Poland’s move to acquire up to 250 U.S.-built, upgraded M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks brings a substantial new amount of heavily armored firepower to Eastern Europe. It also sends a key message of deterrence to Russia and signifies the growing multi-national consensus that tanks and heavy armor are here to stay. 

Poland’s Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak was clear in his country’s purpose when speaking at a news conference, stating that “of course this is a response to the challenges we face in terms of international security. Our task is to deter a potential aggressor. We all know where this aggressor is and what threats are possible. So it is a quick, decisive response to these threats. . . . These are battle-tested tanks, tanks that have been designed as a counterweight to the most modern Russian T-14 Armata tanks.”

The dollar amount is reported to be around $23 billion, an amount that includes ammunition and sustainment. Blaszczak also said that, not surprisingly, the tanks will deploy along the Eastern part of the country as part of their 1st Armoured Brigade. Deliveries are slated to begin next year, he said. 

“There will be enough of these tanks to create at least four tank battalions, which is more than necessary to create a tank brigade,” Blaszczak added during his remarks. 

The addition of Abrams to Poland is quite significant in a number of respects, as it is large and lethal enough to impact the balance of power on the European continent. A longstanding concern among some observers, think tanks and strategists is that areas of Eastern Europe, the Baltics in particular, might not have a sufficient armored force presence to present a sufficient deterrent to Russia. Several hundred of the General Dynamics Land Systems built Abrams tanks, dispersed across varied and open terrain, could present a formidable armored wall against any kind of attempted Russian incursion into Eastern Europe. The firepower of the Abrams alone, and the upgraded attributes associated with the v3 variant, bring new dimensions of attack possibilities, operational flexibility and long-range, high-resolution targeting. 

The other clear element of this is it demonstrates that throughout Europe the belief exists that there simply is not any real substitute for the survivability, firepower and protection provided by the Abrams tank.  A more likely scenario may be that the U.S. Army and its allies will pursue a dual-trajectory. That means they will continue to modernize, upgrade and preserve the Abrams tank while concurrently pursuing faster, lighter-weight, more expeditionary Optionally Manned Tank vehicles. That approach makes the most sense. After all, technology is evolving to include multi-purpose ammunition, new armor composites, next-generation forward-looking infrared sensors, massive breakthroughs in electronics, artificial intelligence-enabled computing, on-board electrical power and weapons make the 1980s-era Abram an entirely new, modern vehicle. 

Kris Osborn is the defense editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.