Poland’s Badger IFV Reportedly Undergoing Final Testing
During the latest parade organized for the Armed Forces Day in Warsaw, 3 Badger IFVs were showcased, presenting some novelties and upgrades made to the first prototype. In recent weeks the platform underwent the latest series of demanding trials, opening the path for the military to finally place an order for the first batch.
The Badger is planned to replace the Poland’s outdated BMP-1 fleet which has been in service for over 40 years. Unofficially called “steel coffins” and subject to various memes, BMP-1s remain the main and only tracked IFV used by the Polish Armed Forces, supplemented by wheeled KTO Rosomak/Wolverine IFVs, also awaiting modernization.
According to unofficial information obtained by Defence24, the initial talks for the procurement of 159 IFV Badger are set to begin this month. If successful, those talks could result in the first executive agreement for the delivery of modern IFVs to the Polish Armed Forces by the end of 2024. Yet the complexity of the public tender system and the Polish Armament Group’s capabilities to deliver the final product may play a key role in this endeavor.
Polish Armed Forces want to procure more than 1,000 Badger-based vehicles including IFVs, ARVs, command vehicles, and MEDEVACs. The producer has not disclosed the number of IFVs possible to manufacture within a year making it more difficult to assess delivery timeframe. In addition – the modernization of the IFV Wolverine may stretch PGZ’s ZSSW-30 Remote Turret System manufacture to the limits as both platforms demand hundreds of new turrets being produced. For now it remains to be seen if a procurement contract for Badger IFVs is finally agreed.