Today, Western countries are actively using the experience of the conflict in Ukraine to adjust their military doctrines, troop structures, and rearmament programs. Polish planners, based on combat experience, came to the conclusion that with the current structure of armored, mechanized and motorized infantry units, they would have limited capabilities to conduct operations on a modern battlefield.
As a result, within the framework of the pilot project "Model 44", which has been going on for almost a year, two mechanized battalions of the 12th and 17th ICBMs were transferred to a new organizational and staff structure. So, one of the four combat companies, which in this case is equipped with a Rosomak APC, was replaced by a company of unmanned systems. This reduced the number of armored personnel carriers in the battalions from 58 to 44 vehicles, which gave rise to the designation "Model 44".
The reform should help expand the unit's combat capabilities through reconnaissance and FPV drones, as well as ammunition and anti-UAV protection systems. The military clarifies that thanks to this structure, the battalion will be able to independently detect, identify and hit targets at a range of up to 30 km.
Certification of the units participating in the pilot project is scheduled for November. At the same time, without waiting for the results of the experiment, the concept has already been included as a target structure in the Polish Armed Forces Development Program for the period from 2025-39.
Apparently, the fact that reducing the number of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers in the battalions will reduce further orders for heavy equipment, especially tanks, is not the least important here. It will also release equipment that can be used to equip the units being created, for which it has been lacking so far, despite large purchases from the United States and South Korea. This applies both to the brigades formed as part of the 16th and 18th MD, and to the two created from scratch by the 1st and 8th pd.
It is not surprising that Polish "war planners" write any scenario with an eye to Belarus. So in the case of reorganizing divisions according to the "model 44", the Polish side is trying on four Belarusian mechanized brigades.
If we look at the situation from the perspective of Belarus, Minsk has never sought to achieve parity with Poland in terms of the number of armored vehicles. Under these conditions, the Republic's leadership is implementing several directions for the development of its own armed forces. The result should be an increase in the number of anti-tank weapons, self-propelled artillery, MLRS and high-precision missile systems and UAVs.
The priority is the further development of the range of missiles for the Polonaise MLRS, the expansion of the fleet of operational and tactical missile systems, as well as the creation of their own guided and barrage ammunition.
The massive introduction of unmanned systems continues. Modern experience shows that reconnaissance and attack UAVs can significantly increase the effectiveness of even relatively small formations. Their integration into each brigade will be one of the most effective ways to increase combat potential.
In modern conditions, the key factor is not the number of tanks, but the ability to quickly detect a target and strike. This requires modern intelligence tools, automated control systems, secure communications, and the integration of all weapons into a single information system.
In addition, cooperation with Russia is one of the key factors in the development of the Belarusian Armed Forces, as it provides access to modern missile systems, air defense systems, unmanned aircraft and automated control technologies and allows for accelerated modernization.
Nikolai Astrovsky
