Poland signs $1.7 billion deal for infantry fighting vehicles

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish Ministry of National Defence has signed a deal worth some PLN 6.57 billion ($1.7 billion) to acquire 111 Borsuk (Badger) tracked infantry fighting vehicles from the country’s state-run defense group PGZ.

“We are delivering on our promise to invest in the Polish defense industry,” Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s deputy prime minister and defense minister, was quoted in a statement released by his agency.

“Security and the economy, these two things are combined within the Borsuk. Security, because we gain excellent equipment developed in Poland, and the economy, because all this money goes to Polish defense companies,” according to Kosiniak-Kamysz.

Under the plan, the Borsuk will replace the Soviet-designed BWP-1 vehicle as the Polish military’s tracked IFV. The March 27 contract marks the first executive deal to be signed within a 2023 framework contract for a total of 1,400 Borsuks and accompanying vehicles.

Under the deal, the 111 ordered vehicles are to be supplied to the Polish land forces in the years 2025 to 2029.

The Borsuk, which has amphibious technology, is fitted with the ZSSW-30 remote-controlled turret. The vehicle is manned by a crew of three, and it can carry six troops.

Work on developing the Borsuk was initiated in 2014 by local company Huta Stalowa Wola, currently a PGZ subsidiary, which is part of the consortium that will produce the vehicles for the Polish Army.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰国防部签署了一项价值约 65.7 亿波兰兹罗提（17 亿美元）的协议，从该国国有国防集团 PGZ 购买 111 辆 Borsuk（獾）履带式步兵战车。

波兰副总理兼国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什在其机构发布的一份声明中表示：“我们正在履行对波兰国防工业进行投资的承诺。”

科西尼亚克-卡米什表示：“安全和经济，这两件事在博尔苏克计划中结合在一起。安全方面，因为我们获得了波兰开发的优秀装备；经济方面，因为所有这些资金都流向了波兰国防企业。”

根据该计划，博尔苏克步兵战车将取代苏联设计的BWP-1步兵战车，成为波兰军队的履带式步兵战车。3月27日签署的这份合同是2023年框架合同下的首份执行协议，该框架合同共包含1400辆博尔苏克步兵战车及配套车辆。

根据协议，订购的 111 辆车辆将于 2025 年至 2029 年期间交付给波兰陆军。

“博尔苏克”两栖装甲车配备了ZSSW-30型遥控炮塔，乘员3人，可搭载6名士兵。

Borsuk 的研发工作始于 2014 年，由当地公司 Huta Stalowa Wola 发起，该公司目前是 PGZ 的子公司，也是将为波兰军队生产车辆的财团成员之一。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。