements.
Former workers reported that Turkish-made robot arms caught fire regularly, smashed into equipment, and dropped steel blocks, with one blaze melting cables and taking a robot out of commission for a week. The factory’s signature flow-forming machine often cracked steel beyond repair, while giant press machines required manual sledgehammering to function and still botched nearly every shell. Structural issues included cracking walls, dragging doors, and foundations appearing to sink, with acrid smoke hanging in 100-degree heat.
The U.S. Army, which funded the factory, ordered work halted on two of its three production lines in August 2025. By then, General Dynamics had blown eight deadlines. Work on the third production line continued, but the facility never produced a single usable shell, according to a report from the Department of Defense’s inspector general in July. The fiasco has cost American taxpayers $533 million, according to the Army. But the Army has not held General Dynamics or a key Turkish subcontractor publicly accountable for the failures. Nor has it made General Dynamics pay a penny back.
In December 2025, the government paid General Dynamics $26.3 million in progress payments for the second and third production lines in Mesquite, although neither line had ever produced a usable shell. Since the Army shut down work on two production lines in Mesquite one year ago, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has received contract awards totaling $2.5 billion, the Army told ProPublica. The service said this was for distinct production lines and critical national defense requirements unrelated to Mesquite.
General Dynamics announced a partnership with Deterrence, a startup with no prior defence experience, to use artificial intelligence to fix production issues, despite replacing most Turkish equipment with traditional machinery. The company has given no public explanation whatsoever for the failures. In a detailed statement to ProPublica, the Army said it will recover funding for the project by getting unspecified discounts from General Dynamics on production orders.
