In recent years, Europe has significantly increased its purchases of military equipment in response to the deteriorating security situation. However, the growing number of orders presents manufacturers with a new challenge. Increasingly, the success of contracts is determined not only by the quality of the equipment, but also by the speed of its delivery.
According to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), European countries now account for around one-third of global arms imports. Between 2021 and 2025, arms imports to Europe rose by 210 per cent compared with the previous five-year period. Among the largest importers were Ukraine, Poland and the United Kingdom.
Such a rapid increase in demand signifies a shift in the landscape for the global defence industry. For many years, manufacturers operated with significantly lower order volumes, adapting their production capacity and supply chains accordingly. The result today is that many contracts have lead times spanning several years, and production capacity is becoming an increasingly important factor when selecting suppliers.
One example illustrating the scale of this challenge is the programme to supply Abrams tanks to the Polish Armed Forces. Between 2022 and 2023, Poland ordered a total of 366 Abrams tanks, comprising 116 M1A1 Abrams FEP tanks and 250 units of the latest M1A2 SEPv3 variant.
According to General Dynamics Land Systems, all M1A1 FEP tanks were delivered within 18 months of the contract being signed. Deliveries of the M1A2 SEPv3 variant, meanwhile, began in January 2025. A total of 183 vehicles have already been delivered to Poland, including 36 delivered last week. The manufacturer expects the entire programme to be completed by the end of 2026.
The pace of order fulfilment stands out compared to many contemporary modernisation programmes. According to the company, this is due to the long-standing development of the Abrams programme, extensive production facilities and a mature supply chain, which enables orders for the US Army and foreign customers to be fulfilled in parallel.
“We serve those who protect what matters most. This means consistently fulfilling our commitments to Poland, delivering the best equipment on schedule, and ensuring that the users of our tanks will always have the upper hand on the battlefield. At the same time, we are developing industrial cooperation with Polish partners, which translates into a tangible increase in defence capabilities, self-reliance in equipment maintenance and combat readiness,” emphasises Christopher Brown, Vice President for Global Strategy & International Business Development at General Dynamics Land Systems.
The programme encompasses more than just the supply of equipment. Training for Polish soldiers is being carried out in parallel, and cooperation with the domestic industry is being developed. Some components for the tanks are already being manufactured in Poland, and domestic companies are gradually taking on tasks related to the servicing and maintenance of the vehicles. In the longer term, this is intended to increase the autonomy of equipment operation and lay the foundations for broader production cooperation.
Rising defence spending in Europe means that, for countries modernising their armed forces, the predictability of supplies and the resilience of logistics chains are becoming just as important as technical specifications. SIPRI data show that the upward trend in arms purchases is continuing, which means that pressure on manufacturers will continue to mount. In such circumstances, the ability to fulfil contracts on time may become one of the most important factors in competitiveness within the global defence industry.
