Last Saturday, Poland received the first units of its new M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tanks.
These tanks were purchased in April 2022, to reinforce the Polish Army against the threat of Russian expansionism following the start of the invasion of Ukraine. In addition, in January 2023, it also signed the purchase of a batch of the M1A1 model. In total, Poland purchased 116 M1A1s and 250 M1A2 SEP v3, being the first European operator of this US-made tank. The M1A1s have already been delivered. Deliveries of the M1A2 SEP v3s are expected to be completed in 2026.
The first 28 M1A2 SEP v3s arrived by ship in the port of Gdynia, and were then transported to the Military Automobile Plant in Poznań for so-called deprocessing (extended zero inspection after long-term sea transport).
The M1A2 SEPv3 is one of the most modern versions of the Abrams. Like previous versions, its main armament is a 120 mm M256 smoothbore cannon, which in this case has been adapted to use the latest types of ammunition, including programmable ammunition, the Polish Armaments Agency announced.
The tank's auxiliary armament consists of a remote-controlled CROWS weapon module with one 12.7 mm large-calibre machine gun and two 7.62 mm machine guns, the Agency notes.
The Agency also notes that this version is "characterized by strong ballistic and mine resistance, ensuring the highest level of crew protection. The tank is powered by a Honeywall AGT1500 TIGER turboshaft engine with a power of 1,500 hp, ensuring high top speed and mobility on any terrain. The latest version is also equipped with an auxiliary power unit (APU)."
With the M1A2 SEPv3, there are now nine types of tanks in use by the Polish Army, which still possesses a few Soviet-made T-72s (most of which were donated to Ukraine) in two versions (T-72M and T-72M1R), as well as PT-91 Twardy (a modernised Polish version of the T-72), Leopard 2A4, Leopard 2A5, Leopard 2PL (a modernised Polish version of the Leopard 2A4), the South Korean-made K2 Black Panther and the two aforementioned versions of the Abrams.
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Fotos: Agencja Uzbrojenia / Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
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