Poland has approved a $1.4 billion contract for the purchase of 116 Abrams tanks from the United States. The deal, which was first announced last year, will help fill gaps in Poland’s arsenal after it donated over 240 of its own T-72 tanks to Ukraine and it will be partially funded by the US itself.
“We are strengthening the Polish armed forces in order to substantially and effectively deter the aggressor,” declared defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak, who has led a military procurement spree in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The first of the M1A1 Abrams tanks will begin to be delivered this year, with all 116 due to be in Poland by the end of 2024. In a separate $4.75 billion deal (agreed before the war in Ukraine), Poland is also buying 250 M1A2 Abrams tanks from the US. Those are due to arrive in 2025-26, though Poland hopes to accelerate delivery.
Wicepremier @mblaszczak zatwierdził umowę na dostawę 116 czołgów M1A1 ABRAMS. Spotkanie w @1WBPanc było także okazją do rozmów szefa MON z 🇺🇸 dowódcami i podziękowań za ścisłą polsko-amerykańską współpracę wojskową. pic.twitter.com/JdJdEY9Nk1
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) January 4, 2023
In the deal approved today, $200 million of the costs (around 14% of the total) will be covered by US aid funds granted to Poland, says the Polish defence ministry.
The agreement also includes “a significant amount” of live and training ammunition, as well as 12 M88 recovery vehicles, eight M1074 joint assault bridge systems, six M577 command post carriers, and a training and logistics package.
“Our tank drivers are already training in Abrams tanks in Poland,” noted Błaszczak, referring to a separate agreement under which the US army brought 28 M1A2 Abrams tanks with instructors to Poland for the training of Polish crews.
"A simple reality has for years passed most of Europe by: Poland has what is arguably Europe’s best army. And it’s only going to get stronger," write @MKarnitschnig and @WojciechKosc for @POLITICOEurope https://t.co/af2axQhJJv
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 21, 2022
Błaszczak thanked the US for its close military cooperation. During a visit to Washington last year, his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, pledged to “help the Polish military become one of the most capable in Europe”.
Warsaw is also buying Patriot air defence systems, HIMARS rocket launchers and F-35 combat aircraft from the US. In June last year, President Joe Biden announced that the US will establish a permanent military base in Poland – the first time it has done so anywhere on NATO’s eastern flank.
Last month, Poland also received the first delivery of tanks and howitzers it has purchased from South Korea as part of a $5.8 billion deal – the largest arms export contract in the Asian country’s history.
Since Russia’s invasion, Poland has been one of the largest military donors to Ukraine, with its €1.8 billion worth of equipment surpassed only by the US, UK and Germany, according to the Kiel Institute’s Ukraine Support Tracker.
Main image credit: Dalton S. Swanbeck/Marines (under CC BY-NC 2.0)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
