On Saturday, January 18, the first batch of the latest American M1A2 Abrams tanks in the Sep v.3 version was delivered to Poland, as officially announced by Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. In total, as part of the initial batch, Poland received two company sets of tanks - a total of 28 vehicles, which will subsequently be sent to the units of the Polish Army. The tanks arrived in Poland with a slight delay, as they were initially expected to be delivered by the end of 2024.
It is worth noting that Poland officially purchased the latest Abrams in April 2022, when the then Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak signed a contract for the acquisition of 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks for $4.75 billion. This agreement also included the supply of M88A2 Hercules and M1110 vehicles, logistical support, and more.
Thus, between the official signing of the contract and the day the first batch of vehicles was delivered to Poland, nearly two years and nine months passed. It is expected that all 2,025 vehicles should be delivered by the end of 2026.
In the context of equipping the Polish Army with Abrams tanks, it is important to remember that last year Poland completed the replacement of its T-72s, which were transferred to Ukraine, and this concerns a separate contract for the supply of American vehicles.
This pertains to an agreement that was concluded in the summer of 2022, separately from the supply of SEPv3 tanks. The fact is that Poland decided to quickly obtain replacements for the 250 T-72 tanks provided to the Ukrainian Defense Forces and negotiated with the U.S. for the supply of 116 used vehicles that previously belonged to the U.S. Marine Corps.
These are M1A1FEP Abrams tanks, which were delivered in four batches - in June 2023, 11 months after the agreement, in November 2023, and also in January and June 2024.