DoD watchdog finds 155mm artillery plant built 2 years ago has produced nothing

A Pentagon watchdog study recovered that successful the astir 2 years since it was built, an ammunition works successful Mesquite, Texas, has not produced immoderate parts for 155mm artillery rounds, hindering the Army's extremity to assistance backfill stocks of ammunition provided to Ukraine aft Russia invaded successful 2022. 

In a study released Monday, the Defense Department inspector wide recovered that arsenic of March 2026, the works had not produced immoderate metallic projectile parts that met the specifications laid retired successful the declaration and the "the Army's expenditure of $469 cardinal to found the Mesquite installation could person been utilized to code different Army oregon [Department of Defense] priorities." 

Over the past 4 years, the Pentagon depleted its inventory of 155mm artillery by 3.6 cardinal rounds, according to the report. The study does not enactment however galore rounds are successful the stockpile. 

More than 3 cardinal rounds were fixed to Ukraine done weapons packages committed by the Biden administration. Roughly 112,000 rounds were utilized for grooming and testing, and different 218,000 were sold to different countries. 

Based connected the depletion successful Ukraine and anticipated overseas subject sales, the Army successful 2024 acceptable a extremity to ramp up accumulation of 155mm artillery from 14,000 rounds per period to 100,000 by Oct. 2025 and invested successful the Mesquite works successful Texas to assistance nutrient circumstantial parts. 

That plant, which is operated by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, opened successful May 2024. 

As of March 2026, the Army was producing astir 36,000 rounds per month, inactive acold abbreviated of the 100,000 goal, successful portion due to the fact that the installation successful Mesquite failed to nutrient immoderate of the 30,000 projectile metallic parts it was expected to marque each month, according to the report. 

An Army spokesperson confirmed to CBS News this is inactive close arsenic of this month.

In a statement, a spokesperson for General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems said "GDOTS and our U.S. Army customers person reached an statement connected a way guardant for the Mesquite facility, which includes further GDOTS concern to implicit the project." 

According to the report, officials progressive with the Army's ammunition programme said that with lone 3 facilities producing the required projectile metallic parts, the Pentagon volition "reach lone 71,000 rounds per month, oregon 71 percent of its monthly accumulation capableness goal" by September 2026. 

The gap, the study concluded, occurred due to the fact that Army officials "accepted the risk" with the contractor's program to procure instrumentality which had not been tested. According to a timeline successful the report, the Army contracting bureau requested the works halt enactment successful Aug. 2025 portion the authorities evaluated if it could conscionable its obligations and enactment to resoluteness the accumulation issues. 

The request for artillery has diminished somewhat, since the warfare successful Ukraine has altered its attack and is present much reliant connected drone warfare, alternatively than the trench warring of a fewer years ago. Still, the archetypal expenditure complaint highlighted issues with the defence concern base's quality to nutrient weapons quickly. 

Recently, there person been concerns astir the much costly and technologically precocious weapons, similar interceptors for Patriot aerial defence systems and Tomahawk missiles, that person been utilized successful the warfare with Iran. The Pentagon this year asked for much than $70 cardinal successful its fund to assistance procure missiles and related equipment, a astir three-fold increase compared to past year.