The cost of purchasing Abrams tanks, modernized M1A2 models, which are in service with the US Army, was presented in the parliament. According to the intergovernmental agreement with the United States, the army will receive 54 Abrams tanks and 12 tank chassis.

• The Romanian Army requested parliamentary approval for the purchase of “54 upgraded Abrams tanks in the M1A2 variant and 12 derivatives, on used tank chassis, from the US Army; ammunition and training simulators”.

• “The endowment program with a total estimated value of €1,000,473,000 will start in 2023.”

Members of the commissions of both houses unanimously decided to pre-approve the initiation by the Ministry of National Defense through the General Directorate of Armaments of the procurement contract procedure related to the endowment program.

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• Major military acquisitions are being prepared for the Romanian army: self-propelled howitzers, combat armor, anti-aircraft systems and missiles for F-16 aircraft

Why Romania chose Abrams tanks

Regarding the acquisition of tanks, Major General Teodor Inchikac, head of the General Directorate of Armaments, explains in the “Military Observatory” podcast why Romania chose Abrams tanks.

“Regarding this tank, it’s funny to me that everyone thinks: “Okay, I’m taking an old tank”, not knowing the American specifics of tank modernization. If we are talking about bringing a tank to the enterprise, completely cleaning it, treating it with a protection system and equipping it with new equipment according to the option we require,” said the official of the Ministry of Defense.

Why was the Abrams tank chosen? “Very simply. Because the General Staff of the Army believed that for the mission of the brigade, which it wants to reinforce with this type of tank, the Abrams is the best means and has a uniqueness in the execution of missions,” Inchikas said.

In May 2022, at the Black Sea Defense and Aerospace (BSDA) exhibition, the Americans from General Dynamics presented the Abrams tank as an option for Romania, and the US Army presented the tank with a crew.

It should be noted that General Dynamics already operates a joint venture in Romania through which it builds Piranha 5 armored personnel carriers in Bucharest, a combat vehicle for which turrets, guns, machine guns and mortars are already manufactured in Romania by other companies such as Elbit.

In addition to the announcements presented at the General Dynamics booth, the US Army displayed the M1A2 Sepv2 tank, one of the most advanced tanks in the US Army today, on the Romaero platform.

“We use it as a main battle tank, it is very mobile and has a very advanced fire control system. It has a crew of four, a 120-mm gun with different types of ammunition, and three machine guns of different types,” American Sergeant Jesse Bell told HotNews.ro.

“This tank is used in various conditions. I have used it in different parts of the world, in Asia and the Middle East. This is a very effective weapon system. It’s very mobile, it has very good ballistic protection and it’s tough, but at the same time it’s very lethal, it has very high firepower,” Sergeant Boell said.

Poland bought more than 250 modernized Abrams M1A2 tanks and 116 Abrams M1A1 tanks – what is the cost? Almost 6 billion dollars

Poland’s defense minister signed a contract on April 5 to buy 250 upgraded American Abrams battle tanks for a total of $4.74 billion (€4.32 billion), according to statements made last year.

According to the Polish media, it is about 250 Abrams tanks in the M1A2 SEPv3 version produced by the American group General Dynamics, 26 Hercules M882 repair tanks and 17 M1110 amphibious assault bridges.

The first tanks will be delivered to Poland this year, and deliveries will continue until 2026.

In parallel, Poland also signed a contract with the USA for a batch of 116 Abrams tanks of the older M1A1 model.

According to the message of the Ministry of Defense of Poland on Twitter, the value of the new contract is 1.4 billion dollars, of which 200 million is financed by the American side as part of the aid provided to Poland.

VIDEO REPORT by HotNews.ro at the Bemowo Piskie military base in Poland, where the Americans train with Abrams tanks and Bradley armored vehicles alongside the British, Polish and Romanian military:

Specifications Abrams M1A2 SEP V3

Product: 1999 – to the present time

Length: 9.77 m

Width: 3.7 m

Height: 2.4 m

Full speed: 68 km/h (40 km/h off-road)

Motor: Honeywell AGT1500 multi-fuel turbine engine

Engine power: 1100 kW

Tank capacity: 1900 liters

Maximum autonomy: 425 km

weight: 66.8 tons

Main gun: 120-mm M256A1 (42 rounds)

Additional weapons: 1 machine gun of 12.7 mm caliber, 2 machine guns of 7.62 mm caliber, one of which is installed coaxially with the main gun.

Crew: 4 (commander, gunner, charger, driver)