Poland signs contract for 250 M1A2 SEPv3 MBTs

Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak signed a contract for 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks for Poland at the headquarters of the 1st Armoured Brigade in Wesoła, close to Warsaw, on 5 April (picture of a M1A2 SEPv2 in Polish Army camouflage at the signing ceremony). (Polish MND)

Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak signed a contract for 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) for the Polish Army at the headquarters of the 1st Armoured Brigade in Wesoła, close to Warsaw, on 5 April.

The Polish Ministry of National Defence (MND) said on its website on 5 April that Poland would acquire 250 M1A2 SEPv3 MBTs, 26 M88A2 Hercules armoured recovery vehicles, and 17 M1074 Joint Assault Bridges, plus ammunition, logistics, and training packages. The USD475 billion contract is the largest Foreign Military Sales (FMS) procurement signed by Poland and the US government. The tanks are expected to be delivered to Poland by 2026 and will be deployed in eastern Poland to deter Russia.

Błaszczak said during the signing ceremony that the tanks would be delivered to the 18th Mechanised Division, with 28 tanks from US Army depots to be delivered to the Polish Army this year so that training of Polish soldiers can begin. Polish Armaments Agency spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Krzysztof Płatek told Janes on 5 April that these 28 MBTs would be M1A2 SEPv2s and would not comprise the first batch of the contract. The tanks will be used by US Army personnel to train Polish crews while the first generation of Polish instructors is trained in the United States.

Lt Col Płatek told Janes