US State Dept. clears sale of Abrams tanks to Poland

WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Dept. cleared a possible sale of M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks to Poland, according to a Dec. 6 announcement by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

Congress was notified Tuesday of the potential deal, estimated to cost $3.75 billion.

Poland intends to buy 116 Abrams tanks on top of an agreement the country signed in April to buy 250 of the systems for $4.75 billion.

The possible sale also includes 12 M88A2 Hercules combat recovery vehicles, eight M1110 Joint Assault Bridges, six M577A3 command vehicles, 26 M1152A1 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, 26 M1279A1 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, and ammunition and supporting equipment.

There are no offset agreements proposed as part of the potential sale, according to the announcement. All work to produce the systems will take place in the U.S.

According to the announcement, the principal contractors include AAR Corp.; Allison Transmissions; Anniston Army Depot; BAE Systems; General Dynamics Land Systems; Honeywell; L3Harris Technologies; Leonardo DRS; Lockheed Martin; Palomar; Pearson Engineering; and U.S. Ordnance.

Deliveries for the previous Abrams lot were to begin this year, with the first 28 tanks going to the country’s armed forces.

Polish defense officials have said the acquisition will enable the country’s military to counter Russia’s flagship T-14 Armata tank. The procurement will also allow Warsaw to replace its outdated Soviet-designed T-72 and PT-91 tanks with a new tracked vehicle platform.

Polish land forces also operate German-made Leopard 2A4 and Leopard 2A5 tanks.

Polish President Andrzej Duda asked to accelerate existing acquisition programs during U.S. President Joe Biden’s official visit to Warsaw earlier this year amid the war in neighboring Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Poland was slated to also receive Patriot missile systems and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as well as F-35 fighter jets this year, according to Duda.

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