Poland there looks like there might be a delay to FOC for our export version of the
M1A2P UNIT 007 from the
Polish Ministry of Defence are two issues of concern concerning game
START.
1) They 4 days ago started their
first "Live Fire" training exercise.
"On
April 7, 2025, the Biedrusko training ground near Poznań marked a
historic milestone for Poland’s armored forces. The newly acquired
M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks conducted their first live-fire exercises, marking a new phase in the Polish Land Forces’ fast-paced modernization process"
2) Based on the issues with ABRAMS in the Ukraine I'm sure and what appears to be shortage of
TROPHY systems and more importantly...
"...is designed to support the integration of active protection systems (APS), though this capability remains
unutilized in the Polish fleet. "
"Despite the significance of this achievement, concerns remain regarding the integration of active protection systems. The Polish M1A2 SEPv3 tanks are
“fitted for” but not equipped with the Trophy APS. To date, the
Polish Ministry of Defence has not
confirmed any procurement of this system, and the
availability of Trophy modules is uncertain—especially in light of the delays observed in the UK’s Challenger 3 program, which has also been affected by APS supply chain challenges. The question of whether and when such systems will be ordered remains open, with implications for both timelines and budgetary priorities.
These concerns are
not limited to the Abrams platform alone.
Future armored vehicles, including the K2PL tanks to be produced under South Korean license, are also
expected to f
eature both soft-kill and hard-kill protection systems. Given the current context of the war in Ukraine, where anti-tank threats are widespread and evolving, the
absence of operational APS on new platforms represents a vulnerability that could impact battlefield survivability in high-intensity conflict environments."
"With these acquisitions, Poland becomes the third country to operate the SEPv3 version after the United States and Australia, which received its first units in November 2024. While training and delivery are proceeding as planned,
achieving full operational capability depends on critical decisions—particularly regarding the implementation of active protection systems. In the context of ongoing regional tensions,
these decisions will directly influence the Polish Army’s capacity to counter advanced battlefield threats.
The
inaugural live firing of the M1A2 SEPv3 tanks at Biedrusko marks a tangible step in Poland’s move toward higher technological standards in armored warfare. However, this technical progress also highlights a key issue:
modernization of platforms must be accompanied by the integration of complete protection solutions. As regional instability and modern warfare continue to evolve,
aligning equipment acquisition with defensive system implementation remains a strategic imperative for Poland."
These to some extents were the same factors why we kept pushing back (
~4-5 years) the
START/FOC for our
M1A2C. The other factor also was that the USA required full training/qualification of the crews and number of Brigades that got
fully equipped with that tank.
The current
Polish decision on
FOC was clearly stated above from their "
MOD" but what also
abundantly clear was the Polish
crews are still qualifying/training on those tanks as we speak.
We should not be surprised by this at all as noted above for
M1A2C/SEP 3 and when I submitted the
ABRAMS M1A2 SEP2 to a somewhat lesser extent.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...t-test-firings
The comparison between us (Then) and Poland (Now) are closely related with the fact as well that neither of us were or currently are in a
state of war that would change the ""
dynamic" of what was discussed above concerning all to include FOC.
Regards,
Pat
