General Dynamics plans $200M push to restart Mesquite, Texas artillery-shell project

General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) is preparing to invest $200 million of its own money to restart a munitions facility in Mesquite, Texas, and to unwind its partnership with the Turkish defense contractor Repkon, according to a report cited by Yahoo Finance. The move is intended to get a delayed effort back on track for producing 155mm artillery shells after multiple schedule slippages.

The Texas site is run by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS), a General Dynamics business focused on munitions and weapons components. In May 2024, GD-OTS said it hosted an opening ceremony for a new artillery projectile metal parts facility in Mesquite. The facility uses Universal Artillery Projectile Lines, or UAPL, which are automated production lines designed to make artillery projectile metal parts at multiple calibers, including 155mm. GD-OTS positioned the build as a way to create a resilient industrial capability for the warfighter.

GD-OTS’ 2024 description emphasized scalability and automation, stating that the UAPL-equipped facility was designed to produce 155mm artillery metal parts and offer flexibility across calibers from 60mm to 155mm. The company also said the project involved U.S. Army and Department of Defense partners and thanked REPKON, along with other contractors, for helping make the opening ceremony a reality. REPKON was described in that earlier release as an equipment supplier in the effort to stand up the production lines.

The new reported restart comes against a backdrop of scrutiny over the Mesquite effort’s pace. In February 2026, Breaking Defense reported comments from a senior U.S. Army acquisition official, Brent Ingraham, who told lawmakers he was not pleased with production progress at Mesquite. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove a rapid push to increase 155mm output, the Army opened a government-owned facility in Mesquite in 2024 and tapped GD-OTS to operate three UAPL lines aimed at producing metal parts for artillery projectiles, including shell casings. Even with the lines in place, Breaking Defense reported that output still lagged the Army’s targeted production goal of 100,000 shells per month, citing figures that included a current rate of 56,000 shells per month and statements that the facility had yet to produce a single projectile under the Army agreement.

In the latest update, a General Dynamics spokesperson told MT Newswires that GD-OTS and its U.S. Army customer have reached an agreement on a path forward for the Mesquite facility. The spokesperson said that plan includes additional GD-OTS investment to complete the project. Separately, RealClearDefense, citing Bloomberg, said General Dynamics would invest $200 million and unwind the partnership with Repkon as part of a bid to finally begin producing 155mm artillery shells at the Texas plant.

Taken together, the reported $200 million figure indicates that General Dynamics is moving from planning to direct capital deployment to solve execution problems tied to the Mesquite build. The partnership change also matters because Repkon’s role appears connected to the earlier facility setup. GD-OTS’ 2024 release placed REPKON in the supply chain for the UAPL production effort, while the more recent reporting frames the next phase as one where General Dynamics is ending the Turkish contractor arrangement to complete production in-house or under a revised structure.

What remains unclear is how quickly the restart will translate into measurable shell output, and how the $200 million will be allocated across equipment, engineering work, and process validation. Neither the reported Bloomberg-based update nor the quoted spokesperson message provided detailed timelines or production-rate targets in the materials available for this story. Observers are likely to watch for a clearer schedule for when Mesquite lines will produce complete shells, whether the Army adjusts milestones or contract terms, and whether the restructuring affects delivery expectations.