Polish crews carried out first firing practice on new Abrams tanks

"For the first time Polish crews were firing from Abrams tanks" - Poland's Armed Forces General Command said on Twitter. "The first task at a firing range in Biedrusk was to execute a technical shot as well as LFAST, that stands for Live-Fire Accuracy Screening Test" - the command added.

The army said it was a "baptism of fire" for the new machines.

First Abrams tanks arrived in Poland in July of this year.

The OPNET (Operators New Equipment Training), taking place at the Land Forces Training Center in Poznań, involves nearly 100 Polish soldiers from the Center as wellas from the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade, which is among the 18th Mechanized Division units which is to receive Abrams tanks.

At the Abrams Academy in Poznań, American instructors have been training Polish crews and technicians responsible for using and maintaining the tanks. Soldiers from the 18th Mechanized Division have been also practicing with the new machines at a firing range in Drawsko. Preparations for the switch to Abrams tanks began before the USA formally approved the sale of the machines to Poland. The first Polish tank crews went to the United States for training in the fall last year.

In April 2022, Polish government has purchased 250 M1A2 tanks (of the latest SEPv3 version) from the United States for over 4.7 billion dollars. Warsaw also dedided to to get 116 modernized older versions of Abrams tanks. The deal is to be partially financed from the U.S. foreign aid for Poland, which will be the only European owner of this type of tanks.