The soldiers of the 15th Mechanized Brigade in Giżycko are the first users of Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles in the Polish Armed Forces.
Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) had announced that the first deliveries of Borsuk IFVs to the 15th Mechanized Brigade would take place in December 2025, several weeks after another group of crews from the said brigade had finished training organized at the producer’s headquarters and the nearby Land Forces Training Center in Nowa Dęba. Several dozen soldiers trained there for six weeks at the turn of October and November. First, they learned theory, got familiar with the way individual systems worked and memorized the rules of safe operation. “The next phase was putting everything in practice, that is driving in rough terrain and shooting from onboard weapons – during the day and at night, while standing, while driving, and during short stops,” says Lt Aleksandra Łaba, Commander of the 3rd Mechanized Company of the 15th Mechanized Brigade. Her unit is one of the first that will serve aboard Borsuk IFVs.
Tested in Practice
The fact that the new amphibious infantry fighting vehicles would first be delivered to Mazury had been known for a long time. The soldiers from the 15th Mechanized Brigade took part not only in trainings, but also in tests and training ground trials in their own backyard. Borsuk was already tested by its future operators two years ago at the training ground in Orzysz. At the time, it was assumed that the vehicles would be delivered to the brigade at the beginning of 2024. Ultimately, the process took longer, but the extended waiting time was not wasted, as HSW collected feedback from the soldiers and implemented necessary modifications. The users checked in practice not only the functioning of main systems and armament, but also the ergonomics and the usability of seemingly minor elements that are of great importance to soldiers during combat.
“One of the observations we shared with the producer concerned the paint that covered the ramp. After rainfall or snowfall, the ramp would get really slippery and a lot of soldiers slipped on it,” says WO Piotr Krauz from the 15th Mechanized Brigade. After hearing this remark, the producer covered the ramp and the inside of the vehicle with a special anti-slip mat, which solved the issue. Another modification introduced at the request of users concerned the mounting of personal weapons in the troop compartment. “When taking their seats in the vehicle, soldiers place their rifles in special holders for the time of the drive. Originally, the holders had straps with Velcro, which would surely lose its functionality after some time. After our remarks, this has also been modified,” says WO Piotr Krauz, emphasizing their close cooperation with HSW in designing such elements. Serial Borsuk vehicles do not differ from the ones tested in Orzysz as regards their mechanics, but more of such seemingly minor changes have been successfully introduced.
Into the 21st Century
Borsuk is a vehicle designed to transport and protect a three-person crew (crew commander, driver, gunner) and six infantry troops against small arms fire, anti-tank grenades, and IEDs. The new IFV has been equipped with the ZSSW-30 remotely controlled turret system, developed by HSW and WB Electronics. The turret is fitted with a 30-mm Bushmaster II Mk 44S autocannon, a 7.62-mm UKM-2000C machine gun and a Spike LR anti-tank guided missile launcher. The ZSSW-30 turret allows the commander and the gunner to independently detect, pinpoint and destroy targets. Also, each of them can independently take control of the armament. The turret has been equipped with, among other things, an OBRA-3 SSP-1 laser warning system, integrated with eight smoke grenade launchers, and a Fonet internal communication system.
In combination with the capabilities of the vehicle itself, this provides an entirely new level of quality for mechanized infantry units, which are still using BWP-1 vehicles in the Polish Armed Forces. The Soviet design (BMP-1) on which the Polish BWP is based, set new standards in battlefield operations in the 1960s, but today it is more suitable as a museum exhibit. “The armor of BWP-1 can be penetrated with a 7.62-mm bullet and destroyed with virtually any type of mine. Borsuk provides the crew with a greater level of protection, but above all situational awareness on a whole new level,” says Maj Andrzej Seweryniak, commander of the 1st Mechanized Battalion of the 15th Mechanized Brigade.
“Switching from BWP-1 to Borsuk enables us to enter the world of digital battlefield management. The new vehicle has a digital map displaying the positions of other vehicles, we can manage the battlefield at the platoon and company commander level, sending voice messages and data packages using satellite communications, or call in artillery using the Call for Fire procedure,” enumerates Maj Andrzej Seweryniak. He also points to the crew’s increased observational capabilities. Thanks to cameras, the soldiers know what is happening around the vehicle. There are also screens in the troop compartment, allowing the team commander to assess the situation before the soldiers leave the vehicle.
Maj Andrzej Seweryniak, who accompanied his soldiers during the field tests in Nowa Dęba, also praises Borsuk’s armament. “Contrary to BWP-1, Borsuk is an equal opponent to any other IFV. The 30-mm rapid-fire cannon may not be able to penetrate all types of armor, but it can certainly neutralize a tank by destroying its observation devices, barrel, or machine gun mount,” he says.
Perfectly Adapted to the Terrain
When the development of a new IFV for the Polish Armed Forces was initiated in 2014, the plan from the very beginning was to design a vehicle that would be integrated with network-centric systems, fitted with specialized armor and a modern turret, but also one that would be capable of crossing wide water obstacles. This characteristic is crucial for soldiers stationed in Mazury – the land of a thousand lakes, as is the fact that the tracked vehicle will be able to follow tanks in any terrain. In some situations it may be replaced by wheeled Rosomaks, which nevertheless will not be able to handle every obstacle as well as the tracked Borsuk and have weaker armor.
In the future, heavy infantry fighting vehicles (HIFVs) will provide Polish soldiers with an even higher level of protection. HSW presented a model of such a vehicle – CBWP Ratel, at this year’s International Defense Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce. The prototype is to be ready for tests before the end of 2026, and serial production will begin much quicker than in the case of Borsuk, as HSW will use the experience and solutions developed earlier for the lighter IFV.
“HIFVs will operate in slightly different terrain than Borsuk, which is designed to be used in terrain characteristic of the Suwałki Gap (Przesmyk Suwalski), full of rivers and lakes that can be crossed in Borsuk without any preparation. HIFVs will perform better in the Białystok Gate (Brama Białostocka), where Abrams tanks will also operate. The terrain there is more even, less marshy,” says Maj Andrzej Seweryniak. In such conditions, heavier equipment with stronger armor, like HIFV and Abrams, is more suitable than the duo of Borsuk IFVs and K2 Black Panther tanks, with which the 15th Mechanized Brigade battalions have been rearmed for some time now.
Future Needs
The delivery of new IFVs to the brigade in Giżycko is a true breakthrough, but at the same time only the first of many steps. Apart from more Borsuks, the 15th Mechanized Brigade will need specialized vehicles on a universal modular tracked platform (UMTP), which are included in the 2023 framework agreement. The document assumes that the Polish Armed Forces will acquire a total of around 1,400 vehicles – mainly Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, but also Żuk tracked reconnaissance transporters, Oset tracked command vehicles, Ares NBC reconnaissance vehicles, Gekon armored recovery vehicles and Gotem medical evacuation vehicles.
The last two are particularly important. On the battlefield, Gotem will follow Borsuk to places where Rosomak MEDEVAC will not be able to go. The situation is similar with Gekon, since vehicles such as Rosomak TRV cannot handle towing the 28-ton Borsuk. On the other hand, the WZT-2 armored recovery vehicle, which is powerful enough, does not have an appropriate adapter for towing Borsuk, as pointed out by the commander of the 1st Mechanized Battalion.
When will these vehicles be built? At the time being, HSW is still in the design phase. The first executive agreement, signed by the Armament Agency and the PGZ/HSW consortium in March 2025, provides for the delivery of 111 Brosuk IFVs between 2025 and 2029, along with crew trainings, logistics packages, etc. Before the end of the year, the 15th Mechanized Brigade will receive over a dozen Borsuk vehicles, and more deliveries are planned for next year. The end of the era of Soviet IFVs in the Polish Armed Forces will not happen overnight, but having Borsuk IFVs in the arsenal of the 15th Mechanized Brigade is the long-awaited beginning of changes that will provide the Polish infantry with entirely new capabilities.
