On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence Paweł Bejda and the Armament Agency published information on their social media channels about the delivery to Poland of another batch of BAE Systems M88A2 HERCULES tracked recovery vehicles. It is worth noting that these are the first factory-new vehicles of this type to join the Polish Armed Forces’ equipment fleet.
Unloading of a pair of M88A2 HERCULES vehicles in Polish Armed Forces colors / Photo: Łukasz Pacholski/ZBiAM
The vehicles were transported to Poland by sea. None of the reports stated the number of vehicles delivered; based on the available photos, at least two vehicles are involved.
To date, the Armament Agency has ordered 49 M88A2 HERCULES armored recovery vehicles from the United States through the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) procedure. The first 12 vehicles, which were used, were purchased together with 116 M1A1FEP Abrams tanks, also drawn from surplus equipment stocks of the U.S. Armed Forces. The second batch, consisting of 26 vehicles, was included in the intergovernmental agreement for the purchase of 250 M1A2SEPv3 Abrams tanks, while the third batch (11 vehicles, all used) was included in a separate agreement concluded by the Armament Agency with the U.S. administration in November 2025 (Agreement on Logistical Support for Polish Abrams Tanks).
Poland ordered 26 factory-new vehicles, while another 23 were acquired from Department of Defense surplus stocks / Photo: Łukasz Pacholski/ZBiAM
In the case of the 26 factory-new vehicles, the production contract between BAE Systems and the U.S. Department of Defense, acting as an intermediary in the implementation of the contract due to the FMS procedure, was concluded on December 6, 2022. Under its terms, the manufacturer was to deliver the equipment to the U.S. administration by the end of March 2025. Unofficially, all of them are already known to have been built and accepted, and are currently awaiting transport to Poland by sea.
It cannot be ruled out that these will not be the last M88A2 HERCULES armored recovery vehicles in the Polish Armed Forces. Unofficial analyses are still ongoing regarding a possible emergency purchase of a small batch of used vehicles that could be delivered to the 16th Mechanized Division, where they would support K2GF Black Panther tanks until deliveries begin of dedicated armored recovery vehicles developed under the second implementation agreement in the K2 program in Poland.
In the case of the M88A2 HERCULES, it is worth remembering that, in April 2025, BAE Systems and Wojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne signed an agreement on building domestic capabilities for servicing vehicles of this type. It cannot be ruled out that other users will also make use of the plant’s capabilities – in Europe, the M88A2 HERCULES is operated by U.S. Army units as well as Ukraine.
Oczekując na kolejne czołgi M1A2 #Abrams dla @1wbpanc właśnie przyjmujemy nowe wozy zabezpieczenia technicznego M88A2 #Hercules. Wsparcie warsztatowe 🇵🇱 czołgów w warunkach polowych jest naszym priorytetem.@MON_GOV_PL @AgencjaUzbr @Defence24pl @WarNewsPL1 @Polska_Zbrojna… pic.twitter.com/OCQvPY8C78
— Paweł Bejda (@pawelbejda) May 5, 2026
Na polu bitwy nie tylko sprzęt bojowy jest istotny – ważna jest też logistyka i wsparcie techniczno-warsztatowe. W tej chwili #WojskoPolskie odbiera fabrycznie nowe WZT #Hercules – jeden z filarów czołgów #Abrams.
Fot. @ZBiAM_news pic.twitter.com/Q11vYOGfmU
— Agencja Uzbrojenia (@AgencjaUzbr) May 5, 2026