Polish Borsuk Amphibious IFV

Poland’s new home-grown Borsuk (Badger) Amphibious IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) made is foreign début at Eurosatory 2024 in mid-June.

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First revealed to the NATO eFP (enhanced Forward Presence) Battle Group Poland at Bemowo Piskie in mid-November 2022, the Polish Borsuk (Badger) AIFV (Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle) was unveiled outside Poland for the first time at Eurosatory 2024 in mid-June, where Carl Schulze was able to photograph it for JOINT-FORCES.

The result of a 2014 national programme to replace the then 40 year old BWP-1 tracked infantry fighting vehicle, a Polish-built derivative of the Soviet BMP-1, the Borsuk is designed and produced by a consortium led by HSW S.A. (Huta Stalowa Wola or Stalowa Wola Steelworks). An initial prototype was unveiled at MSPO 2017 and refined over the next three years leading to successful trials in 2020 after which four more prototypes were ordered; in February 2022 a contract for total of 1,000 IFVs plus 400 variants was announced.

Tipping the scales at around 28 tonnes in basic configuration, Borsuk has a battle weight of around 40 tonnes when fully kitted out and fitted with appliqué armour. Amphibious and powered by a 720hp turbo diesel engine, which gives a road speed of 65km/h and water barrier crossing speed of 8km/h, Borsuk has a crew of three and can transport an infantry squad of six along with their weapons and kit. Main armament is a 30mm Bushmaster II cannon in a ZSSW-30 turret supported by two Spike-LR anti-armour missile launchers plus a 7.62mm UKM-2000C coaxial machine gun.

The first formation to begin re-equipping with the Borsuk was 16. Pomorska Dywizja Piechoty (16th Pomeranian Mechanised Division) based in north-east Poland close to both the Kaliningrad Oblast Russian exclave and the vulnerable Suwalki corridor linking the Baltic States with the rest of NATO.

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