Borsuk IFV Deal Conclusion Closer

„I can confirm that an interesting offer has been submitted to the Armament Agency and is now being thoroughly analyzed internally,” said Lt. Col. Grzegorz Polak, spokesperson for the Armament Agency, sharing this information with Defence24.pl when asked whether an offer for new infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) had been received. Earlier, Deputy Minister of National Defence Paweł Bejda had announced that the offer was expected to be submitted by February 10.

Unofficially, it is assumed that the offer will now be assessed in terms of price, schedule, and compliance with requirements, with details still subject to negotiation. If the proposal is accepted by the Armament Agency, it must undergo review by the General Prosecutor’s Office before it can be signed. According to previous unconfirmed reports, the contract may cover at least two battalions, meaning at least 116 vehicles. Over time, provided the manufacturer secures sufficient production capacity, additional batches of IFVs and accompanying vehicles will be ordered.

Originally, the first executive contract for the Borsuk IFV was expected to be signed in 2024, but the Ministry of National Defense deemed the proposed price too high. However, by the end of 2024, several other large contracts worth over 20 billion PLN were signed with HSW, including agreements for Krab howitzers and support vehicles for squadron-level fire modules of K9 howitzers, support vehicles for Langusta rocket artillery battalions, and Rosomak-L vehicles equipped with ZSSW-30 turrets. These deals may have improved HSW’s financial situation, alleviating concerns that it would lack the funds to expand its production capacity, which had been one of the key reasons behind the initially high price proposal for the Borsuk batch.

On February 28, 2023, the Armament Agency, the Polish Armaments Group, and Huta Stalowa Wola signed a framework agreement for the delivery of approximately 1,400 vehicles based on the UMPG vehicle \[Universal Modular Tracked Platform\]. Of these, 1,014 are to be built as infantry fighting vehicles, with over 300 in specialized variants. The number of IFVs will allow the armament of 17 mechanized battalions, with additional vehicles allocated for training and reserves. The new IFVs will replace the outdated BWP-1s, which have served in the Polish Armed Forces since 1973 with minimal modernization. Additionally, up to 400 of these old vehicles have been donated to Ukraine as part of military aid.

The new Borsuk Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle was developed as part of a project launched in 2014 by the National Centre for Research and Development, led by Huta Stalowa Wola. The vehicle carries a crew of three and six dismounted soldiers. It is armed with the ZSSW-30 turret, developed by HSW and WB Electronics, featuring a 30x173 mm Bushmaster II Mk-44/S cannon capable of firing programmable ammunition, a coaxial machine gun, and a twin Spike-LR anti-tank guided missile launcher. The combat-ready weight is 28 tonnes. The Borsuk IFV is powered by a powerpack developed at WZM-Poznan, featuring the 720 HP MTU 8V 199 TE20 diesel engine, allowing the platform to attain top speed of up to 65 kph on hardened surfaces.