Army spends $533 million on Texas artillery plant that never produced a shell
The U.S. Army funded a General Dynamics artillery factory in Mesquite, Texas with $533 million, but the plant never delivered a usable 155 mm shell.
The Army allocated $533 million to General Dynamics for a cutting-edge artillery plant near Dallas, intended to supply 155 mm shells to Ukraine, but the facility never turned out a single usable round. Imported Turkish flow-forming machines and robot arms suffered repeated fires, mechanical failures and safety violations, prompting workers to describe the site as a “hellish” environment. Despite eight missed deadlines, the Army stopped work on two of three production lines in August 2025, while a July inspector-general report found the plant had produced no shells at all.
General Dynamics has not been required to repay any funds and has secured additional contracts, even announcing a new AI-driven overhaul with a startup called Deterrence. The inspector-general’s findings offered few specifics and only modest recommendations, leaving accountability unclear. Critics argue the episode illustrates broader Pentagon and congressional laxity in oversight of fast-tracked defense spending.
Why it matters
Taxpayers funded a costly defense project that failed to deliver, highlighting oversight gaps in U.S. weapons procurement.
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