Image Source: Photo: Courage 2004
For the first time in many years, the Polish industry was able to bring to mass production a model of military equipment developed in this country. We are talking about the Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle, the contract for the supply of which was signed on Tuesday this week.According to "RG: Russian weapons", a total of 1,000 units are expected to be received.
Plus four hundred more machines made on the same platform, such as reconnaissance ZUK, command and staff Oset, Gekon technical support, etc. The first deliveries will begin next year. [...]
The project itself started ten years ago. Borsuk will replace the old Soviet BMP-1 delivered in the 70-80 years, which received the local designation BWP-1. There are now more than 1,200 of them in the troops.
When creating the novelty, various foreign components were used, such as the 720-horsepower MTU 8V199TE20 diesel engine, the Perkins X300 automatic transmission, the Bushmaster II Mk 44S 30 mm automatic cannon, the Rafael Spike-LR anti-tank missile system, etc.
The combat weight is 28,000 kg, the crew is three, and the landing party is six people. The maximum speed on the highway is 65 km/ h, afloat - 8 km/ h. The fuel reserve is 550 km. The armament is located in a remote-controlled combat module. The commander and gunner have multi-channel sights.
Such infantry fighting vehicles will be delivered to formations armed with the main K2 Black Panther battle tanks of South Korean production.
This is not the first attempt to create its own BMP in Poland. For example, back in the 90s, a sample of the 29-ton BWP-2000 was designed on the basis of an experienced tracked minelayer SUM-Kalina. It was supposed to use an Italian turret with a 60-mm rapid-firing cannon, a 7.62-mm twin machine gun, as well as two launchers of American BGM-71 TOW ATGM. However, it ended up with only two demonstration samples.
