Poland could provide Ukraine local-made PT-91 tanks in exchange for US M1 Abrams MBTs


According to information published on the Twitter account of "Jakub Spyrka" on July 12, 2022, Poland could give Ukraine 232 PT-91 Twardy Main Battle Tanks in exchange for American-made M1 Abrams tanks. Citing information from Jakub Spyrka, the Abrams M1A1 tanks that would be given to Ukraine could be the tanks that were recently withdrawn from service from the U.S. Marine Corps.
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Polish army PT-91 Twardy MBT Main Battle Tank. (Picture source Army Recognition)


In April 2022, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak had already signed a contract worth about $4.75 billion to buy 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 from the United States.

On July 6, 2022, the Army Recognition editorial team reported that Poland has already given Ukraine, a total of T-72 tanks including T-72M1 and T-72M1R variants.

The PT-91 also called Twardy is a Polish-made development of the Soviet-made T-72M1 MBT (Main Battle Tank) which has been produced under license in Poland for many years. The first prototype of the PT-91 was completed late in 1992 and underwent trials with the Polish Army.

The PT-91 MBT has a number of improvements over the earlier T-72M1, the export variant of the Soviet-made T-72A,  in the key areas of armor, mobility, and firepower. According to the military balance 2021, Polish armed forces have a total of 232 PT-91 Twardy.

The PT-91 Tardy is armed with a 125 mm 2A46 main gun, which is similar to that, used on the Soviet-made T-72. The tank is fitted with an automatic reloading mechanism that allowed for removing the gun's loader as a crew member and gave a rate of fire of 8 to 10 rounds per minute.

The layout of the PT-91 Twardy main battle tank is very similar to the Russian-made T-72 with a driver at the front, a turret with a gunner and commander in the center, and the power pack at the rear. The PT-91 is fitted with the Polish-developed explosive reactive armor Type ERAWA-1 (with one layer of explosive inside) and ERAWA-2 (with two layers of explosive inside) to the hull and turret. The armor package provides protection against the firing of small arms of 7.62, 12.7, and 14.5 mm caliber as well as cannon fragments between 20 and 30 mm.


Poland could provide local made PT 91 tanks in exchange for US M1 Abrams MBTs 925 002
U.S. Army M1A1 Abrams MBT Main Battle Tank. (Picture source Army Recognition)


The M1A1 Abrams MBT is an improved version of the M1 that was developed by the American company General Dynamics. The main features of the M1A1 are new suspension, various transmission modifications, improved armor protection, and the redesigned M1A1 turret gun mount and bustle rack, among others

The M1A1 was the standard main battle tank of the U.S. armed forces, a total of 4,796 M1A1 tanks were built for the US Army and 221 for the US Marines.

The main armament of the M1A1 Abrams consists of one 120mm M256 smoothbore gun, developed by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH of Germany. It can fire various types of ammunition, as the M829A1 APFSDS-T ammunition (kinetic energy round with long rod penetrator, made of depleted uranium, with a muzzle velocity of 1,575 m/sec, and a maximum effective range of 3,500 meters, but engagement ranges approaching 4,000 meters were successfully demonstrated during Operation Desert Storm).

The M1A1 Abrams is motorized with a Honeywell AGT 1500 gas turbine engine coupled to an Allison automatic transmission X-1100-3B with 4 forward and 2 reverse gears. The M1A1 Abrams Tank can reach a maximum speed of approximately 68km/h with a maximum cruising range of 426 km.