The Poles wanted two different types of infantry fighting vehicles at once.
The Polish military is seriously considering acquiring two types of infantry fighting vehicles. The first is the Borsuk light amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, and the second is the Ratel (Honey Badger) heavy vehicle, developed under the Ciężki Bojowy Wóz Piechoty (CBWP) program.
Instead of an introduction
Perhaps we should begin with some background, which can be summarized in a few brief paragraphs. Poland, once a Warsaw Pact member, inherited a significant number of Soviet BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-2s, too, but far fewer than a hundred) after gaining independence and the collapse of the USSR. These vehicles were used for a long time.
However, it's clear that these obsolete vehicles have no prospects for modernization, maintaining combat effectiveness at the required level, or simply for their service life. Therefore, the Poles initiated a program to develop a replacement for these old vehicles, which resulted in the development of the Borsuk IFV—currently in production, and about 15 units have already been delivered to the troops.
Borsuk BMP prototype. 2022
It was packed with everything that global tank design allowed and allows: an unmanned turret with a 30mm Bushmaster II automatic cannon, top-of-the-line sights, communications equipment, modular armor, a powerful 720-horsepower MTU engine with an Allison transmission, and so on. At the same time, it was given buoyancy, while its weight remained at 28 tons.
Naturally, with such weight restrictions, it is impossible to provide powerful armor for the sake of buoyancy and high mobility, so the Borsuk has STANAG level 4 armor, meaning the vehicle can withstand a maximum of 14,5 mm machine gun fire from the front.
Given this situation, the Poles decided to supplement the Borsuk with a second IFV—this one heavier and more armored. It was developed under the Ciężki Bojowy Wóz Piechoty (CBWP) program, and its prototype, produced by Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), part of the Polish Group of Companies (Polskiej Grupy Zbrojeniowej), was recently unveiled at the MSPO defense exhibition in Kielce, Poland.
Ratel
The prototype of a heavy infantry fighting vehicle, called the Ratel ("Honey Badger"), created using elements and technologies from the Polish self-propelled gun "Crab", turned out to be truly heavy - the manufacturer claims that the vehicle weighs just over 40 tons - this is already more than the weight of a T-64B.
But some analytical portals, including Ukrainian ones, make much bolder predictions, in which the mass of the Honey Badger can reach 42 tons with full armor, which puts the vehicle on par with such heavyweights (not made on tank chassis), like the German IFV "Puma".
They even fitted it with a matching engine—a German MTU 800-kilowatt (just over 1000 hp) with an Allison automatic transmission. In this configuration, the powertrain allows the Honey Badger to reach speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour on highways or more or less firm ground, and its cruising range is approximately 500 kilometers.
Now, about the remaining specifications. The developers haven't disclosed them in full, but some information is already available.
Crew and landing party
Unlike the Americans, who have already received the first prototypes of their future XM30 IFV, the Poles haven't experimented with the crew. They have a classic setup: a commander, a gunner, and a driver. However, some sources indicate that in the future, reducing the crew to two may still be possible through partial robotization of the vehicle and the use of artificial intelligence.
Regarding the troop capacity, the initial technical requirements for the vehicle included two configurations: 6 and 8. Which version the Poles will ultimately choose remains to be seen, although it's likely the vehicle with an eight-person troop compartment will be put into production. After all, the BMP-1's operational experience is still intact, even though the Borsuk is only designed for six troops.
Armament and turret
The main armament of the heavy infantry fighting vehicle is the ZSSW-30 remotely controlled module (turret), already used on the Rosomak wheeled armored personnel carriers and the Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle. The ZSSW-30 turret is a Polish development by HSW and WB Electronics, and is armed with a 30mm Mk 44/S Bushmaster II automatic cannon, configurable for 40mm, a coaxial machine gun, and a dual anti-tank missile launcher. missiles Spike‑LR.
The ZSSW-30 turret on the Medoyed has several significant advantages. Firstly, it provides weaponry commonality with the Borsuk and Rosomak turrets, simplifying logistics, crew training, and operation. Secondly, the 30/40mm cannon with modern ammunition allows the heavy IFV to effectively engage a wide range of targets – from light vehicles and fortifications to enemy infantry fighting vehicles – and the ability to increase the caliber to 40mm further expands its potential against armored vehicles and low-altitude air targets.
Thirdly, the integration of the Spike-LR anti-tank missile system gives the Honey Badger the ability to engage tanks and other heavy targets at distances of up to several kilometers, using optical-electronic guidance and a fire-and-forget mode.
Armor and mine protection
The Honey Badger's armor is apparently planned to be modular. When fully equipped, it will comply with STANAG 4569 Level 6. This means the vehicle will be able to withstand frontal fire from a 30mm automatic cannon (30x173mm) with armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) from at least 500 meters away.
The vehicle's sides will be able to withstand large, lethal fragments from large-caliber artillery shells at a distance of ten meters from the blast. Heavy machine guns such as 12,7mm and 14,5mm will also not penetrate the sides. Furthermore, the Honey Badger may be equipped with explosive reactive armor, which will provide protection against grenades such as the PG-7.
In addition, the IFV will optionally be equipped with active protection and optical-electronic countermeasure systems.
The Poles report that the Honey Badger's mine protection will be quite good. They immediately stated that it will exceed STANAG 4569 Level 4, which, in its most advanced version, already provides protection against mines and improvised explosive devices with explosive payloads up to 10 kg.
Of course, it's not as if the Honey Badger would run into such a mine and not even notice. It would definitely lose propulsion, but everyone in the crew compartments would remain alive and even more or less unharmed. This is planned to be achieved through a reinforced underbody and the use of energy-absorbing seats for the crew and troops.
Sights, communication and observation equipment
This section is perhaps the least interesting, as the Poles don't provide any meaningful information about the electronics, including sights, communications equipment, and so on. There are only stock phrases.
They claim that the Honey Badger will receive the most modern thermal imaging sights, allowing it to observe the battlefield and engage targets at any time of day and in almost any weather, excluding those days (and nights) when there is impenetrable fog, very heavy rain or snow.
The vehicle will be equipped with an automated fire control system. It will also be given all-round visibility via cameras, and communications equipment will be installed that will integrate it into a unified information space from the tactical level upwards. In other words, it will provide everything that is being touted on every page when describing new Western military equipment.
Conclusions
Overall, the Poles were, to some extent, correct in their decision to field two different classes of IFVs. After all, their Borsuk essentially replicates the design of Soviet vehicles, designed for high mobility, including the ability to swim across water obstacles. And there's not much room for improvement in protection there.
In this regard, the Honey Badger looks like a very interesting alternative—where buoyancy isn't needed, armor will play a role. It's not tank-like, of course, like something like the T-15 Armata, but it's quite decent when combined with active protection and an optical-electronic countermeasure system.
The only question is how serious the problems the Poles will face in terms of logistics, material and technical support, and organizational structure, having two IFVs that are similar in some respects, but still different.
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