Poland receives 35 more US Abrams tanks: defence minister

Poland has received another 35 US-made M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced on Monday.

An M1 Abrams tank

Photo: EPA/Sgt. Anthony Prater/DVIDS via PAP

In 2022, Poland ordered 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks from the US under a contract worth around USD 4.75 billion (EUR 4.1 billion).

Do Polski 🇵🇱 dotarła kolejna partia 🇺🇸 czołgów M1A2SEPv3 Abrams. Już wkrótce 35 czołgów trafi na wyposażenie 18. Dywizji Zmechanizowanej. Wzmacniamy zdolności obronne Wojska Polskiego i konsekwentnie modernizujemy Siły Zbrojne RP. Nowoczesny sprzęt, wyszkoleni żołnierze i gotowość do działania to filary bezpieczeństwa Polski.

— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (@KosiniakKamysz) September 21, 2026

So far, 217 of the 250 M1A2 SEPv3 tanks have been delivered. The remaining 33 tanks are expected to arrive by the end of this year, according to defence ministry spokesman Janusz Sejmej.

The tanks will soon be assigned to the 18th Mechanised Division, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

In addition to those 250 tanks, Poland has another 116 older M1A1 Abrams tanks, previously used by the US military.

The M1A1 tanks were acquired because they could be delivered quickly, helping Poland replace equipment donated to Ukraine, according to officials.

Poland was the first European country and the first NATO member outside the United States to purchase Abrams tanks.

The M1 Abrams has been the US Army’s main battle tank since the 1980s and was first used in combat against Iraqi forces during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

(sp/gs)

Source: PAP