DoD watchdog finds 155mm artillery plant built 2 years ago has produced nothing
Source: yahoo.com
Eleanor Watson Tue, July 14, 2026 at 2:07 PM CDT
A Pentagon watchdog report found that in the roughly two years since it was built, an ammunition plant in Mesquite, Texas, has not produced any parts for 155mm artillery rounds, hindering the Army's goal to help backfill stocks of ammunition provided to Ukraine after Russia invaded in 2022.
In a report released Monday, the Defense Department inspector general found that as of March 2026, the plant had not produced any metal projectile parts that met the specifications laid out in the contract and the "the Army's expenditure of $469 million to establish the Mesquite facility could have been used to address other Army or [Department of Defense] priorities."
Over the past four years, the Pentagon depleted its inventory of 155mm artillery by 3.6 million rounds, according to the report. The report does not note how many rounds are in the stockpile.
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Based on the consumption in Ukraine and anticipated foreign military sales, the Army in 2024 set a goal to ramp up production of 155mm artillery from 14,000 rounds per month to 100,000 by Oct. 2025 and invested in the Mesquite plant in Texas to help produce specific parts.............................................
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/dod-watchdog-finds-155mm-artillery-152859196.html
As of March 2026, the Army was producing about 36,000 rounds per month, still far short of the 100,000 goal, in part because the facility in Mesquite failed to produce any of the 30,000 projectile metal parts it was expected to make each month, according to the report
— (@oceancalm.bsky.social) 2026-07-14T20:59:27.170Z
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