Di US Army don dey struggle to increase production of 155mm howitzer shells wey dem need for Ukraine and other conflicts. According to a report from di Department of Defense Inspector General, as of March 2026, di Army only dey produce 36,000 rounds per month, far below di target of 100,000 rounds per month by October 2025.
Di problem na for di metal parts factory wey dey Mesquite, Texas. Di Universal Artillery Projectile Lines facility wey General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems dey operate, cost $469 million and open for 2024. But di contractor no fit produce any projectile metal parts wey meet contract specifications. Di report say di factory try to adapt manufacturing lines wey originally dey make parts for di M107 shell from 1958, instead of di newer M795 shell. Di report note say “projectile metal part production na di limiting factor for reaching di 100,000 round-per-month goal.”
Some Army officials don express concern about di older ammunition plant for Scranton, Pennsylvania, wey get problems with contractor responsiveness, equipment maintenance, and timeliness. Di bottleneck for Mesquite don make di three existing plants for Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Ingersoll, Canada, to try to cover di shortfall. Di Department of Defense issue a plan for 2022 to modernize howitzer ammunition production, but di Army efforts don only triple production from 14,000 to 36,000 rounds per month.
Di Army hope say by modernizing di Iowa Army Ammunition Plant and building two new facilities for Kansas and Arkansas, dem go fit load, assemble, and pack 140,000 155mm rounds by December 2027. Di IG recommend say di Army should review di contract with di Mesquite plant and see if dem fit recoup funds. Di Army accept di findings and say dem dey shift some work away from Texas, but inspectors say di plans lack sufficient detail and uncertainty dey about how di service go achieve Pentagon production goals.
