The U.S. State Department has approved a $3.75 billion deal with Poland for additional Abrams tanks and other vehicles as well as a $1.5 billion sale of new CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to South Korea.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on Tuesday of both potential foreign military sales.
Poland, under the new deal, would receive 116 of General Dynamics Land Systems’ [GD] M1A1 Abrams tanks, 12 of BAE Systems’ M88A2 Hercules Combat Recovery Vehicles and six M577A3 command vehicles, eight of Leonardo DRS’ M1110 Joint Assault Bridges and 29 Oshkosh Defense [OSK]-built Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.
Tuesday’s FMS case with Poland also includes 26 Humvees, machine guns and ammunition.
“The proposed sale will improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in NATO operations,” the DSCA wrote in a statement.
The new deal follows a $6 billion FMS case with Poland the U.S. approved in February that included 250 M1A2 Abrams tanks, 26 M88A2s, 17 Joint Assault Bridges, 250 AN/VLQ-12 CREW Duke counter-IED systems, 276 M2 .50 caliber machine guns, 500 M240C 7.62mm machine guns and 15 AGT1500 gas turbine engines (Defense Daily, Feb. 18).
The Army in late July officially awarded GD Land Systems a $1.15 billion deal to officially build 250 of the M1A2 System Enhancement Program version 3 (SEPv3) Abrams tanks for Poland included in the February FMS case, with deliveries expected to begin in January 2025 (Defense Daily, Aug. 25).
The $1.5 billion deal with South Korea includes 18 of Boeing’s [BA] CH-47F helicopters, as well as 42 of Honeywell’s [HON] T55 engines, common missile warning systems and radios.
The newly announced FMS case follows the South Korean military’s decision in July to upgrade its fleet of CH-47D Chinooks with the new F-model of the aircraft.
“The proposed sale will improve [South Korea’s] capability to meet current and future threats by strengthening its Army heavy lift capability. The CH-47F will allow [South Korea] to conduct missions in support of bilateral operational plans which include, but are not limited to, medical evacuation, search and rescue, parachute drops, and disaster relief,” the DSCA wrote.