The defence minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, signed a contract on Wednesday for the delivery of 116 US-made M 1 A 1 Abrams tanks.
At a ceremony held at the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade, Blaszczak said that the tanks will be shipped to Wesola district of Warsaw -- PAP so that they can effectively deter the aggressor. Blaszczak said that Poland had already signed an agreement with the US for the delivery of 250 Abrams tanks in the M 1 A 2 SEPv 3 version, which will be delivered in late 2024.
The defence minister said that the tanks I approved for today are going to become part of the Polish Armed Forces this year.
Blaszczak said that Poland was in the process of negotiating a deal for the deliveries of large amounts of ammunition for the tanks.
He said that we're on the right path to finalise the second agreement.
The US charge d'affaires Daniel Lewton said during the ceremony that the tanks will be delivered soon and that the tank agreement was part of US President Joe Biden's promise to fast-track Poland's arms purchases.