The Polish defense ministry has confirmed its decision to purchase the latest SEPv3 variant of the M1A2 main battle tank from the United States.
The confirmation follows reports from earlier in the week that the country would buy around 250 units.
In a press conference on July 14 in Wesoła, Polish defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak said a total of 250 Abrams tanks would be acquired. they will be stationed in eastern Poland. The Council of Ministers adopted a resolution on financing the purchase from outside the budget of the Ministry of National Defense, the minister added.
Deliveries of the new tanks to the 18th Mechanized Division Zelazna Dywizja, which will the recipient of the first batch of tanks, are scheduled to start in 2022.
The acquisition will certainly boost Poland’s tank capacities, but it is interesting to note that the country chose the Abrams despite having previously bought Leopard, A4 and A5 tanks from Germany.
What is more, the country is currently is in the process of upgrading its Leopards from 2A4 to the 2PL standard to improve firepower, ballistic protection and situational awareness, as well as crew safety and comfort. The modernization is carried out under a contract from 2015, and will include all 142 tanks in Polish inventory.
Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 (System Enhancement Program Version 3) is the latest upgrade to the US Army’s current main battle tank. The variant includes multiple upgrades to improve power generation, network compatibility, survivability and other vulnerability reduction measures to reduce the tank’s vulnerability to IEDs.
