21 February 2022

US approves possible M1A2 SEP sale to Poland

by Nicholas Fiorenza & Ashley Roque & Jakub Link-Lenczowski

The US State Department has approved the possible Foreign Military Sale of M1A2 SEPv3 MBTs like these of the US 1st Cavalry Division to Poland. (US Army)

The US State Department has approved the possible Foreign Military Sale of M1A2 SEP main battle tanks (MBTs) and related equipment worth USD6 billion to Poland, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on its website on 17 February.

Poland has requested to buy 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams MBTs; 250 AN/VLQ-12 Counter Remote Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (CREW) Duke systems; 26 M88A2 Hercules combat recovery vehicles; 17 M1110 joint assault bridges; 276 M2 .50-calibre machine guns; 500 M240C 7.62 mm machine guns; 15 AGT1500 gas turbine engines; and nearly 35,000 120 mm tank rounds. The latter includes 9,168 M865 120 mm target practice, cone-stabilised discarding sabot-tracer (TPCSDS-T) cartridges; 4,592 M1002 120 mm target practice multi-purpose tracer (TPMP-T) projectiles; 13,920 M830A1 120 mm high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) TP-T cartridges; and 6,960 XM1147 120 mm high-explosive multi-purpose tracers.

Polish Armaments Agency spokesman Colonel Krzysztof Płatek tweeted on 18 February, “ammunition solutions for the M1A2 SEPv3 for Poland include the purchase of US KE-W A1 ammunition and certification of the latest types of Polish and German ammunition, including the [Rheinmetall] DM63A1. This is reflected in the requirements of the Polish Armed Forces”. In another tweet on 18 February, Col Płatek said, “one of the objectives of the Polish Armed Forces is to ensure the exchange of information between the M1A2 SEPv3 and [Poland's] Jaśmine BMS [battle management system]”.

The US State Department has approved the possible Foreign Military Sale of M1A2 SEP main battle tank...

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