US approves the sale of 250 M1A2 SEP V3 Main Battle Tanks to Poland.

According to information released by the United States Department of Defense on February 17, 2022, the U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Poland of M1A2 SEP v3 Main Battle Tanks and related equipment for an estimated cost of $6.0 billion.
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A M1A2 SEPV3 Abrams Tank fires at multiple range targets during a range warfighter exercise, April 11, 2021, Fort Hood, Texas. (Picture source U.S. DoD)

The Government of Poland has requested to buy two hundred fifty (250) M1A2 SEP v3 Abrams Main Battle tanks; two hundred fifty (250) AN/VLQ-12 CREW Duke counter-IED systems; twenty-six (26) M88A2 HERCULES Combat Recovery vehicles; seventeen (17) M1110 joint assault bridges; two hundred seventy-six (276) M2 .50 caliber machine guns; five hundred (500) M240C 7.62mm machine guns; fifteen (15) AGT1500 gas turbine engines; nine thousand one hundred sixty-eight (9,168) 120mm M865 Target Practice, Cone Stabilized, Discarding Sabot - Tracer (TPCSDS-T) cartridges; four thousand five hundred ninety-two (4,592) 120mm M1002 Target Practice Multipurpose Tracer (TPMP-T) projectiles; thirteen thousand nine hundred twenty (13,920) 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) TP-T cartridges; and six thousand nine hundred sixty (6,960) 120mm XM1147 High Explosive multipurpose tracers.

Also included are forward repair systems; trailer-mounted generators; Common Remote Operated Weapons Station Low Profile (CROWS-LP); communications equipment; GPS receivers; ammunition; spare and repair parts; Special Tools and Test Equipment (STTE); technical manuals and publications; maintenance trainers; gunnery training systems; tank driver’s trainers; new equipment training; U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics personnel services; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $6.0 billion.

The principal contractors will be General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, MI; BAE Systems, York, PA; Leonardo DRS, Arlington, VA; Honeywell Aerospace, Phoenix, AZ; Raytheon Company, McKinney, TX; and Lockheed Martin, Orlando, FL. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this proposed sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require approximately (22) U.S. Government and (52) U.S. contractor representatives to travel to Poland for a duration of up to five years to support equipment fielding and training.

In October 2021, Army Recognition has reported that Poland confirmed the purchase of 250 main battle tanks from the United States and that will enter into service with the 18th Mechanized Division of the Polish army. Currently, the Polish army has a total of 142 Leopard 2A4 that will be upgraded to 2PL version 105 Leopard 2A5, 232 PT-91 Twardy, a Polish version of the Soviet-made T-72 and 127 T-72A/T-72M1, including 257 tanks in store. The Polish army includes one armored cavalry division and 3 Mechanized divisions with the 12th, the 16th, and 18th armored cavalry divisions.

The M1A2 SEPV V3 is the latest modernization in the M1A2 tank family. This version rectifies many of the space, weight and power issues identified during Operation Iraqi Freedom and will be the foundational variant for all future incremental upgrades. In addition to having improved survivability, the Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 can host any mature technology the Army deems operationally relevant. Improvements focus on increasing the electrical power margin, Vehicle Health Management Systems, integrated counter-improvised explosive device protection, a new Auxiliary Power Unit, embedded training and an ammunition data link. It is the most reliable Abrams tank ever produced, will decrease the Army’s logistic burden, and leads the Army in enterprise-level connectivity to maintenance and supply systems.

The M1A2 SEP V3 maintains the original main armament of the M1A2 family consisting of one 120 mm smoothbore M256 cannon. The second armament includes a coaxial 7.62 mm M240 machine gun mounted to the right of the main gun, and a CROW remotely operated weapon station armed with one 12.7mm heavy machine is mounted on the turret roof. 

The M1A2 SEPV V3 is powered by a Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine engine developing 1,500hp. The tank can run at a maximum road sped of 68 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 425 km.