On June 28, 2023, in Szczecin (Poland), Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak took part in the ceremony of handing over to the Polish Army the first batch of M1A1 Abrams tanks delivered from the United States, in the amount of 14 vehicles (company kit). Also, the first three American armored M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicles and sets of spare parts and equipment for Abrams tanks were delivered to Shetsin.
The first M1A1 FEP Abrams tanks received by Poland from the presence of the US armed forces. Szczecin, 28.06.2023 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Poland
Recall that on January 4, 2023, Mariusz Blaszczak approved the conclusion of an agreement with the US government on the purchase by Poland of 116 M1A1 FEP Abrams tanks from the presence of the US Department of Defense through the US intergovernmental Foreign Military Sales program Foreign Military Sales (FMS).
The cost of the agreement is $1.4 billion (6.2 billion Polish zlotys), of which almost $200 million (880 million zlotys) will be allocated in the form of American military assistance. The delivery will include 116 tanks (two battalion sets) M1A1 Abrams in the FEP (Firepower Enhancement Package) version, as well as 12 armored M88A2 Hercules repair and evacuation vehicles, eight M1074 Joint Assault Bridge (JAB, on the chassis of the Abrams tank), six armored command and staff vehicles M577A3, 26 mobile repair shops NG SECM based on M1152A1 HMMWV vehicles, as well as packages of spare parts, equipment, training and logistics.
The M1A1 tanks acquired by Poland are M1A1 FEP modification vehicles that were previously in service with the US Marine Corps, but were transferred to the US Army for storage due to the recent reorganization of the US Marine Corps with the complete abolition of its tank units. These tanks were stored at the US Army warehouse in Aniston, Alabama, where they are now undergoing training and repair before delivery to Poland. After repair, all tanks receive zeroed mileage and resource units. The first 20 tanks were prepared in Aniston in December 2022.
At the ceremony on June 28, it was announced that Poland will receive the first 42 M1A1 FEP tanks in 2023, and the rest by the end of 2024. Both battalion sets (58 tanks each) are to enter service with two tank battalions of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade of the 18th "Iron" Mechanized Division of the Polish Army.
In July 2022, Mariusz Blaszczak announced that agreements had been reached on the purchase of 116 Abrams tanks (two battalion sets) from the availability in the United States for the Polish Army. On December 6, 2022, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the US Department of Defense sent a notification to the US Congress about the planned upcoming sale of 116 M1A1 Abrams main tanks from the US Army to Poland through the American FMS program. At the same time, the total cost of the proposed delivery was determined at $ 3.75 billion, since it also included more than 300,000 120-mm tank shots for the M1A1 and M1A2 SEP v tanks planned for delivery to Poland.3 - including 112 thousand armor-piercing sub-caliber shells (50 thousand M829A2, 2 thousand M829A3 and 60 thousand M829A4), 10 thousand cumulative fragmentation shells M830A1, 130 thousand high-explosive shells (60 thousand M908 and 70 thousand programmable M1147 AMR), 51751 practical projectiles (30928 M865 and 20823 M1002).
Later, regarding the purchase of shells by Polish sources, it was reported that it would be produced by Poland under separate agreements in two stages. First, armor-piercing sub-caliber, cumulative fragmentation and high-explosive shells of existing types will be ordered from the presence of the US Army, then new-generation M829A4 (armor-piercing sub-caliber) and M1147 AMR (programmable high-explosive) shells, which will be manufactured specifically by Polish order. At the same time, Poland, along with Ukraine, will become the first foreign recipient of 120-mm armor-piercing sub-caliber shells of the M829 series with armor-piercing cores made of depleted uranium.
Earlier in April 2022, an intergovernmental agreement was concluded between the United States and Poland on the acquisition by Poland of 250 M1A2 SEP v.3 Abrams tanks with related equipment and property, including 26 M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicles, 17 M1074 (M1110) Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) tank bridge-laying vehicles under the American FMS program, as well as training and logistics packages and ammunition. The cost of the agreement is about $4.75 billion (about 20 billion zlotys).
Deliveries of M1A2 SEP v tanks.3 under this agreement should be started in Poland at the end of 2024 and completed in 2026. Tanks M1A2 SEP v.3 must be of "new production" (in fact, all M1A2 SEP v.2/v.3 tanks after 2000 are rebuilt from cash M1A1 tanks from storage). According to Polish sources, M1A2 SEP v.3 Abrams tanks should be equipped with four tank battalions from the 18th Mechanized Division of the Polish Army (the regular composition of the battalion of 58 tanks) - one tank battalion of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade, two tank battalions of the 19th Lublin Mechanized Brigade and one tank battalion of the planned formation as part of the 18th mechanized division of the fourth brigade.
In July-October 2022, 28 M1A2 SEP v.2 Abrams tanks provided to Poland for temporary use by the US Army for training Polish personnel on purchased Abrams tanks were transferred to the Training Center of the Polish Ground Forces (Centrum Szkolenia Wojsk Lądowych) in Poznan.
In June 2023, the Polish state defense industrial association Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) concluded a cooperation agreement with the manufacturer of Abrams tanks, General Dynamics Land Systems (a division of General Dynamics Corporation), to create a service center for Abrams tanks at the PGZ-owned repair plant Wojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne in Poznan.
The first M1A1 FEP Abrams tanks received by Poland from the presence of the US armed forces. Szczecin, 28.06.2023 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Poland
The first three armored M88A2 Hercules repair and evacuation vehicles received by Poland from the presence of the US armed forces. Szczecin, 28.06.2023 (c) social networks
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