The US State Department has approved the sale of 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tanks to Poland after the Polish Council of Ministers agreed on the purchase in July 2021.
According to a US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notification to Congress, Poland has been approved to buy the tanks, as well as 26 M88A2 Hercules combat recovery vehicles and 17 M1110 joint assault bridges.
Also included in the potential sale are 250 AN/VLQ-12 CREW Duke counter-IED systems, M240C 7.62mm machine guns, and a range of ammunition. The $6 billion price tag incorporates Poland’s purchase of Common Remote Operated Weapons Station Low Profile (CROWS-LP), communications equipment; GPS receivers, new equipment training, and other related support items.
The principal contractors will be General Dynamics Land Systems, BAE Systems, Leonardo DRS, Honeywell Aerospace, Raytheon, McKinney, and Lockheed Martin.
“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 DSCA said.
“This is an extremely important strengthening of our defense capabilities and one of the most important arms contracts in the history of Poland,” Polish defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak said commenting the State Department announcement.
The M1A2 SEPv3 (System Enhancement Program Version 3) Poland is buying represents the most modern variant of the US Army’s current main battle tank. SEPv3 includes multiple upgrades to improve power generation, network compatibility, survivability and other vulnerability reduction measures to reduce the tank’s vulnerability to IEDs.
Once in Polish service, the Abrams will will be joining Leopard A4 and A5 tanks Poland bought from Germany previously. 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.
