The new Borsuk (Badger) amphibious armored vehicle will be the next generation of tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) of the Polish Army and could be entered in service for 2023 to replace the old BWP-1 (the Soviet-made BMP-1 produced under license in Poland) tracked infantry fighting vehicle. Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), a member of the Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, PGZ) holding, presented a prototype of the next generation swimming, infantry fighting vehicle (Nowy Bojowy Pływający Wóz Piechoty, NBPWP), which is being developed under the Borsuk programme. It is expected that Poland could acquire even several thousand of the NBPWP family of vehicles.
The Borsuk has been designed to cross all types’ water obstacles with a high level of maneuverability. It has also the capacity to be used in various terrains and in all weather conditions. The Borsuk is an amphibious tracked armored IFV that will be propelled in the water thanks to the use of water jets mounted at the rear of the chassis. The Borsuk has the capacity to carry a total of 6 military personnel including driver and commander. In the water, the vehicle is propelled by two waterjets mounted at the rear of the hull. Furthermore, the Borsuk vehicle will be characterized by its high manoeuvrability and ability to be easily transported by air or land.
The Borsuk is fitted with a Polish-made unmanned turret fully controlled and aimed by a gunner from inside of the hull. The turret is armed with a 30mm Bushmaster automatic cannon and one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun mounted to the right side of the main armament. There is four smoke grenade dischargers located to the right side at the front of the turret. The second armament of the vehicle includes two launchers for the Israeli-made anti-tank guided missile Rafael Spike mounted to the right side of the turret. The turret can be traversed through a full 360º with elevation from -9° to +60°. The cannon has a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute.
The next generation Polish IFV will provide a high level of ballistic protection for the crews and dismounted soldiers, withstanding direct shot from firearms and rocket-propelled grenades, as well as the explosion of IEDs or mines. The manufacturer intends to develop several variants of the NBPWP, from a light, swimming vehicle to a heavily armed combat platform. The construction of the Borsuk will make it possible to installation of basic firing systems with cal. 30 to 40 mm cannon integrated with PPK. The chassis of the new IFV is to be a basic element of specialised variants, such as self-propelled 120 mm mortar, command, engineering vehicles, command and control, ammunition wagons and medical vehicles etc.
