13.08.2024, Warsaw.
M1A2 SEP v3 Abrams tanks belonging to the US Army are being redeployed to Poland’s Powidz military base for the case of military actions, Interia pl wrote on August 12.
Since June, the US 405th Army Field Support Brigade has been transferring heavy equipment to the Powidz base. In addition to M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley armored vehicles and M109 self-propelled artillery units are also being moved.
All equipment is being delivered from American warehouses in Mannheim, Germany, and sent to a storage facility opened in early April 2023 at the 33rd Air Transport Base. This storage is part of the entire APS-2 (Army Prepositioned Stock-2) network of US Army warehouses in Europe. Thanks to the APS-2 system, the US can access its equipment in allied countries and will only need to bring personnel into the country when necessary.
“Notably, more than 80 US tanks already located in Powidz are M1A2 SEP v3, the latest version of the Abrams tanks. This model features a redesigned turret with improved armor and modern electronic systems. For instance, all crew members of the M1A2 Abrams SEP v3 tank have new high-resolution displays, allowing better control of their surroundings during combat,” the article reads.
The M1A2 Abrams SEP v.3 tank is adapted for firing the latest US M1147 and M829A4 shells. The first is a programmable ammunition used to strike lightly armored targets, infantry, buildings, and fortifications. The second is an anti-tank shell with depleted uranium, designed to defeat Russian T-80BVM and T-90M tanks.
The Polish army also has Abrams tanks in service. In 2022, Poland signed an agreement with the US for the supply of 250 upgraded M1A2 Abrams tanks in 2025-2026. Later, Warsaw announced that it had reached an agreement with Washington to supply an additional 116 used M1A1 tanks. The first batch of American Abrams tanks in the M1A1FEP version was delivered to Poland at the end of 2023.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
