WARSAW --- On January 4, at the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade base in Wesoła, Mariusz Błaszczak, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, approved the contract for the supply of 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks for the Polish Army.
“Last year, we signed an agreement on the acquisition of 250 Abrams tanks in the most modern version for the Polish Army. These tanks will reach us at the end of 2024, so at the end of next year. We are conducting negotiations on this matter, but the tanks for which I approved the contracts today will already be in the equipment of the Polish Army this year. And this is our great achievement. The entire process of equipping the Polish Army with 116 Abrams tanks will end next year,” said the Deputy Prime Minister during a meeting with the soldiers.
The subject of the contract concluded with the American side is the supply of 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks, which will be adapted to the requirements of the Polish Armed Forces, along with accompanying equipment, including 12 M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicles, eight M1074 Joint Assault Bridges, six M577 command vehicles and 26 NG SECM workshops on the HMMWV chassis, as well as a training and logistics package.
The contract is the first stage of the project, which also includes a significant number of modern types of live ammunition, as well as training ammunition, in accordance with the maximum scope of the contract approved by the US Congress.
The above orders, including sub-caliber armor-piercing ammunition or multi-purpose programmable ammunition, will be implemented successively.
116 czołgów Abrams M1A1 trafi na wyposażenie Wojska Polskiego
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Wicepremier @mblaszczak: Wzmacniamy pancerną pięść Wojska Polskiego, wzmacniamy polskie siły zbrojne, dlatego żeby realnie i skutecznie odstraszyć agresora.
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📝 https://t.co/BciU4ZrYQ5 pic.twitter.com/xMGib6HBBK— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) January 4, 2023
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Polish-American cooperation has reached the stage "in which we can talk about very measurable details of strengthening Polish-American relations, as evidenced by the approved agreement".
“These tanks will come right here, to Wesoła. The tanks will go to the east of our country, so as to effectively deter the aggressor. (…) Thank you for our Polish-American cooperation, the effect of which is the fact that Polish tankers are already training on Abrams tanks at the training ground in Biedrusko, so they will be able to smoothly take over their duties with the Abrams tanks that will be delivered here, to the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade. Thank you very much for this close Polish-American military cooperation. Thank you for the exercises that take place almost constantly between Polish and American troops,” added the Deputy Prime Minister.
The total value of the contract is approx. USD 1.4 billion net, of which nearly USD 200 million is financed by the American side under the aid funds granted to Poland, while deliveries of tanks and other military equipment will start this year and will be completed by the end of 2024.
The contract provides for the acquisition of 116 Abrams tanks and the acquisition of technical support vehicles. The entire support package is also guaranteed in this contract.
“We are negotiating a second agreement accompanying this agreement, which concerns the acquisition of ammunition by the Polish Army in large quantities. This is a task that still lies ahead of us, but due to the fact that I really wanted Abrams tanks to be delivered to the Polish Army as soon as possible, we decided to divide this process into two parts.
“Now, we are still negotiating the issue of ammunition, but I can assure you that we are on the right track to quickly finalize this second agreement as well. (…) It can be said directly that a Polish Army battalion will be equipped with Abrams tanks this year. Soldiers who are already trained to take up their duties on the march, this is our joint success, Polish-American success,” noted Deputy Prime Minister M. Błaszczak.
The logistics package includes a stock of spare and consumable parts and equipment for tank maintenance, as well as mobile container armament repair workshops and diagnostic devices. The training package includes comprehensive training for instructors, crews and technical staff. The deputy prime minister also emphasized that the contract also includes a support package for the Abrams.
The acquired M1A1 Abrams tanks will become part of the equipment of the 18th Mechanized Division, in addition to the 250 state-of-the-art M1A2 SEP v.3 Abrams tanks contracted in April 2022. They were acquired for the amount of USD 4.75 billion, together with the accompanying equipment, including 26 M88A2 Hercules technical recovery vehicles and 17 M1074 Joint Assault Bridges, as well as a training and logistics package and a supply of ammunition.
Deliveries of the M1A2 SEP v.3 tanks are scheduled for 2025-2026. As far as possible, the delivery dates of the first vehicles will be accelerated.
In 2022, on the basis of a separate agreement, the United States Army moved 28 M1A2 SEP v.2 Abrams tanks to Poland, together with instructors for training Polish crews, as part of the Abrams Academy, launched at the Land Forces Training Center in Poznań.
(Editor's Note: The Polish defense ministry said that the above contract for 116 M-1A1 tanks is worth approximately "$1.4 billion net," but the Congressional notification made by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Dec. 6 states the estimated price at $3.75 billion including a large ammunition package. This package is still being negotiated, and will be contracted separately. Its cost can consequently be estimated at not more than $2.3 billion.)
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