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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
American industrial giant Honeywell has signed an agreement to establish a centre in Poland for servicing the engines of US-made Abrams tanks. It will be the first facility of its kind in Europe and only the third in the world.
There is “no better proof of the durability, reliability and long-term outlook of Polish-US cooperation and friendship”, which will endure despite “current difficulties”, said Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the signing ceremony on Monday.
🇵🇱 Polska będzie pierwszym krajem w Europie i trzecim na świecie posiadającym kompetencje do serwisowania przemysłowego silników do czołgów Abrams.
✅️ Budujemy unikalne na skalę europejską kompetencje oraz wspieramy naszą suwerenność przemysłową, logistyczną i technologiczną.… pic.twitter.com/oo6cLF1u5P
— Kancelaria Premiera (@PremierRP) May 18, 2026
The agreement between Honeywell and Military Aviation Works No. 1, which is part of Polish state defence holding group PGZ, will see an authorised service centre for Abrams engines established in the town of Dęblin. Currently, there are only two other such centres in the world, in the US and Australia.
Poland has ordered 366 Abrams tanks from the US. When delivery began in 2023, it became the first European or NATO country – other than the US itself – to operate the vehicles. Subsequently, the US and Australia transferred 80 Abrams tanks to Poland’s eastern neighbour, Ukraine.
The new centre, which will be developed at a cost of around 300 million zloty (€82 million), will mean that Poland’s Abrams can be serviced more quickly, easily and cheaply at home, rather than having to be shipped to the US and back.
“The investment in Dęblin provides an opportunity for new jobs and the development of the defence industry,” declared Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on Monday. “This investment will serve Poland’s security and is a symbol of good Polish-American cooperation.”
That cooperation “forms the bedrock of shared security, modernisation and defensive readiness on both sides of the Atlantic”, wrote the US embassy on social media.
It said that the new Abrams servicing facility “will bolster the servicing capabilities and operational readiness of Poland’s land forces, enhancing regional security”.
🇺🇸🇵🇱 Wmurowanie kamienia węgielnego pod pierwsze w Europie Centrum Serwisowe Silników AGT1500 dla czołgów Abrams w WZL1 to ważny krok w rozwoju amerykańsko-polskiej współpracy obronnej.
Chargé d’affaires Stephanie Holmes podkreśliła podczas uroczystości z udziałem WZL1, Honeywell… pic.twitter.com/PQowWASto1— US Embassy Warsaw (@USEmbassyWarsaw) May 18, 2026
The United States has long been Poland’s most important security partner. Warsaw has spent billions of dollars on American military hardware in recent years, as it ramped up defence spending to the highest relative level in NATO following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, that relationship has recently come into question, with polls showing that the Polish public increasingly regards the US as an unreliable ally under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
The US ambassador this year cut ties with the speaker of parliament, a Tusk ally, following his criticism of Trump. Tusk himself declared in February that “Poland will not be a vassal” of the US.
Relations are likely to be further tested after Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is wanted on criminal charges, fled to the US. A few days later, it emerged that a planned rotational deployment of almost 4,000 US troops to Poland had been cancelled at the last minute.
Following American media reports that the US has cancelled the deployment of thousands of troops to Poland at the last minute, the Polish government has denied that the situation pertains to Poland itself and says it relates to other parts of Europe https://t.co/kh3AMdWHCw
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 14, 2026
However, speaking at Monday’s ceremony, Tusk said he was “absolutely convinced that all these current difficulties will not affect the foundation of our…security”, which “can withstand all turbulence and change”.
“There is no alternative to Polish-American and European-American friendship and cooperation,” he added. “The task for all of us, without exception, is to ensure that transatlantic cooperation survives this difficult period, regardless of various political variables.”
“Our investment in the Abrams is not only proof of good Polish-American relations but, above all, it enhances Poland’s defence capabilities and the extraordinary competence of our tankmen,” he added. “Poland is the best model for all other countries in this regard.”
The prime minister noted that, earlier this month, a Polish Abrams tank crew won second place in the Sullivan Cup, a prestigious and gruelling biennial contest hosted by the US Army to evaluate the best tank crews from the American armed forces and international partners.
A Polish army tank crew took second place in the Sullivan Cup, a prestigious and gruelling contest hosted by the United States to evaluate the best tank crews from the US armed forces and international allies https://t.co/NlrcR1hkz9
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 12, 2026
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: KPRP/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
