Poland to Establish Europe’s Only Abrams Engine Service Center

Poland will establish Europe’s only authorized service center for AGT1500 gas turbine engines used in M1 Abrams main battle tanks.

The Polish Ministry of Defense announced this.

The center will be based at the Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 1 (Military Aviation Works No. 1) plant in Dęblin.

The agreement was signed on May 18 by representatives of the Polish facility and the U.S. company Honeywell.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the new facility will be the third such center in the world, alongside existing centers in the United States and Australia.

“There are only three such centers in the world – in the United States, Australia, and now Poland. There is no better proof of the durability, reliability, and long-term prospects of Polish-American cooperation,” Tusk said.

The new center will perform a wide range of repairs and maintenance to keep the AGT1500 gas turbine engines in Abrams tanks in proper operating condition.

The 300 million zloty investment in the project will include upgrading the Polish plant’s technical infrastructure, training personnel, and building up запасs of spare parts needed for engine repairs.

“This investment will strengthen Poland’s security and is a symbol of strong Polish-American cooperation,” Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated.

The project marks another important step toward establishing maintenance and support capabilities in Poland for the M1A1FEP and M1A2 SEPv3 main battle tanks, as well as the M1110 Joint Assault Bridge and M1150 engineering vehicles based on the Abrams platform, all of which are entering service with the military.

In August 2025, reports emerged that Poland was facing significant difficulties with the operation and repair of gas turbine engines used in its new Abrams tanks.

At the time, the CEO of Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 1 stated that neither Poland nor Europe as a whole had a qualified facility capable of performing full maintenance and repair on the gas turbine engines installed in American tanks. He emphasized that engines had to be sent to the United States for major overhauls.