A Pentagon watchdog report released on Monday, July 14th, 2026, found that an ammunition plant in Mesquite, Texas, built roughly two years ago at a cost of $469 million, has not produced any metal projectile parts for 155mm artillery rounds. This shortfall has hindered the U.S. Army's efforts to replenish ammunition stocks after supplying over 3 million rounds to Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion.

The Defense Department inspector general's report stated that as of March 2026, the Mesquite facility had failed to produce any metal projectile parts meeting contract specifications. It noted that the funds spent on establishing the plant could have been allocated to other Army or Department of Defense priorities.

Over the past four years, the Pentagon's inventory of 155mm artillery rounds has been depleted by 3.6 million rounds. In 2024, the Army set a production goal to increase output from 14,000 rounds per month to 100,000 by October 2024, based on ammunition consumption in Ukraine and anticipated foreign military sales.

However, as of March 2026, monthly production was approximately 36,000 rounds, significantly below the target. The Mesquite plant was expected to produce 30,000 projectile metal parts monthly but had produced none. Officials involved in the Army's ammunition program indicated that with only three facilities producing the required parts, the Pentagon will reach only 71,000 rounds per month—71% of its monthly production capacity goal—by September 2026.

A spokesperson for General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS), the contractor for the Mesquite facility, stated that GDOTS and the U.S. Army have agreed on a path forward, including additional GDOTS investment to complete the project.

Sources