U.S. Army Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment Activity hosts Polish delegation to bolster allied readiness, interoperability

Two officers from the Polish armed forces visited the U.S. Army Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment Activity, known as USATA, Oct. 20 and 21 to establish bilateral cooperation on the calibration and maintenance of key military systems.
Polish army Lt. Col. Przemysław Piróg and Maj. Sławomir Dąbrowski toured the U.S. Army Primary Standards Laboratory and a secondary reference calibration laboratory to observe standard operating procedures and exchange metrology best practices.
The engagement, initiated at Poland’s request through the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Agile Sustainment and Ammunition, focused on sustaining U.S.-manufactured weapon systems currently fielded by the Polish military, including the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank, the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and the Patriot air defense system.
"Poland has purchased advanced land-force weapon systems in recent years," Piróg said. "To keep these systems reliable and usable throughout their entire life cycle, proper maintenance is essential, and metrology sits at the top of that maintenance hierarchy. Our role is to adapt the existing Polish infrastructure to support the new platforms."
While foreign military sales often spotlight major combat platforms, USATA officials and the visiting delegation emphasized that test, measurement and diagnostic equipment, or TMDE, and calibration infrastructure are equally vital to preventing immediate readiness degradation for allied partners.
"These platforms are complex systems that represent true engineering marvels," Dąbrowski said. "To reap their combat advantages, careful maintenance is required. The silent service of calibration labs and TMDE support operates from the start to the finish line, ensuring accurate shots and successful mission outcomes. This is a critical factor for states like Poland, which faces a real threat on its eastern borders."
"Calibration is an integral part of maintenance, as it ensures the measurements and tests are accurate," said Ronald Binkowski, chief of the S-3 Management and Operations Directorate at USATA.
John Schneider, an equipment specialist with the portfolio acquisition executive office, agreed, noting the direct impact precision has on the warfighter.
"This helps ensure soldiers’ safety, as they can prove that all the maintenance tests performed with properly calibrated equipment are correct and traceable to Army and industry standards," Schneider said.
During the two-day visit, the Polish delegation received a comprehensive view of the traceability and processes underpinning the U.S. Army's metrology program. The tour highlighted the primary laboratory’s ongoing collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to deliver cutting-edge metrology capabilities to the warfighter.
For the visiting officers, the opportunity to tour the facilities and coordinate in person was crucial for building a functioning, long-term program.
"Equipment and standards are one thing, but building a fully functional system around them is a real challenge," Piróg said. "When you have direct contact with engineers who have been working on these systems for years, there is no need to reinvent the wheel when you can simply ask. That is why this contact is so valuable to us."
Although conducted outside the direct Foreign Military Sales transaction pipeline, bilateral engagements with NATO allies like Poland directly support U.S. Army security assistance priorities. The face-to-face coordination builds mutual technical trust, establishes direct lines of communication for overseas support and baselines requirements for future metrology interoperability.
"In one word, it is a matter of trust," Dąbrowski said. "In metrology, this is called mutual recognition; we trust our partner’s calibration methods and expect the same in return. We often use the same standards and technical documentation, so interoperability is not an empty term."
By aligning calibration standards and technical requirements now, officials noted that higher-level calibration work could eventually be performed with complete confidence at geographical locations closer to Polish forces, returning mission-critical equipment to soldiers' hands much faster.

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