On 5 April this year at the barracks of the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade in Wesoła, the ceremony of signing an inter-governmental agreement with the United States for the purchase of 250 M1A2SEPv3 Abrams Main Battle Tanks by Poland was held. The acquisition of these armoured fighting vehicles was originally announced on 14 July last year )Poland becoming the first Abrams user in Europe?).
At the barracks of the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade in Wesoła, the ceremony of signing an inter-governmental agreement with the United States for the purchase of 250 M1A2SEPv3 Abrams tanks by Poland took place. / Images: Ministry of National Defence
Minister of National Defence Mr Mariusz Błaszczak approved a contract worth USD 4.75 billion net (PLN 19.96 billion), which covers 250 M1A2SEPv3 tanks (System Enhanced Package version 3) with accompanying equipment, including 26 M88A2 HERCULES Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lifting Extraction System vehicles as well as 17 M1110 JAB (Joint Assault Bridge) vehicles, together with a training and logistics package, ammunition and simulators.
The logistics package includes a supply of spare and consumable parts and equipment for tank maintenance, as well as mobile weapon repair workshops and diagnostic devices. The facilities for securing the maintenance of tanks will be created at military repair plants and workshops. The training package includes comprehensive training of instructors, crews and technical personnel, as well as training systems, including training equipment, trainers and simulators.
The supply of ammunition acquired includes both training and combat projectiles. Together with the tanks, KEW-A1 (APFSDS-T) tungsten-core armour-piercing ammunition will be obtained along with M865 (TPCSDS-T) training ammunition, as well as M830A1 (HEAT-MP-T) combat multi-purpose hollow charge anti-tank ammunition and drill ammunition M1002 (TPMP-T) simulating its use. The Polish side also obtained approval to acquire the new generation KEW-A4 (APFSDS-T) anti-tank sub-calibre armour-piercing ammunition with a tungsten core and the XM1147 (AM-P) programmable multi-purpose high-explosive ammunition, as soon as they are introduced. In addition, the tanks will also be able to use the latest types of Polish and German sub-calibre ammunition, including DM63A1 rounds.
Deliveries of these tanks are scheduled for 2025-2026, but talks are underway to accelerate the supply of the first batch of vehicles. In addition, this year the US Army will relocate 28 M1A2SEPv2 Abrams tanks to Poland together with instructors, which will be used for training Polish crews.
Mr Mark Brzezinski, His Excellency the Ambassador of the United States to Poland, as well as representatives of the Ministry of National Defence, high-ranking officers of the Polish Armed Forces and the US Army participated in the signing of the contract. The Armaments Agency was represented by its Chief, Col. Dr. Artur Kuptel, together with the staff of the Foreign Orders Headquarters, responsible for procurement procedures carried out under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Programme.
Minister Błaszczak stated:
The contract covers the purchase of 250 Abrams main battle tanks and accompanying technical support vehicles, including bridges, which will be used in the formations with which these tanks will operate. The contract also includes a training and logistics package. Also, under the contract, we bought ammunition in a quantity that is a significant amount, and therefore will vastly strengthen the ammunition resources of the Polish Army. This is a very important strengthening of the Polish Army.
The Abrams tanks will be transferred to the 18th Mechanised Division. The task of these tanks and the consequence of the fact that the Polish authorities are developing the Polish Armed Forces is to deter a potential aggressor. We are all aware of what is happening beyond our eastern border. Later this year, 28 Abrams tanks from the US Army will go to the Polish Army, so that the training of soldiers can commence immediately.
According to previous statements, these tanks will complement the equipment of the 18th Mechanised Division, i.e. the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade in Warsaw-Wesoła and the 19th Lublin Mechanised Brigade in Lublin (four battalions, 58 tanks each; the remaining 18 tanks will be used for training).
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