US Army’s $533 million artillery plant fails to produce single usable shell
A ProPublica report reveals that taxpayer funds paid for malfunctioning machinery in a Texas facility intended to boost shell production for Ukraine, despite ongoing payments to General Dynamics.
The US Army has paid General Dynamics $533 million for a new artillery shell factory in Texas that has yet to produce a single usable shell, according to an investigation by ProPublica. The facility was established to rapidly increase the production of 155 mm shells for Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion. However, the project relied on unproven machinery from Turkish firm Repkon, which former workers described as prone to significant mechanical failures.
Interviews with 36 individuals, including former Army and Pentagon officials, revealed that the production lines were plagued by issues such as robotic arms catching fire and swinging out of control. Workers reported that machines sometimes moved on their own via remote control from Turkey, and that the steel intended for shells was frequently mangled into unusable shapes. In some instances, staff had to use sledgehammers to force the equipment to function.
The Army awarded the contract under expedited Department of Defence authorities that bypassed standard contracting safeguards, allowing for no-bid awards and work to begin before final terms were settled. Despite the lack of full inspection of the Repkon machinery in action, the Army ordered three production lines rather than one. General Dynamics, the only US company producing 155 mm metal shell bodies at the time, maintained that it met or exceeded contract requirements, a claim supported by a previous Department of Defence inspector general report.
Despite the reported failures, the government continued to disburse funds. In December 2025, the US government paid General Dynamics $26.3 million in progress payments for two production lines that had not yet produced a usable shell. The Army stated it is evaluating contract performance and seeking recoupment of funds, though it has not fully terminated the contract awards.
In August 2025, the Army halted work on two of the three production lines at the Texas facility. Since that partial halt, the same unit of General Dynamics has secured contract awards worth $2.5 billion for other production lines. General Dynamics has announced it will team up with a new partner to utilise artificial intelligence for future production, following the difficulties encountered with the Repkon technology.
The Army told ProPublica that it exercises rigorous oversight and is pivoting resources where vendors fail to meet specifications. A company spokesperson for General Dynamics stated that the reporting fundamentally mischaracterises the circumstances, though the company did not specify the alleged errors.
