Poland has signed a deal for the purchase of 26 Hercules armoured recovery vehicles from BAE Systems to support the US-made Abrams tanks Warsaw bought earlier.
The Hercules is designed to recover tanks while under fire and has been used in conflicts ranging from the Vietnam War to Afghanistan.
“Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) and BAE Systems today signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation for combat and recovery vehicles,” BAE Systems said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The companies are establishing a strategic relationship to provide the M88 Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) and other combat vehicle solutions for the Polish Armed Forces, if requested and agreed, to support their Abrams-based heavy brigades,” the company added.
“The M88A2 recovery vehicle brings a much-needed, cost-effective and self-supporting 70-tonne capable recovery system for tracked-vehicle equipped units,” the company also said.
In early December, the US State Department approved the sale to Poland of 116 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 3.75 billion. The sale came on top of the 250 M1A2 SEP v3 Abrams ordered by Poland earlier and is intended to fill the gap left by the dispatch of Polish tanks to Ukraine.