Poland’s in-development fighting vehicle carries newfound defense-export drive

KIELCE, Poland — As Poland’s defense spending has reached record levels , the country aims to increasingly shift from the role of a buyer of foreign military gear to its exporter, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister, said on the opening day of this year’s MSPO show here.

The technology demonstrator for a new heavy tracked infantry fighting vehicle, developed by Poland’s industry and presented during the event, reflects this ambition.

“Poland is becoming a country that not only buys military gear from the world, but is also its major producer,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said at the show’s opening ceremony on Sept. 8.

The deputy prime minister said the Polish defense industry can benefit from the European Union’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme. Under the instrument, Poland has been allocated up to €43.7 billion ($50.8 billion) worth of low-interest loans for military acquisitions.

“We have reached a level of fifty-fifty [between domestic military gear purchases and imports]. This would not happen without the SAFE mechanism,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

The Polish sector is dominated by state-owned defense group PGZ but also features a group of emerging private companies.

Kosiniak-Kamysz named PGZ’s new heavy tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), whose technology demonstrator was officially presented during this year’s MSPO event, as one of the examples of the Polish industry’s potential flagship export products.

“This is a modern platform, with a weight of between 40 and 43 tons, which maximizes troop protection,” a PGZ representative told Defense News. “We plan to present the vehicle’s prototype next year, and it could enter serial production in 2029.”

The heavy IFV is to be added to PGZ’s offer alongside the group’s light tracked IFV, the Borsuk (Badger) , that is already in production. To date, the Polish Ministry of National Defence has ordered 257 Borsuks from the group, with deliveries of up to 1,400 units of the platform in different variants envisioned ina 2023 framework agreement.

Military officials expect around 700 heavy IFVs could be procured for the Polish Army.

While Poland’s pro-European Union government is advancing efforts to ramp up domestic weapons, equipment and ammunition production, while also intensify cooperation with European partners, the country remains a major buyer of gear from the United States.

Over the past years, Poland has placed orders for Abrams tanks , F-35 fighter jets , AH-64E Apache helicopters , Patriot missiles and M142 HIMARS rocket launchers , among other equipment.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰凯尔采——波兰副总理兼国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡米什在今年的MSPO展会开幕当天表示，随着波兰国防开支达到创纪录的水平，该国的目标是逐渐从外国军事装备的买家角色转变为出口国角色。

波兰工业界研发的新型重型履带式步兵战车的技术演示样车，在本次活动中亮相，体现了波兰的雄心壮志。

“波兰正在成为一个不仅从世界各地购买军事装备，而且也是其主要生产国的国家，”科西尼亚克-卡米什在9月8日的展览开幕式上说道。

波兰副总理表示，波兰国防工业可以从欧盟的“欧洲安全行动”（SAFE）计划中受益。根据该计划，波兰已获得高达437亿欧元（约合508亿美元）的低息贷款，用于军事装备采购。

科西尼亚克-卡米什表示：“我们已经达到了国内军用装备采购和进口各占一半的水平。如果没有SAFE机制，这是不可能实现的。”

波兰国防领域以国有国防集团PGZ为主导，但也涌现出一批新兴的私营企业。

Kosiniak-Kamysz 将 PGZ 的新型重型履带式步兵战车 (IFV) 列为波兰工业潜在的旗舰出口产品之一，该战车的技术演示样车已在今年的 MSPO 展会上正式亮相。

“这是一个现代化的平台，重量在40到43吨之间，能够最大限度地保护部队，”PGZ公司的一位代表告诉《防务新闻》。“我们计划明年展示该车辆的原型，并有望在2029年投入批量生产。”

这款重型步兵战车将加入PGZ集团的产品线，与该集团已投入生产的轻型履带式步兵战车“獾”（Borsuk）并肩作战。迄今为止，波兰国防部已向该集团订购了257辆“獾”式步兵战车，根据2023年签署的框架协议，该平台预计将交付多达1400辆不同型号的战车。

军方官员预计波兰军队将采购约 700 辆重型步兵战车。

尽管波兰亲欧盟政府正在努力提高国内武器、装备和弹药的生产能力，并加强与欧洲伙伴的合作，但该国仍然是美国装备的主要买家。

过去几年，波兰订购了艾布拉姆斯坦克、F-35战斗机、AH-64E阿帕奇直升机、爱国者导弹和M142 HIMARS火箭发射器等装备。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。