Poland has announced it will soon sign the contract to acquire Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles for the armed forces.
The potential sale will distribute approximately 1,400 of the systems, each to carry a pair of Spike long-range anti-tank guided missiles developed by Israeli firm Rafael.
Polish Defense Minister Paweł Bejda confirmed the plan in an interview with Warsaw-based news agency Defence24, saying that the agreement will “be signed not within months or weeks, but within days.”
Soviet Infantry Fighting Vehicle Replacement
Poland’s state-run defense industry began the development of the Borsuk vehicle in 2014 to replace the armed forces’ Soviet-era BWP-1 infantry fighting vehicles with a new combat system.
Multiple prototypes of the Borsuk were unveiled in 2017 and 2018. Four years later, the Polish military accepted a finalized demonstrator for operational trials.
In 2023, Warsaw announced it would buy 1,000 of the systems and 400 support vehicles based on the same chassis.
The following year, Polish industry exhibited the Borsuk outside of Poland for the first time, with the vehicle featuring the Israeli Spike missiles.
The Polish Badger System
The Borsuk, meaning “Badger,” is a 28-tonne (61,729-pound) platform with a length of 8 meters (26 feet).
It is operated by a three-man crew and can transport up to six soldiers.
Armaments include a 30-millimeter remote-controlled turret with a Bushmaster II autocannon and two missile launchers, as well as a 7.62-millimeter general-purpose machine gun.
It is powered by a 720-horsepower MTU turbo diesel engine and an Allison 3040 MX transmission for a speed of 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour and a range of 550 kilometers (342 miles).