Mariusz Błaszczak made the announcement in a television interview on Monday night.
Abrams tanks for Polish army
The defence minister told public broadcaster TVP Info: “A ship carrying Abrams tanks will sail into Poland’s northwestern port of Szczecin-Świnoujście on Tuesday.”
Błaszczak said the shipment would comprise “a company of 14 Abrams tanks,” out of a total of 116 modernised M1A1 Abrams machines ordered by Poland in January, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The defence minister stated: “Two more companies of M1A1 Abrams tanks will arrive later this year, adding up to a battalion. And another battalion will reach Poland in 2024.”
Błaszczak told TVP Info that next year would also see the arrival of the first batch of M1A2 Abrams tanks ordered by Poland last year and slated for delivery from 2024 to 2026. Poland ordered 250 such state-of-the-art tanks at the time, according to officials.
Poland was the first country in Europe and the first NATO ally after the United States to buy Abrams tanks, the PAP news agency reported.
On Monday, Poland signed an agreement with America's General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), the manufacturer of the Abrams battle tank, to build a service centre for the machines in the western city of Poznań.
Polish pilots complete training to fly FA-50 jets from South Korea
In Monday’s interview, Błaszczak also confirmed that Polish pilots had completed a training programme in South Korea to fly the FA-50 Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft, which Poland ordered from Seoul last year, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Błaszczak said that this was another aspect of Poland’s drive to modernise its army in order “to deter Russian imperialism” and ensure national security, according to IAR.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Tuesday is day 489 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, tvp.info