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.
More than 3 million rounds were given to Ukraine through weapons packages committed by the Biden administration. Roughly 112,000 rounds were used for training and testing, and another 218,000 were sold to other countries.
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.