WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak has announced the country will acquire 300 second-hand Cougar mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles from the United States as part of efforts to modernize the country’s land forces.
“They are proven vehicles that the U.S. Army has used for many years and on many foreign missions,” Błaszczak said in a tweet.
The forthcoming procurement is the latest in a series of purchases of American military gear by the Polish ministry. Last July, Błaszczak announced that Poland will buy 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks from the U.S. in a bid to match the armored technical capacities of its neighbor Russia.
Under the plan, the Cougars are to be delivered to the Polish Armed Forces by the end of 2022 “owing to an accelerated procedure,” according to the minister.
“The contract also covers a logistics and training package,” Błaszczak said.
The value of the deal was not disclosed.
The Cougar’s four-wheel-drive variant is enabled to transport a crew of six, and it has been used by the U.S. Marine Corps since 2004, according to data from General Dynamics Land Systems.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
