First batch of U.S. Abrams tanks arrive in Szczecin

This is the first delivery under the deal on the purchase of 166 Abrams tanks in the M1A1 version, signed in January by Poland's Ministry of National Defence and the U.S. government. The tanks, previously used by the U.S. Marine Corps, are undergoing complete overhaul and will be be delivered with reset odometers.

Also three technical support vehicles and tank parts were delivered on Wednesday.

"Our crews from the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade, being part of the 18th Mechanized Division, the Iron Division responsible for the safety of Eastern Poland, have been already trained. And they will soon switch to these tanks, which will be at their disposal and constitute an unpenetrable barrier. They will close down the Brest Gate," Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said on Wednesday in Szczecin.

In January this year, Poland's MOD signed an agreement on delivery of the tanks and auxiliary equipment, including 12 recovery vehicles M88 Hercules (Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lifting Extraction System), assault bridges and command vehicles. The contract's net worth is approx. 1.4 billion dollars, of which nearly 200 million is covered by the Americans under Foreign Military Financing for Poland. The Unites States has also agreed to sell Poland ammunition, including undercaliber projectiles with depleted uranium heads.

The purchase of 116 Abramses removed from the U.S. Marine Corps has been concluded in order to expedite the process of filling the gap left after Poland had donated its old tanks to Ukraine.

In April of 2022, Poland ordered 250 Abramses in the latest version M1A2 SEPv3 for 4.7 billion dollars. The tanks are to be delivered in 2024-2026.

The second batch - of 42 tanks - will be ready by the end of July, and between August and September, it will be delivered also to the 1st Armoured Brigade. The third batch - 60 tanks - will be delivered by the end of December, and in early February 2024, it will be sent over to the battalion in Żurawica, which is part of the 19th Mechanized Brigade.

Poland is the first country in Europe, and the first NATO member apart from the USA, to purchase the Abrams. Romania expressed an intention to buy these tanks in March this year. The M1 Abramses have been also used by the armed forces of Morocco, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and ordered also by Taiwan. The vehicles were used in the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. The Iraqi Army Abramses took part in the war against the Islamic State (IS), and those owned by the Saudis - in the Yemeni civil war.

"On behalf of president Biden I'd like to congratulate Poland on the delivery of the first Abrams tanks already 6 months after the signing of the contract. We are proud that part of the cost will be covered by the American people. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Poland, our trusted military ally, and we support strengthening of the eastern flank of NATO," U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski said on social media on Wednesday.