On Saturday, January 18, the first batch of the newest American M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks was delivered to Poland, as officially announced by the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Poland, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
As part of the first batch, the Poles received two company sets of tanks - a total of 28 vehicles. The tanks arrived in Poland with a slight delay – these vehicles were supposed to be delivered by the end of 2024.
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Pierwsze czołgi wersji M1A2SEPv3 ABRAMS są już w. 28 Abramsów, po transporcie drogą morską, przejdzie przegląd, a potem trafią na służbę do #WojskoPolskie. Docelowo będziemy mieć 250 takich Abramsów. pic.twitter.com/IIcEpElCWf— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (@KosiniakKamysz) January 18, 2025
Recall that Poland officially purchased the latest Abrams in April 2022, when then-Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak signed a contract for the purchase of 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks for $4.75 billion. This contract, among other things, also provides for the supply of M88A2 Herkules recovery vehicles.
Thus, between the official conclusion of the contract and the day the first batch of tanks was delivered to Poland, two years and nine months have passed. It is expected that all 250 vehicles should be delivered by the end of 2026.
In the context of arming the Polish Army with Abrams tanks, it is worth recalling that last year Poland completed the replacement of its T-72s, which were transferred to Ukraine, and this is already a different contract for the supply of American tanks.
This is an agreement that was concluded in the summer of 2022 separately from the supply of tanks in the SEPv3 version – the fact is that the Poles decided to get a replacement for the 250 T-72 tanks delivered to the Ukrainian Defense Forces as soon as possible and agreed with the US to supply 116 used vehicles that previously belonged to the US Marine Corps. These are M1A1FEP Abrams tanks, which were delivered in four batches - in June 2023 (11 months after signing the agreement), in November 2023, and in January and June 2024.
As Defense Express reported, Poland delivered 324 tanks and vital WZT-3 ARVs to Ukraine
.
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