Defense

Borsuk: Poland’s Homegrown IFV That Floats

Task & Purpose
Task & Purpose•May 16, 2026

Why It Matters

Borsuk gives Poland a home‑grown, amphibious IFV that enhances mobility across its river‑laden landscape while reducing reliance on foreign suppliers, reshaping its mechanized warfare doctrine and NATO interoperability.

Key Takeaways

  • •Borsuk IFV weighs 28 tons, amphibious, remote turret.
  • •Equipped with 30mm cannon, Spike missiles, digital fire control.
  • •Designed for Poland’s riverine terrain, enabling flexible crossing points.
  • •Production contract: 111 units $6.5bn, deliveries scheduled 2025‑2029.
  • •Modular platform supports command, recovery, medical, and mortar variants.

Summary

Poland has begun fielding the Borsuk, a domestically‑produced infantry fighting vehicle that trades the heavy armor of many Western designs for a lighter, amphibious platform. Weighing about 28 metric tons, the tracked IFV carries a three‑person crew, six dismounts, and a remote‑controlled ZSSW30 turret armed with a 30 mm Bushmaster II cannon, a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and twin Spike anti‑tank guided missiles. Its digital fire‑control suite, thermal sights and modular armor give it modern battlefield awareness while its 720 hp engine enables road speeds of 65 km/h and water speeds of 8 km/h, allowing it to cross Poland’s many rivers and wetlands without bridges.

The Borsuk’s design reflects Poland’s geography and strategic concerns. With the Vistula, Bug and Narew rivers criss‑crossing the country, an amphibious IFV offers commanders the ability to bypass destroyed bridges and avoid predictable crossing points that enemy drones and artillery would target. The platform is deliberately modular: variants for command‑reconnaissance, armored recovery, medical evacuation, engineering and a 120 mm mortar carrier are planned, creating a family of vehicles that can sustain mechanized formations in diverse environments.

Poland’s defense ministry has already committed to a sizable procurement. A March 2025 execution contract for 111 Borsuk IFVs, valued at roughly $6.5 billion PLN, will see deliveries through 2029, with the first 15 units handed to the 15th Mechanized Brigade in late 2025 and live‑fire trials completed by early 2026. Negotiations for a second batch of about 146 vehicles are underway, pushing the total planned fleet toward the 1,400‑vehicle family target. The program underscores Poland’s push for indigenous capability amid a broader influx of foreign systems such as Abrams tanks and K9 howitzers.

The Borsuk illustrates a trade‑off between protection and mobility. While its STANAG 4 frontal armor resists 14.5 mm rounds, it is lighter than the 40‑tonne Western IFVs that prioritize heavy armor and larger guns. For Poland, the amphibious advantage and domestic production control outweigh the reduced survivability in high‑intensity combat, especially for units operating in river‑rich terrain where rapid maneuver can be decisive.

Original Description

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Poland’s new Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle is one of the more interesting armored vehicles entering service in NATO. It is designed to replace the country’s aging BWP-1 fleet with a modern tracked IFV armed with a 30mm Bushmaster cannon, Spike anti-tank missiles, thermal sights, digital systems, modular armor, and an unmanned turret.
Some are surprised to learn that the Borsuk can swim. While many modern infantry fighting vehicles like Rheinmetall’s Lynx, Hanwha’s Redback, and the U.S. Army’s future XM30 are moving toward heavier armor and more weight, Poland’s Borsuk stays lighter so it can cross rivers and wide water obstacles. That matters for a country shaped by the Vistula, Bug, Narew, and Oder rivers, and sitting on NATO’s eastern flank near Russia and Belarus.
In this video, we look at what the Borsuk IFV is, why Poland built a homegrown infantry fighting vehicle, how its weapons and sensors compare to other modern IFVs, and whether trading armor for amphibious mobility still makes sense after the war in Ukraine. We also look at Poland’s first Borsuk production contract, the first vehicles delivered to the Polish Army, and the larger plan to build a whole family of Borsuk-based vehicles for command, reconnaissance, recovery, medical evacuation, engineering, CBRN, and mortar carrier roles.
00:00 - Intro
01:26 - Ad
02:54 - Specs on the Borsuk
07:50 - Why Borsuk is amphibious
09:57 - Borsuk’s armor
13:05 - How does Borsuk stack up against other IFVs
15:11 - Which units have the Borsuk now
19:54 - Channel updates
Recorded on: May 8th, 2026
Written by: Kyle Gunn
Edited by: Savvy
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