Defence minister: Abramses are tasked with creating an impenetrable bulwark

Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak, on Wednesday visited the military proving ground in Nowa Dęba (Subcarpathian Voivodeship) to watch Polish and American soldiers practice with the use of Abrams tanks among other things.

In the middle of this year , the first Abrams tanks will be at Polish Armed Forces' disposal, they will be sent to the 18th Mechanized Division, the Iron Division, to the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade. These forces, these tanks, will be tasked with closing the so-called Brest Gate, that is establishing of an impenetrable bulwark that will ensure that if aggressors decides to attack Poland, they will simply fail," minister Błaszczak said.

"This plateau, stretching from Brest up to Vistula, had been used by the Russians in the 19th century and in 1920. Therefore, it is an attack pathway used many times in history. We are closing the Brest Gate exactly by using Abrams tanks, one of the best tanks out there," he added.

Błaszczak mówił też o tym, że Polska może się stać ośrodkiem serwisowania czołgów Abrams.

Mariusz Błaszczak also said that Poland could become Abrams tanks servicing hub. "We are on the right track to establish industrial cooperation with, for instance, the producer of Abrams tanks," he explained.

"Poland is becoming a natural servicing, and possibly also production, hub when it comes to Abrams tanks in the future," the MOD chief said.

He added Poland was in "advanced talks" with Raytheon - a co-manufacturer of anti-tank Javelin systems.

Furthermore, Błaszczak said the government was working on updating the plan of technological modernization of the military by another four years - until 2039 (currently binding until 2035).

Inspector of Land Forces of the Armed Forces General Command, General Maciej Jabłoński, announced that the first batch of M1A1 Abrams tanks ordered by Poland would be at the military's disposal in mid-2023.

"The tanks will be transported across the Atlantic between May and June, and by the middle of the year they will strengthen the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade in Wesoła, Warsaw," the general said.

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

Gen. Jabłoński assured that "this order has had absolutely no negative impact on our main order for 250 tanks in the latest, the most technologically advanced M1A2 SEPv3 version". He added that the state-of-the-art Abramses would be delivered as agreed - two battalions in 2025, and two in 2026.

The general also said that sufficient supply of ammunition for 116 M1A1 tanks would be delivered between August and September, whereas more sophisticated rounds for M1A2 tanks would be correlate with the deliveries of the latter. The Land Forces Inspector added that talks were ongoing regarding a potential co-production of the ammunition in Poland.