Poland Receives First U.S. M1110 Assault Bridges to Keep 366 Abrams Tanks Moving in Combat.

Poland has received its first M1110 Joint Assault Bridge armored bridge-layers, adding a critical mobility capability to support the Polish Army’s growing fleet of M1A1 FEP and M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks. The delivery, announced by the Polish Armament Agency on July 14, 2026, strengthens the ability of armored forces to maintain momentum during combat by rapidly overcoming battlefield obstacles that could otherwise slow or halt an advance.

Built on the Abrams chassis, the M1110 deploys an 18.3-meter Heavy Assault Scissor Bridge to carry heavy armored vehicles across anti-tank ditches, canals, damaged roads, and other short gaps under operational conditions. The planned fleet of 25 bridge-layers closes a key capability gap in Poland’s Abrams force, improving combat mobility, survivability, and the ability to sustain high-tempo operations in a contested environment.

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Poland has received its first M1110 Heavy Assault Scissor Bridge vehicles, which can deploy an 18,3-meter MLC 115/120 bridge in minutes to support Abrams tanks and other heavy armored vehicles across ditches, canals, and damaged routes (Picture source: Poland MoD).

The quantities indicate that the bridge-layer requirement was calculated against the size of the tank fleet rather than treated as a small national-level engineering reserve. The M1A2 package provides one M1110 for every 14.7 tanks, while the M1A1 package provides one for every 14.5 tanks. Across both acquisitions, Poland will field 366 Abrams tanks and 25 M1110s, or approximately one bridge-layer for every 15 tanks before accounting for training vehicles, maintenance downtime, and reserve stocks. Final operational availability will therefore depend on how the Polish Army distributes the vehicles among brigade engineer units and whether sufficient crews, spare bridges, and recovery support are assigned with them.

The M1110 consists of three main elements: a modified M1A1 Abrams hull, the heavier suspension used on the M1A2, and a hydraulic Bridge Launch Mechanism carrying the HASB span. U.S. Army documentation also identifies the Total Integrated Engine Revitalization configuration of the AGT1500 gas turbine, retaining the Abrams family’s 1,500-horsepower power pack and associated transmission architecture. This common chassis matters primarily at the maintenance and movement levels. Tracks, suspension components, power-pack procedures, diagnostic equipment, and much of the mechanic training can be aligned with Poland’s Abrams support system, although the hydraulic launcher and bridge introduce separate maintenance demands. The arrangement also gives the M1110 cross-country mobility closer to an Abrams tank than to truck-carried bridges.

The HASB is rated at Military Load Classification 115 for normal use and MLC 120 under caution conditions. MLC is not a simple conversion into metric tonnes; it is an engineering classification that considers vehicle type, track loading, speed, spacing, and crossing restrictions. The rating nevertheless provides the required margin for Poland’s M1A2 SEPv3 tanks, which weigh more than 73 tons in U.S. Army service, as well as M1A1s, Leopard 2s, K2 tanks and heavy recovery vehicles. The published 18.3-meter figure describes the bridge length and nominal spanning capability, but an actual crossing still requires suitable bank strength, adequate approach angles, and enough bearing surface at both ends. The bridge cannot compensate for unstable banks or an obstacle wider than the available span.

Leonardo DRS gives a normal launch time of three to five minutes and a recovery time of six to ten minutes. Those figures refer to the mechanical cycle, not the total time required to establish a crossing. Engineers must first reconnoiter the obstacle, select the launch point, check the approaches, position the bridge-layer, establish traffic control, and provide local security. The launcher can operate in primary, hydraulic-power-unit-only, engine-only, and slave modes, giving crews alternatives after some mechanical failures. During an 11-day U.S. Army operational test in 2020, soldiers completed more than 40 natural-gap crossings and 22 combined-arms breaches, including bridge deployment under smoke. That test demonstrated the intended employment method: the M1110 operates as part of a protected engineer and maneuver package, not as an isolated vehicle.

The bridge-layer is approximately 12.8 meters long, with the bridge carried, 4.15 meters wide and 3.95 meters high. Its width exceeds normal European road limits, requiring movement planning, route clearance, and transport coordination outside tactical areas. Leonardo DRS lists an operating temperature range from minus 32 to plus 52 degrees Celsius and transportability by C-5 and C-17 aircraft, although routine movement in Poland will depend on rail and heavy-equipment transporters. The U.S. Army’s latest budget documentation also refers to add-on armor for the launch mechanism and a Mission Ready Tablet, but the Polish announcement does not specify whether the delivered vehicles include the same retrofit standard.

The M1110 has no turret, cannon, anti-tank missile launcher, or publicly identified standard remote weapon station. Its contribution is mobility support rather than direct fire, and the absence of substantial organic armament places responsibility for protection on the supported formation. During a contested crossing, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles must suppress enemy direct-fire positions, artillery must engage observed firing points, air-defense units must cover the site against unmanned aerial vehicles, and smoke must obscure the bridge-layer during the launch sequence. The Abrams-derived hull provides armored protection for the crew, but the raised bridge, hydraulic equipment, and concentration of vehicles around the crossing remain exposed to artillery, loitering munitions, and precision-guided weapons.

The M1110 should also not be confused with a breaching vehicle. It does not plow mines, detonate a lane through a minefield, or remove wire obstacles. Those tasks belong to combat engineers and vehicles such as the M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle, which can deploy a Mine Clearing Line Charge before the bridge-layer is brought forward. Poland’s acquisition of both types is therefore operationally relevant: the M1150 creates a lane through the obstacle system, while the M1110 crosses the ditch, stream or crater positioned behind it.

Industrial responsibility is divided between Leonardo DRS, which produces and integrates the launch mechanism, and Anniston Army Depot, which supports Abrams hull and HASB work. The U.S. Army approved full-rate production in March 2021 and full materiel release in April 2023. Its April 2026 budget request priced 18 planned FY2027 vehicles at $163.354 million, producing a gross program unit cost of approximately $9.08 million; that figure should not be treated as Poland’s purchase price because Foreign Military Sales cases include different combinations of training, spares, support, and government services. For Poland, the immediate issue is not the bridge’s maximum rating but unit-level availability. Twenty-five M1110s can support several armored brigades, but only when crews, reconnaissance teams, smoke assets, and protected recovery arrangements are trained together.

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Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst.

Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.