The Polish Armament Group (PGZ) has published a picture on its Twitter account showcasing the Borsuk (Badger in English), the new tracked armored IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) for the Polish army fitted with the ZSSW 30mm unmanned weapon station armed with one 30 mm Bushmaster Mk 44 automatic cannon.
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Polish-made Borsuk tracked armored IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle fitted with the ZSSW 30mm unmanned weapon station. (Picture source PGZ)
The Borsuk is a new generation of tracked armored IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) fully developed and designed in Poland by a consortium of Polish companies led by Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), a subsidiary of Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, PGZ).
The Borsuk project was launched by the Polish defense industry as part of a request from the Polish army for the replacement of the fleet of BWP-1, a Polish version of the Soviet-made BMP-1 produced under license in Poland.
In October 2020, Army Recognition reported that the Polish defense industry conducted field and firing tests in September 2020 with the new Polish-made Borsuk tracked armored amphibious IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) fitted with a 30mm cannon turret. In November 2020, the President of the Polish Company Huta Stalowa Wola SA (HSW) announced that the first Borsuk IFV could enter in service with the Polish army in 2023.
The development of the Borsuk by the Polish company HSW started in 2014 and the first version of the Borsuk IFV was unveiled in September 2017 during MSPO, International Defense Exhibition in Poland. in September 2018, a prototype of the Borsuk fitted with a remotely operated weapon station ZSSW-30 was displayed during the MSPO defense exhibition in Kielce, Poland.
In September 2020 the prototypes of Borsuk BWP began their first fire, endurance, and technical tests at the military training grounds in Drawsko Pomorskie and HSW plans to deliver the first serial production of the vehicle in 2023/2024.
The Borsuk layout is divided in three main parts with driver position at the front left side of the hull with the powerpack on its right, a turret mounted in the middle of the top hull, and a troops compartment at the rear. The vehicle is fully amphibious and propelled in the water thanks to the use of water jets mounted at the rear of the chassis.
The Borsuk has a crew of three including a driver, commander and gunner, and will have the capacity to carry a total of up to 8 military personnel. The design of the Borsuk is based on a modular armor that can be configured according to mission requirements. In standard configuration, the hull and the turret provide protection against the firing of small, artillery shell splinters and mine blasts of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
In the IFV version, the Borsuk is fitted with the unmanned weapon station ZSSW-30 developed by a consortium led by HSW, with support provided by WB Electronics. The turret features a 30 mm Bushmaster Mk 44/S gun that can shoot ABM ammunition and be converted to a 40 mm caliber. It is also armed with a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and dual Spike ATGM launcher. The turret also features an advanced fire control system with an auto tracker, and two optronic systems for the gunner, and the commander (hunter-killer/killer-killer solution).
The Borsuk is powered by by a MTU 8V199 TE20 diesel engine developing 8720 hp locally developed by the company Wojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne. The suspension of the Borsuk consists on either side of six road wheels with a drive sprocket at the front and an idler at the rear. It features a composite rubber track system supplied by the Canadian company Soucy Defense. It can run at a maximum road speed of 70 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 600 km.
