A Permanent Armored Brigade in Poland?

Poland wants a new, permanent U.S. base in Poland. And it’s a great opportunity to checkmate Russia.

With the bold proposal for a new American base in Poland, the Trump Administration now has a window of opportunity to support the best U.S. ally in Central Europe, and strengthen NATO conventional deterrence. 

NATO’s July summit in Ankara, Turkey is the moment to act. At the summit will be U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki. More than 10,000 U.S. troops are already in Poland, but there’s opportunity for more. At their White House meeting on Sep. 3, 2025, Trump promised President Nawrocki more American forces in Poland if he wanted them. “We’ll be staying in Poland,” Trump said. “We’re very much aligned with Poland. We’ll put more there if they want.”

A decision to base an American armored brigade combat team in Poland permanently would go far to cement the U.S.-Poland military alliance. 

The Poland Partnership

The threat is clear. “Russia is investing 40% of its budget in defense. You don’t do this if you’re interested in peace,” NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska told NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly in Vilnius, Lithuania on June 1. “And Moscow is churning out military equipment around the clock,” she added.

Poland has already purchased nearly 400 U.S. Army Abrams tanks and has an operational requirement for 600 additional main battle tanks. Poland’s air force will fly F-35 stealth fighters, and the first three F-35s arrived at Lask air force base on May 22. Poland’s armed forces are also set for the biggest international delivery ever of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, with the first of 96 Apaches scheduled to arrive in 2028. U.S. and Polish tank forces train together and jointly maintain Abrams tanks at a major sustainment facility in Poznan, Poland. There is strong potential for a greater industrial cooperation between U.S. and Polish companies, if Polish demand for more Abrams tanks exists. As NATO rebuilds its deterrence architecture, an ironclad bond between the U.S. and Poland is essential.

Abrams Tanks for Dominant Maneuver

Armor, in the form of Abrams tanks, is key to NATO deterrence of aggression by Russia. NATO’s new operating concept depends on an unmanned fires zone; battlefield interdiction strikes on enemy targets; and on armored formations that can move rapidly to defend chokepoints. For all the excitement over unmanned zones and the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, it still takes armored forces to move and block Russians on key lines of communication. Hence, NATO’s eastern front defense centers on Poland.

This is why cancellation of the long-planned rotation of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (2nd ABCT), a part of the First Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, caused shockwaves.

Here’s what happened. The 2nd ABCT had its gear packed and in transit. Soldiers from Fort Hood typically arrive in Germany first, then make their way to Poland for NATO exercises and maneuvers as part of a nine-month rotation. Part of the “Black Jack” brigade’s advance echelon was already in Poland. The U.S. Army “wasn’t on the policy side” of the sudden decision, acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher La Neve testified to the House Armed Services Committee on May 15.

In fact, the role of the “Black Jack” Brigade spotlights a much larger reality: the requirements to bolster drone defenses for dominant maneuver. The 2nd ABCT had just exercised with the latest counter-drone techniques during a late 2025 rotation to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. Troopers
from the “Black Jack” brigade trained with drones, counter-drone systems, and integration of division-wide assets as part of the Army’s first Training in Contact (TiC) initiative for an armored brigade.

“This rotation wasn’t just about validating drones and loitering munitions in a heavy force — it was about rewriting the rules for armored maneuver in a world where the battlefield is transparent and lethal.” Col. Jose Reyes, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team “Black Jack” commander, said in December. “The battlefields of Ukraine showed us the problem; this rotation proved we now own the solution: heavy armor, supported by suppressing and finishing fires, maneuvering fast, hitting hard and dominating the fight.”

Hence, the 2nd ABCT was uniquely ready to bring the latest tactics and doctrine to their time in Poland. Those are valuable lessons for NATO, too. As the armor training tactics show, deterrence against Russia requires dominant maneuver in the face of drone threats. Putin will never have the victory he sought via the illegal invasion of Ukraine. But Russia’s militarization – aided and abetted by China – will remain a threat for years to come.

The upcoming NATO summit in Ankara is turning into a do or die moment for NATO. “The task ahead is clear: to turn Allied commitments into concrete results,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said recently in Sweden.

The time is now for President Trump and President Nawrocki to permanently base a U.S. armored combat brigade in Poland on a timetable consistent with Poland constructing the infrastructure for this presence – a small city with barracks, housing and schools for dependents, and local logistics support. Together at Ankara, Trump and Nawrocki should solidify their plans for this strategic partnership. This is the right moment to face down Putin, and Europe’s security hinges on it.

“I stand and will continue to stand guard over the Polish-American alliance – a vital pillar of security for every Polish home and for all of Europe,” Nawrocki posted on X.

Dr. Rebecca Grant is a national security analyst based in Washington, DC specializing in defense and aerospace research and national security consulting.

image: READY FIRST Soldiers assigned to the mortar platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, sharpen their indirect‑fire capabilities during Mortar Training and Evaluation Program (MORTEP) Tables IV–VI in Poland, May 27–June 3, 2026. The training certified the platoon on essential mortar tasks and ensured crews remain ready to deliver accurate and timely fire support whenever called upon. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Marlin Villalobos)