Mariusz Błaszczak made the statement in the southeastern Polish town of Nowa Dęba on Wednesday, state news agency PAP reported.
The defence minister attended a joint exercise by Polish and American troops, featuring Abrams tanks, designed to strengthen the security of the eastern flank of the NATO alliance, according to officials.
Meeting reporters at the Nowa Dęba firing range, Błaszczak said: “We are in talks to establish industrial cooperation with the producer of the Abrams tanks, the US defence contractor General Dynamics.”
He added that in recent weeks, "the deputy CEO of General Dynamics" visited Warsaw for talks with Polish officials.
The Polish defence minister stated: “We discussed the creation of a service facility for the Abrams tanks.”
Błaszczak explained that the planned facility would provide maintenance for Abrams tanks used by the Polish army, “but potentially also those used by other European countries that are interested in buying the Abrams machines.”
He noted that the United States had pledged to transfer 31 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine to help Kyiv fight the Russian invasion.
Błaszczak, who also serves as a deputy prime minister, declared: “Poland is becoming a natural maintenance hub, and likely also a production hub for the Abrams tanks in the future.”
Abrams tanks for Polish army
In January, the Polish government signed a USD 1.4 billion deal to buy 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks from the United States as part of efforts to bolster Poland's defences in the face of Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
In April last year, Poland signed a USD 4.74 billion deal to buy 250 Abrams battle tanks, "in the most modern M1A2 SEPv3 version," from the United States in what officials hailed as a key step in boosting the country’s defences amid Russia's war against Ukraine.
The 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks will be supplied to the Polish army in three batches between June and December 2023, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the M1A2 Abrams tanks will be delivered to the Polish army in 2025 and 2026, the PAP news agency reported.
Wednesday is day 413 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, tvp.info