Poland to buy 250 state-of-the-art Abrams tanks from the U.S.

"We have very good news for you. Really soon, as we expect first deliveries already next year, our army will add a large number of the state-of-the-art Abrams tanks - the most modern in the world, as the latest version has just been added to American armament," said Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński announcing the deal at the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade headquarters in Wesoła.

He added that M1A2 Abrams are "cutting-edge tanks, that are capable of making various maneuvers, engaging in combat, including firing with great precision and effectiveness". "We can say that this is a new chapter in land forces armament," he underscored.

The deputy PM also said that there would be enough of new tanks to form at least four battalions. "That's more than enough to form a tank brigade. So that's a serious force, right here on this side of the Vistula," he explained. "We believe that who wants peace, must prepare for war. We want peace, but in case of misfortune our defence will be stronger," Kaczyński stressed.

"This is a huge undertaking, an expensive one I must admit, although I won't speak about the details now. However, given the situation of our country and various possibilities created by financial markets, it's possible to get it done" - said the leader of the PiS party.

Poland's Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak informed that the government programme was worth 23.3 billion zlotys. "Of course, the tanks are the essential part of the price, but the programme also includes logistics and training packages. Furthermore, we have money earmarked for infrastructure development, as well as for something extremely important, purchase of ammunition" - he said.

Błaszczak also said that strengthening of Poland's defensive capabilities was "an answer to challenges that we've been facing in terms of international security, and our task is to deter the potential aggressor". "We all know who this aggressor is and what potential dangers are possible. Therefore, this is a swift and firm response to those dangers" - he explained.

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.