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Mesquite, Texas
Universal Artillery Projectile Lines (UAPL)

The US Army announced 29 May 2024 the opening of the Universal Artillery Projectile Lines Facility in Mesquite, Texas, which will provide an increase to capacity and capability to produce 155 millimeter munitions. This facility, which will be operated by General Dynamics Ordinance and Tactical Systems, will help the Army meet its modernization goals by incorporating high levels of automation, modern manufacturing practices, and digital data capturability. Current and future Army readiness requires modernization efforts that leverage new technologies, advanced manufacturing equipment and processes, and surge capabilities to enable production at scale. The new plant will initially employ 150 North Texans to produce munitions and is expected to have over 300 good-paying jobs when the plant reaches full production.

The shells will be filled with explosives at a military plant in Burlington, Indiana. Currently, metal shell casings in the United States are produced at two plants in Pennsylvania; they produce 36 thousand units of shells per month. We have already shown one of the military factories. By 2025, the United States plans to produce up to 100 thousand 155-caliber shells every month. It also became known that the United States initiated negotiations with Turkey on increasing purchases of Turkish-made TNT for use as an explosive filler in American-made ammunition.

Mesquite is a city best known for being the rodeo capital of Texas. By mid-2023 Mequite was on track to become a centerpiece of the American effort to increase artillery production vital to the war in Ukraine. A hulking new plant going up next to a highway exchange not far from downtown Mesquite promised to nearly double current U.S. output, replenishing stockpiles and preparing more ammunition to beat back the Russian invasion.

Mesquite (population 125,000) was established in 1873 as a depot town for the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Zachariah Motley migrated to Texas (1856) from Kentucky with his family and slaves. He and his wife Mary, five sons and three daughters helped settle this area. In 1857, prior to the incorporation of the town of Mesquite, a group of area residents began gathering occasionally for Methodist worship services led by circuit riding Preacher W.K. Masten. In May 1873, Texas & Pacific Railroad engineer, A.R. Alcott platted a new depot town named Mesquite. the post office opened the following year. The community developed along the rail line, with businesses initially facing Front Street. As the town grew, business owners turned their front doors to Main Street in an effort to create a Town Square. Voters incorporated Mesquite in 1887. In 1903, following a legal challenge, the City re-incorporated with new boundaries. Mesquite, which began with an agrarian economy, grew rapidly in the second half of the 20th century as a Dallas suburb.

A post-World War II population boom transformed the metroplex, including Mesquite, with a population then numbering about 1,600. In 1947, as new roads and subdivisions connected previously rural communities, the city’s first park was developed. Seventy years after the creation of City Lake Park, the city of Mesquite parks system consisted of 76 sites, including athletic fields, picnic areas, and connections to a trail system. The community remained predominantly agrarian until after World War II, when the boom in suburban growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area led to new development. The population grew from 1,696 in 1950 to more than 124,000 today.

On 10 May 2023 Mesquite approved plans for a new defense industry plant that will add more than 125 jobs. The city council voted unanimously to give General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. the go-ahead to locate the weapons parts plant in a business park near Interstate 635. General Dynamics will occupy a 240,011-square-foot building in the Mesquite 635 business park at I-635 and U.S. Highway 80. The new manufacturing operation will produce artillery casings for the U.S. Department of Defense and will employ about 50 salaried employees and another 75 to 100 hourly workers. The new plant comes as the Department of Defense is increasing munitions and weapons production to replace materials that were sent abroad to support the war in Ukraine.

Congressman Colin Allred, D-Dallas, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement that nearly $40 billion of the Ukraine funding is allocated to U.S. factories that produce missiles and munitions. “Texas has a long tradition of supporting our military industrial base, and thanks to our bipartisan efforts to pass aid to Ukraine, this facility will continue that work,” said Allred. “The new General Dynamics plant in Mesquite will bolster munition production that will aid Ukraine while creating good jobs and strengthening our economy here in North Texas. Overall, our bipartisan work sends a message to Russia and other autocratic nations that the U.S. stands in defense of democracy and democratic values.”

Demand for 155mm artillery rounds has soared in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and as allies' own supplies have depleted as they have rushed shells to Kyiv. The more than $500 million facility features advanced manufacturing technologies and automation for producing large-caliber metal parts. These efforts will significantly strengthen U.S. munition production capabilities and will serve as a credible deterrent to adversaries. This new facility underscores the Army and industry's commitment to bolstering the defense industrial base and maintaining the readiness of America's Armed Forces. The Universal Artillery Production Facility will be flexible in production of ammunition ranging from 60mm to 155mm with minimal changeover.

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems is one of the primary producer of artillery shells for the U.S, military. The GD-OTS Scranton Operations has been in continuous production since 1963, and manufactures artillery shells for 105mm to 155mm caliber applications. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Scranton Operations, produces a wide range of projectile and mortar metal parts for large-caliber cannons, artillery, as well as aircraft and naval platforms. As the principle Operating Contractor for the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP), this facility has been in constant production of metal parts for weapon systems since 1963.

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (OTS) is a global leader in the design, engineering and production of munitions, energetics, weapons, armaments, and missile subsystems around the world. OTS empowers the U.S. military and its allies with an extensive range of overarching product segments applied across all levels of strategic and tactical operations, providing a cutting-edge advantage to our warfighters.

“This Universal Artillery Projectile Line facility was designed and purpose-built to integrate new, innovative manufacturing processes to provide a resilient and enduring industrial capability for our warfighters,” said Firat Gezen, President of General Dynamics OTS. “This project is a testament to what partnership across the Department of Defense, U.S. Army, Congress, Industry, and the local community can accomplish when working together to achieve a common mission and support national security. We are grateful for the U.S. Army, our JPEO A&A teammates, our equipment supplier REPKON, Swinerton, numerous trade partners, and the GD-OTS employees who have worked diligently to make this significant occasion a reality.”

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters during a briefing "The Army is spending more than a billion dollars every year to make these critical improvements, and this plant is an important example of how we are modernizing our industrial base," Singh said. "Current and future Army readiness requires modernization efforts that leverage new technologies; advanced manufacturing equipment and processes; and surge capabilities to enable production at scale," Singh said, adding that such efforts will significantly strengthen U.S. munition production capabilities and will serve as a credible deterrent to our adversaries. "This new facility underscores the Army and industry's commitment to bolstering the defense industrial base and maintaining the readiness of our armed forces."

"We are building new production lines across the country, and we are expanding our contracts with existing production facilities to increase their production speed and capacity. And we couldn't increase our production rates without the skilled expertise of the Americans who work in these arsenals and facilities around the country," Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth is quoted in a recent news release about the facility's opening. "Each time I visit a plant, I am struck by the dedication, patriotism and pride of the workers I meet; and I know that here in Mesquite, it won't be any different," Wormuth continued. "The work done in these production facilities contributes directly to our nation's defense and makes us stronger."

The UAPL is a state-of-the-art facility that will be operated by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems. It is equipped with long-stroke, high-tonnage forging capabilities, and will be capable of high-volume production capabilities for large-caliber metal parts. The UAPL will help the Army meet its modernization goals by incorporating modern manufacturing practices, high levels of automation and digital data capture ability, Singh told reporters.