Poland Receives First M1A1 Abrams Tanks
The Polish Army announced on Wednesday that the first of 116 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks it has on order had arrived in Poland.
According to the statement announcing the arrival of 14 tanks at the port of Szczecin, the Polish Army’s 18th Mechanized Division will be the first unit to use the tanks. In a speech commemorating the tanks’ arrival at the port, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said that they would be an “impenetrable barrier” in the hands of the 18th Mechanized Division.
Błaszczak, who is also the Polish defense minister, had signed for the purchase of the 116 M1A1s in January, with the overall $1.4 billion package including 12 M88A2 recovery vehicles, 8 M1074 Joint Assault Bridges, 6 M577 command vehicles, 24 HMMWV-based Next Generation Shop Equipment Contact Maintenance (NG SECM) support vehicles, as well as training and logistical support. According to Warsaw, deliveries of all equipment and training in the package will be completed by 2024.
The purchase is meant to serve as a stop-gap ahead of the delivery of 250 M1A2 SEPv3s between 2025 and 2026, with the 18th Mechanized Division to eventually form four battalions operating the M1A2s. Warsaw has opted for a similar stop-gap approach for its procurement of the South Korean K2 Black Panther main battle tank, with the initial batch of Polish K2s a “gap filler” model identical to the K2s used by the Republic of Korea Army.
The procurement of the Abrams and Black Panthers are part of a deep modernization of the Polish Army’s tank fleet, replacing Soviet-era T-72M1 tanks and the PT-91, an extensive upgrade to the T-72 design built following Polish independence. Following Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, Warsaw has donated its T-72M1s as military aid to the Ukrainian army, and has begun supplying PT-91s as well.
In related news, Warsaw claimed later on Wednesday that it would be reinforcing its military presence in the country’s east, in response to reports by Belarusian state media that the Wagner private military company would be setting up a training camp in the country following a short-lived mutiny. Under previous planning, the 18th Mechanized Division’s M1A2 battalions would be based in the east upon becoming operational, with the M1A1s now set to take their place for the time being.