The agreement to create the centre was signed on Monday by Poland’s state-run arms maker PGZ and America's General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), the manufacturer of the Abrams tank, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
PGZ’s Sebastian Chwałek said in a statement: "As a trustworthy partner for the army, we are responsible for supporting units in maintaining the efficiency of each type of equipment that is used by the Polish Army or is starting to be used.”
Meanwhile, Poland’s State Assets Minister Jacek Sasin tweeted that the creation of the service centre for Abrams tanks proved that “the Americans highly value Poland’s potential and our organisational skills.”
In April, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said during a visit to the United States that he wanted "a service centre for Abrams tanks for the whole of Europe ... to be located in Poland."
He added: "This is possible, I am in talks regarding this."
Poland has ordered a total of 116 modernised M1A1 Abrams tanks and 250 state-of-the-art M1A2 Abrams to bolster its defences amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
The M1A1 machines are expected to be delivered between 2023 and 2024, with the first batch of tanks due to reach Poland this week, according to PAP.
Poland has pledged to increase its army to 300,000 troops, including 250,000 career soldiers, and to spend 4 percent of GDP on defence in 2023, amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, according to officials.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 488 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, polskieradio24.pl, Reuters