Poland plans to replace all its obsolete Soviet BMP-1 IFVs with modern domestically-made equipment that is in line with NATO standards. The new IFVs are expected to operate alongside K2 tanks purchased from South Korea.
On February 28, Polish Defence Mariusz Blaszczak signed a contract with Huta Stałowa Woła, part of the state defense conglomerate Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa SA (PGZ) to supply 17 battalion sets of the next-generation Borsuk ("Badger") infantry fighting vehicle.
Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak signed a deal to buy Borsuk IFVs
© Photo : Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej
"The Polish Army is growing in numbers year by year, and is expected to be even bigger. The Polish Army is equipped every year with up-to-date weapon systems, so that an aggressor would not dare attack our Homeland," Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak maintained.
The deal envisages the production of 986 vehicles, alongside with a few dozen training vehicles and over 300 various combat vehicles based on the Universal Modular Tracked Platform (UPMG) - about 1,400 vehicles in total.
The sum of the contract is said to be around $9 billion, which means that each vehicle will cost the Polish government around $6.5 million - about one and a half times more expensive than the newest modification of the US-made M2 Bradley IFV.
The minister also mentioned plans to develop a heavy IFV based on the Polish Krab SPG platform, which in turn is made on a licensed chassis of the South Korean K9 Thunder SPG, also purchased by the Polish Army.
What Poland's Borsuk IFVs Are Made of
The Universal Modular Tracked Platform is a platform for next-generation combat vehicles with hydropneumatic suspension install capability developed by Poland’s PGZ in 2013-2017. The contract involves the procurement of Żuk armored reconnaissance vehicles, Oset command vehicles (CV), Gekon repair vehicles, Jodła engineer vehicles, Ares radiation, chemical and biological reconnaissance vehicles and medevacs.
The basic model of the IFV is of rather impressive weight of 28 tonnes, but is able to float at speeds up to 8 km/h and reach up to 65 km/h on the road. The vehicle uses the very same MTU engine that is utilized on the latest German APC Boxer. The Borsuk has a crew of 3 and is able to carry 6 soldiers.
The Polish IFV is equipped with a Northrop Grummun-manufactured 30mm Mk44S Bushmaster II autocannon with a 300-round ammo rack of multiple types of ammunition, including APFSDS and programmable fuse rounds. The autocannon is paired with a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun. The entire armament is mounted in an unmanned ZSSW-30 module, fitted with two Spike-LR anti-tank guided missile launchers (ATGM).
No exact information about the armor protection is available yet, but it can be assumed that the Borsuk corresponds to STANAG 4569 level IV (protection against 14.5mm ammunition from 200m front and side projections) in its basic configuration. Level V protection from the front is possible (against 25x137mm NATO rounds or 30mm Soviet-era armor-piercing ammunition for 2A42 and 2A72 autocannons typical of most Russian IFVs till nowadays).
The fire control system (FCS) includes a modern GOD-1 Iris commander's panoramic sight system, a GOC-1 Nike stabilized 3rd generation thermal sight system combined with a laser rangefinder for the gunner and a set of all-round cameras.
Poland previously announced its plans to increase the defense budget to 4% of GDP (1st place in NATO when achieved) and carry out a rapid rearmament.