DoD watchdog finds 155mm artillery plant built 2 years ago has produced nothing
A Pentagon watchdog report found that an ammunition plant in Mesquite, Texas, has not produced any parts for 155mm artillery shells in nearly two years since it was built, hindering the Army’s goal of helping replenish ammunition stockpiles supplied to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
In a report Published MondayThe Department of Defense inspector general found that, as of March 2026, the facility had not produced any metal projectile parts that met the specifications specified in the contract and that “the Army’s $469 million in expenditures to build the Mesquite facility were not available to other Army or [Department of Defense] priorities.”
According to the report, the Pentagon has exhausted its 155 mm gun inventory by 3.6 million rounds in the last four years. The report does not specify how many bullets were in stock.
More than 3 million bullets were given Ukrainian Through the arms packages carried out by the Biden administration. Approximately 112,000 rounds were used for training and testing, and 218,000 rounds were sold to other countries.
Based on consumption in Ukraine and expected foreign military sales, the Army has aimed to increase 155mm artillery production in 2024 from 14,000 rounds per month to 100,000 rounds per month by October 2025, and has invested in a Mesquite, Texas, plant to help produce certain parts.
Operated by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, this facility opened in May 2024.
According to the report, as of March 2026, the Army was producing about 36,000 rounds per month; that was still well short of the 100,000 target, in part because the facility in Mesquite was unable to produce any of the 30,000 rounds of metal fragments it was expected to make each month.
An Army spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that this was still true as of this month.
“GDOTS and our U.S. Army customers have agreed to a path forward for the Mesquite facility that includes additional GDOTS investment to complete the project,” a General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems spokesperson said in a statement. he said.
Officials with the Army’s ammunition program said that with just three facilities producing the necessary projectile metal parts, the Pentagon would “achieve only 71,000 rounds per month, or 71 percent of its monthly production capacity goal” by September 2026, according to the report.
The gap arose because Army officials “accepted the risk” with the contractor’s plan to procure untested equipment, according to the report. According to the timeline in the report, the Army contracting office requested that the facility cease operation in August 2025, while the government evaluated whether it could meet its obligations and work to resolve production problems.
Demand for artillery has decreased somewhat as the war in Ukraine has changed its approach and is now more reliant on drone warfare rather than the trench warfare of a few years ago. Still, the initial spending rate revealed problems with the defense industrial base’s ability to produce weapons quickly.
Lately, there are concerns about more expensive and technologically advanced weapons Interceptors for Patriot air defense systems And Tomahawk missilesIt was used in the war with Iran. Pentagon this year He asked for more than $70 billion from his budget to help procure missiles and related equipment; This represents an almost threefold increase compared to last year.
