In Poland, they want to buy M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks from the United States, and give their T-72 to Ukraine
Poland intends to strengthen the tank fleet of its army with the purchase of 250 upgraded M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 in the USA. The deal will amount to $4.74 billion. "Newspaper.Ru" figured out why the Polish army needed American tanks and how the purchase would affect Ukraine.
Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak signed a memorandum on the purchase of 250 Abrams tanks in the Enhancement Package Version 3 (SEPv3) for the Polish Army right at the location of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade in Wesol. The State Department and the US Congress have already issued approval for the sale.
"The contract value is $4.74 billion. The first 28 tanks will be delivered from the warehouses of the US Army this year to begin the training process. The vehicles should enter the armored units of the 18th Mechanized Division, replacing the Soviet T-72. In addition, under the contract, Poland will also receive 26 M88A2 Hercules technical support vehicles and 17 M1110 assault bridges," the Polish minister said.
The contract has been discussed for a long time and for the first time Mariusz Blaszczak told about it back in June 2021. No details were given at that time, although the contract price was stated differently - $ 6 billion.
"Abrams tanks are considered not only the heaviest, but also one of the most expensive in the world. The US Army purchased SEPv3 under a contract at a price of $5.5-6.1 million per unit from General Dynamics. In this case, we are talking about a package deal that includes maintenance, training of tankers, additional equipment, probably something else beyond that, but the price is still very high. At $19 million per tank. An extremely expensive and clearly political contract," he notes in an interview with the newspaper.Ru" member of the Board of Military Experts Sergey Belousov.
"American Abrams have never been exported to Europe before. This tank is mostly popular in Australia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and a number of countries in the Middle East," he told the newspaper.Ru" military expert, reserve Colonel Grigory Zuevich. - Having received a generally good tank in terms of combat characteristics, Poland will face problems during its operation related to repair and maintenance work. Warsaw has its own base focused on T-72 tanks in its Polish modifications. German Leopard tanks, which are also available in Poland, can be transported to neighboring Germany for repairs. But how to deal with Abrams in this regard in the Polish army is not entirely clear."
At the same time, the expert separately noted that the use of Abrams in Eastern Europe "is not completely the best option."
"They are quite heavy and not too agile. Swampy and wooded areas, of which there are many in Eastern Europe, will also become impassable for them. Again, the power reserve of Abrams is limited. They are more suitable for local battles in open terrain. These tanks will have to be delivered to the place of combat operations by railway and automobile platforms, which reduces their efficiency in deployment," Zuevich is convinced.
The official Polish authorities have not yet said what should happen to the T-72, which should be replaced by Abrams. At the same time, the Polish press is actively discussing the hypothesis that Warsaw will provide these tanks to Kiev.
"The Czech Republic has already announced the delivery of its T-72, BMP-1 and other equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We should do the same. Ukrainian tankers are familiar with this machine. You won't have to retrain them, they will be able to start using it quickly. The vehicles will be able to join the battle immediately after arriving in Ukraine. It is necessary to make such a decision very quickly," the editorial of the Polish portal Defence24 notes.
Russian military expert, retired Major General Vladimir Popov, in turn, is confident that it will be "not very easy" for Warsaw to make such a decision.
- the general thinks.
Popov also noted that if the decision on deliveries is made and implemented, there are no guarantees that the Ukrainian army will receive these tanks.
"Russian military intelligence monitors the movement of large quantities of foreign weapons and their storage sites with subsequent destruction. Such operations are carried out quite successfully," Popov summed up.
Victor Sokirko
