U.S. to sell 250 Abrams tanks to Poland as tensions rise in Eastern Europe

The U.S. will sell 250 M1A2 Abrams tanks to Poland, a key NATO ally, amid fears of an imminent invasion of neighboring Ukraine by Russian forces.

The $6 billion price tag also will include support vehicles, maintenance equipment and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The sale was approved by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” agency officials said in a statement.

Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, and other GOP lawmakers have been pushing the Department of Defense to expedite the tank deal with Poland.

“Helping to equip Poland with the M1A2 tank would serve to displace Soviet-era equipment in the Polish force structure, and thus enhance interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces while simultaneously strengthening the U.S. industrial base,” Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter last month to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

About 5,000 U.S. troops were rushed to Poland as part of a plan to reassure NATO allies concerned about more than 150,000 Russian combat personnel on the border with Ukraine and within Belarus. 

U.S. officials said the sale will “improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats” by providing them with a crucial force capable of deterring potential adversaries and participating in NATO exercises.

“Poland will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces,” officials said. “The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”