250 Abrams tanks for the Polish Army to bolster its defensive capabilities

The sale of Abrams tanks to Poland, which is also home to a future U.S. missile defence site, is another sign of a deep and growing defence relationship with the United States.

It follows the deployment of nearly 5,000 additional U.S. troops to Poland as well as additional fighter aircraft, as part of Washington's response to the Ukraine crisis. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said the deal is worth approximately 4.75 billion dollars and that the first tanks would be delivered this year.

"It's a very important day in the history of Polish-American cooperation, but also for the Polish Army," he added.

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski said on Twitter that he had taken part "in a very important event for Poland's security". "Minister Mariusz Błaszczak signed a deal to purchase 250 Abrams tanks for the Polish Army," he added.

"The United States and Poland are united in defending every inch of NATO territory. We stand together and nothing will change that!" - the U.S. ambassador stressed.

Since the Gulf and Iraq War (1991 and 2003), the Abrams tank has been hailed as "indestructible" and became one the symbols of the U.S. Army and military technology of the USA. What makes this vehicle special, compared to other such tanks, is that ammunitions storage is kept separately from the crew compartment.

The main armament of the tank is the M256A1 120 mm smoothbore gun. Additionally, it has three machine guns: a 12.7 mm M2, and two 7.62 mm M240. The M1A2 SEP V3 is powered by a Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine engine, which develops a power of 1,500hp, that can allow the tank to run up to 70 km/h.

The manufacturer informed that the latest version has even better armour that minimizes that damage caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The M1 Abrams export version is used by the armies of Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Iraq, Morocco, and soon, Taiwan. The Abrams was first used in combat in the Persian Gulf War and has seen combat in both the War in Afghanistan and Iraq War under U.S. service. Iraqi Abrams tanks have seen action in the war against ISIL and have seen use by Saudi Arabia during the Yemeni Civil War.

The tank was named after General Creighton W. Abrams, a United States Army general who commanded military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972.