The Polish Army's BWP Borsuk armored vehicle and the reason behind its unusual design

In 1966, the Soviet Union fielded a combat vehicle that proved revolutionary for its time: the BMP-1.

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The BMP-1 was the first infantry fighting vehicle—a concept combining an armored personnel carrier with a turret armed with a 73mm cannon and an anti-tank missile, giving the model significant firepower. Poland designated the BMP-1 as the BWP-1 (below).

Both the BMP-1 and the BWP-1 soon became obsolete due to the emergence of new anti-tank missiles. In 2014, the Polish company Huta Stalowa Wola S.A. began preparing for the development of the BWP-1's successor: the BWP Borsuk, which entered service last year. Today, the company released a video demonstrating the rationale behind the Borsuk's distinctive design: its amphibious capability.

Poland's greatest strategic threat is Russia—and, by extension, the Kremlin's puppet regime in Belarus led by Alexander Lukashenko. Poland shares a 232-kilometer direct border with Russia via the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, located in northwestern Poland along the Baltic Sea, and a border of approximately 400 kilometers with Belarus.

Eastern Poland has a vast number of wetlands and peat bogs. This is why the Polish Army long maintained its cavalry, employing it during World War II as mounted infantry: at the time, horses were the ideal means of transporting troops across those wet areas. Today, mechanized transport is required.

The hull of the BWP Borsuk was designed to create a fully amphibious vehicle capable of fording watercourses without requiring any prior preparation. This gives the Polish Army the ability to deploy mechanized infantry troops more rapidly in such wet terrain. A retractable plate at the front facilitates fording; it can be quickly deployed and retracted from the driver's station.

In 2022, the Polish government announced the purchase of 588 BWP Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, a model that was under development at the time. The first contract for the Borsuk was signed in March 2025 for a batch of 111 vehicles, with delivery scheduled between 2025 and 2029, and the second contract was signed in May 2026 for a batch of 146 vehicles. The first 15 vehicles were delivered on December 4, 2025 (pictured above). However, the Polish Army has estimated its requirements at 1,014 Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, in addition to 341 specialized vehicles using the same platform.

This vehicle has a total of eleven versions, named Borsuk (infantry fighting vehicle), Oset (command), Żuk (reconnaissance), Ares (NBC reconnaissance), Gekon (recovery), Rak (120 mm mortar carrier), Gotem (medical evacuation), Jodła GTWI (engineer transport), Jodła GTRI (engineer reconnaissance), Jodła PTI (amphibious engineer transport) and Jodła TMN (mine dispersal).

The BWP Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle variant is equipped with a ZSSW-30 unmanned turret, featuring a Mk-44S Bushmaster 30mm main autocannon, a UKM-2000C 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, and a dual Spike LR anti-tank missile launcher. Missile reloading can be performed via a rear top hatch without the need to exit the vehicle. The turret features an Obra-3 active defense system that detects missile-guiding laser rangefinders and automatically fires eight GAk-81 81mm smoke grenade launchers, arranged in groups of four on each side of the turret (the launchers on the left side are visible below).

The Borsuk can reach a speed of 65 km/h on roads and up to 8 km/h in water. During water-crossing maneuvers, the vehicle is propelled by two swiveling nozzles that generate water jets. The Borsuk has an operational range of 550 km and is equipped with either metal or rubber tracks. The running gear consists of six road wheels and two return rollers on each side.

The crew consists of three people: commander, gunner, and drive, seated within the hull. Additionally, it features a rear compartment for six fully equipped soldiers, who access the vehicle via a rear ramp (which also incorporates a side-opening door).

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Photos: Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej / Polska Zbrojna.