The U.S. Army paid General Dynamics $533 million for an artillery factory that failed to produce a single usable shell.
asserted
that → pay → shell
Instead of efficient, state-of-the-art production lines, half a billion dollars in taxpayer funding paid for machines that kept failing in bizarre ways, former workers told ProPublica’s Jesse Coburn.
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workers → pay → Coburn
Giant robot arms would catch fire.
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arms → catch → fire
The Texas factory’s signature device often cracked the steel meant for the shells.
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device → crack → shells
And workers regularly had to take a sledgehammer to certain machines to try to make them function properly.
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them → have → machines
But the machines still botched nearly every shell.
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machines → botch → shell
The boondoggle, which included a real-life dumpster fire, was described as an “absolute disaster,” by one former official who worked in an Army office overseeing the project.
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who → include → project
The official, like others interviewed for the story, spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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official → interview → anonymity
In a detailed statement, the Army told ProPublica it exercises “rigorous oversight” and that, “where vendors fail to meet contract specifications” — as at the General Dynamics artillery factory — ”we are evaluating contract performance, seeking recoupment of funds, and pivoting resources.”
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we → tell → resources
General Dynamics declined an interview request, but the company has said it “met or exceeded requirements,” according to a Department of Defense inspector general report.
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it → decline → report
In a statement, a company spokesperson told ProPublica its reporting “fundamentally mischaracterizes the circumstances,” but did not respond to a request to specify our reporting’s alleged errors.
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reporting → tell → errors
To chronicle what went wrong, Coburn interviewed 36 people who’ve worked for the Army, the Pentagon, General Dynamics and the White House, and he reviewed internal company documents as well as photos and video from inside the factory.
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he → chronicle → factory
Here are the lapses in planning and execution Coburn’s reporting uncovered — and some of the consequences of those mistakes.
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reporting → uncover → mistakes
The Red Flags
The Army awarded the project to General Dynamics in a rushed process despite significant unknowns.
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Army → award → unknowns
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Biden administration rushed to boost production of artillery shells to support Ukraine’s war effort.
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administration → invade → effort
General Dynamics was the only company producing the 155 mm metal shell bodies in the U.S. at that time, mainly in a century-old facility in Pennsylvania.
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Dynamics → produce → Pennsylvania
The company could have simply replicated the facility’s traditional manufacturing method, which dated back to the time of the Korean War, to ramp up production.
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which → replicate → production
But General Dynamics proposed using a state-of-the-art production line from Repkon, a Turkish company virtually unknown in American defense.
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Dynamics → propose → defense
Repkon said other countries were already using its machinery to build an older, simpler model of the artillery shells.
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countries → say → shells
But it wasn’t clear the Turkish equipment could work with the particular steel used to make the Army’s newer model of 155 mm shells.
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equipment → work → shells
And Repkon said the Army and General Dynamics could not inspect full artillery production lines in action, citing customer privacy.
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Army → say → privacy
Repkon did not respond to requests for comment.
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Repkon → respond → comment
The Department of Defense did not competitively bid the project.
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Department → bid → project
The Army could’ve insisted that General Dynamics more fully demonstrate that Repkon’s machines could perform the desired work.
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machines → insist → work
But that would’ve taken time, and — as a former Army official told Coburn — “there was incredible pressure to go fast.”
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official → take → Coburn
In November 2022, the Army gave General Dynamics the first in a series of contract awards for the artillery factory.
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Army → give → factory
Then, Congress granted the Department of Defense the power to award money for Ukraine-related causes without some of the usual contracting safeguards meant to ensure taxpayer money doesn’t go to waste.
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money → grant → waste
That meant the Army could give General Dynamics no-bid awards and the company could start work on the project before finalizing the contract terms with the government.
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company → mean → government
The U.S. ended up ordering three Repkon production lines — instead of just one — without knowing for certain whether they could make shells that met the Army’s specifications.
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that → end → specifications
(The Army said it selected General Dynamics because of the company’s unique artillery production experience).
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it → say → experience
The Army did not thoroughly vet the proposal before approving it.
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Army → vet → it
Both the Army and General Dynamics sent staffers to Turkey to inspect the Repkon machines.
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Army → send → machines
But they never inspected a full production line in action, and they didn’t send enough experts who could identify potential defects in Repkon’s equipment, four former General Dynamics and Army officials told ProPublica.
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officials → inspect → ProPublica
The Army also didn’t require General Dynamics to demonstrate it could use Repkon’s equipment to complete the entire production process and make shells that met the service’s specifications.
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that → require → specifications
(The Army said that “formal testing could not occur prior to full machinery installation.”)
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testing → say → installation
In 2024, leaders from the Army and General Dynamics gathered in Texas to celebrate the factory’s opening.
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leaders → gather → opening
But the machines were barely functioning.
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machines → function → ?
Here’s how the rushed planning from the Army and General Dynamics played out in the factory.
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planning → ’ → factory
In Texas, robotic arms caught fire and smashed into equipment.
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arms → catch → equipment
Twelve former factory workers told Coburn that problems quickly piled up inside the factory.
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problems → tell → factory
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
