In the summer of 2024, the cutting-edge robots inside General Dynamics' artillery factory near Dallas were catching fire with alarming regularity, according to four former workers. The plant was supposed to be churning out urgently needed artillery shells for Ukraine, but instead, the giant metal arms—drenched in oil—would combust as they moved steel blocks heated to 1,800 degrees. One blaze melted a robot's cables, putting it out of commission for a week.
Only weeks earlier, defense officials and executives had touted the factory's innovative machinery, imported from Turkey, at a gala opening ceremony. But employees were already accustomed to spectacular mishaps. “After the second, third, fourth time, it just became almost normal,” one former worker said. “It got to the point where I was not surprised by anything that happened there.”
A Cascade of Failures
The problems went beyond fires. Robot arms swung out of control, smashing into calibrated equipment, and sometimes dropped hunks of steel five feet to the floor. The factory's signature device, meant to stretch steel for artillery shells, often cracked it beyond repair. Giant press machines required regular pounding with a sledgehammer to function properly but still botched the shaping of nearly every shell.
“We really didn't have any standardized practice,” said Quantel White, a former employee. “It was just a bunch of guys taking turns going at the machine with a sledgehammer every night.” Workers described acrid smoke hanging in 100-degree heat over foundations seemingly sinking into the earth.
The situation never improved. The US 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 line continued, but the facility never produced a single usable shell, according to a report by the Department of Defense's inspector general in July.
No Accountability
The fiasco has cost American taxpayers $533 million, according to the Army. Yet the Army has not held General Dynamics or a key Turkish subcontractor—which provided the much-hyped but little-proven equipment—publicly accountable. Nor has it made General Dynamics pay a penny back.
Just the opposite: General Dynamics, one of the world's largest defense companies, has been showered with new contracts, continuing its track record as one of the greatest beneficiaries of Pentagon spending. The company is still in charge of the factory and recently announced it will fix things by bringing in another much-hyped but little-proven technology.
“It's an absolute disaster,” said one former official in an Army office supervising the project. “The Army should've gone after recovering money from General Dynamics,” added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Oversight Gaps
Publicly, the Army has been tight-lipped about what went wrong at the Mesquite facility. The inspector general report described the failure but offered few specifics, not naming the companies or individuals responsible. Its recommendations were tepid: the Army should determine whether the contract was “appropriately issued,” how “the money was spent,” and whether it can recoup any of it. Army officials deflected blame, telling the inspector general they did nothing wrong.
In a statement to ProPublica, the Army said it will recover funding by getting unspecified discounts from General Dynamics on production orders. “The Army is exercising rigorous oversight to ensure every dollar invested delivers capability to the warfighter,” the statement read. “Where vendors fail to meet contract specifications, as seen at the Mesquite facility, we are evaluating contract performance, seeking recoupment of funds and pivoting resources.”
General Dynamics has given no public explanation. The company said it “met or exceeded requirements,” according to the inspector general report. Spokesperson Jeff Davis called ProPublica's reporting “fundamentally mischaracterizes the circumstances and falsely impugns our record of employee safety and truthfulness with our customer,” but did not specify alleged errors.
ProPublica reconstructed the project's failure through interviews with 36 current and former employees of General Dynamics, the Army, the Pentagon, and the White House, plus internal documents and photos. Those involved described a project that was rushed and ill-considered from the start. Congress removed government contracting guardrails to speed Ukraine-related defense projects, and the Army handed General Dynamics lucrative no-bid awards without knowing whether the machines could perform the work. The Army's due diligence was inadequate, four former officials told ProPublica.
This debacle echoes broader concerns about Pentagon spending and oversight, as seen in the staggering costs of US wars since 1950. The Mesquite plant's failure also raises questions about the rush to arm Ukraine, a priority that has led to costly dilemmas in missile defense. For now, the Army's plan to fix the factory involves unproven technology, leaving taxpayers to wonder if history will repeat itself.
