The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Poland of M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3.75 billion. The proposed sale will improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in NATO operations. Poland will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe. The principal contractor(s) will be AAR; Allison Transmissions; Anniston Army Depot; BAE Systems; General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS); Honeywell; L3Harris; Leonardo DRS; Lockheed Martin; Palomar; Pearson Engineering; and US Ordnance. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
The Government of Poland has requested to buy 116 M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks; 12 M88A2 HERCULES Combat Recovery Vehicles; 8 M1110 Joint Assault Bridges; 6 M577A3 Command Vehicles; 26 M1152A1 High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV); 26 M1279A1 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV); 116 M2 .50 caliber machine guns; 232 M240 7.62mm machine guns; 6 AGT1500 gas turbine engines; 30,928 120mm M865 Target Practice, Cone Stabilized, Discarding Sabot – Tracer (TPCSDS-T) cartridges; 20,823 120mm M1002 Target Practice Multipurpose Tracer (TPMP-T) projectiles;60,000 120mm M829A4 Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T) cartridges; 2,000 120mm M829A3 Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T) cartridges; 50,000 120mm M829A2 Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T) Cartridges; 10,000 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) TP-T cartridges; 60,000 120mm M908 High Explosive Obstacle Reduction-Tracer (HE-OR-T) cartridges; and 70,000 120mm M1147 High Explosive Advanced Multipurpose Round cartridges.
In July 2021, the Republic of Poland expressed interest in acquiring the Abrams tanks from America. February of the following year, soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Secretary of Defense agreed to the sale to the Polish government—who intends to integrate the Abrams into the Polish Land Forces 18th Mechanized Division. The purchase of the Abrams tanks, formally signed in April 2022, by the Polish Defense Minister, is said to foster enriched interoperability between these partner nations. In the same month, the Polish government requested that crew training begin promptly, in order to meet operational demands for trained and ready armor formations. The Abrams Partnership Program provides additional supplemental training on the Abrams tanks, building interoperability, a key component to stand side-by-side with Poland, a NATO ally. Polish soldiers attended Idaho National Guard M1 Abrams tank training in 2021 to observe best practices as Polish Land Forces seek to develop their own training capability.
A vision to strengthen this country’s defense capacity launches to its next phase with the official opening of the Abrams Tank Training Academy in the Republic of Poland, August 10. This collaboration between the United States and Poland follows negotiations that resulted in a purchase agreement for 250 of America’s M1A2 System Enhancement Program version 3 (SEPv3) Abrams Main Battle Tanks (MBT). The M1A2 SEPv3 is the latest and most advanced model of the MBTs. Poland states the tanks will enhance their security and increase their capability to operate within the NATO Alliance. U.S. Army Program Executive Office-Ground Combat Systems is the proponent organization to lead new equipment training instructions for the tank academy at Biedrusko Training Area, which started training Polish soldiers in July. The Abrams Partnership Program provides additional supplemental training on the Abrams tanks, building interoperability with Poland. The Polish General Command specifically selected U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division to help familiarize future Polish Abrams personnel with systems and procedures unique to Abrams formations.
