Twenty-nine M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) bound for the Polish Land Forces were unloaded in the country’s northwestern port of Świnoujście on 8 January 2024, the Polish armaments agency has announced.
The tanks, which are being transferred under a fast-track procedure, were the third tranche of M1A1s to be received by Poland, following deliveries of 14 tanks in June 2023 and 26 in November 2023. The total number of M1A1s in Poland is therefore now 69.
In January 2023 the Polish and US governments agreed on the transfer of 116 M1A1 Abrams MBTs to Poland for USD 1.4 Bn (EUR 1.3 Bn). The final tanks are to be delivered by the end of 2024.
The scope of delivery also includes 12 M88A2 Hercules armoured recovery vehicles, eight M1 Abrams-based M1074 Joint Assault Bridges, six M577 command post vehicles and 26 next-generation Shop Equipment Contact Maintenance (SECM) shelters mounted on Humvee chassis as well as a training and logistics package.
According to the Polish armaments agency, 79 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) M-ATV vehicles were delivered in the same sea shipment as the M1A1s, which were ordered on 31 July 2023 under the US Excess Defense Articles (EDA) programme. The M-ATVs were developed by Oshkosh for the needs of the US Army and are based on experience with the use of this vehicle type in the first phase of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The vehicles are now being adapted to Polish national road traffic regulations and will subsequently undergo maintenance and adaptation to the requirements of the Polish armed forces. Forty-five vehicles of this type that were previously acquired under the EDA programme have been used by Polish special forces as armoured transport vehicles since 2015.
