Brig. Gen. Grzegorz Porzuski said in an interview with Defence24 that mass modernization of withdrawn BWP-1 does not make sense, but the selected pool of the most efficient hulls can be converted into remote-controlled logistics vehicles, CASEVAC evacuation vehicles and WRE carriers. The stakes are simple: less Polish soldiers within FPV drone range.
Old hull, fresh task
Brig-Gen Grzegorz Porzuski, Head of the Management Board of P5 General Staff of the HR, indicated in talk discussed by Defence24that the withdrawals of BWP-1 should not be massively upgraded as classical combat infantry wagons. That's wise. This equipment has an era in which he protected the infantry and gave it a fire of support. Today, survival, sensors, drones, communication and the velocity of decision are crucial in the battlefield.
For years Poland has utilized over a 1000 BWP-1, or vehicles originating in the russian BMP-1. Their weapons, armor, ergonomics and interior layout are obsolete. You can't pretend that the old hull will abruptly become a modern Badger. so parallel the exit of the infantry from the shadow of BWP-1 is simply a necessity, not a modernisation whim.
However, Porzuski does not propose to simply scrap the full fleet. It indicates another way: choice the most efficient copies and see if they can be converted cheaply into distant controlled vehicles. Not to charge. For dirty, risky and essential tasks.
First the life of a soldier
The most crucial point of specified an thought is practical. BWP-1 could work as an unmanned logistics support vehicle, medical evacuation CASEVAC or a carrier of dense radio-electronic combat systems. These are tasks performed close to fire, frequently in the FPV drone firing zone. If a device can be sent to specified a place alternatively of a crew, the state is obliged to consider it.
The war in Ukraine showed that a drone for respective 100 or respective 1000 dollars can halt an costly vehicle and kill an experienced crew. The Polish army must learn from this faster than bureaucracy can compose further presentations. erstwhile the Polish Army plans to Tanks and combat infantry wagons were given drones and drone systems, it is besides logical to limit the presence of people where the enemy primarily hunts people.
It's not a technological toy for effect. It's a substance of blood, money and time. all rescued driver, orderly or WRE operator is simply a real combat value that cannot be bought from a abroad perspective.
Cost must decide
The general rightly sets the condition: an analysis of the cost and effect. If upgrading an old car would cost as much as getting a newer platform with better parameters, the thought loses meaning. Poland cannot build an army on the sentiment of equipment after the Warsaw Pact. We don't spend billions to powder old technology without a military bill.
But here is the space for hard reality. Not all platform should be the latest. Not all task requires a vehicle designed from scratch. Part BWP-1 can be treated as a transitional resource: a inexpensive carrier for tasks in which the hazard of losing the device is included in the operation and the life of a soldier is more crucial than the conservational care of the hull.
The problem remains parts, failure and the difficulty of introducing wireless control to a vehicle with manual transmission. In addition, there is simply a request to safe the supply chain without dependence on Russian directions. If the components can be obtained from another sources, even from countries operating BMP derivatives, it is worth examining. If not, you should be able to say it's over.
Modernisation without illusions
The biggest mistake would be selling this thought as a way to postpone the real replacement of equipment. Poland's infantry needs fresh fighting cars, stronger protection, better situational awareness and its own manufacture capable of mass production. As with the discussion that Rosomak's successor becomes a priority, it is not a single platform, but the full logic of modernization.
BWP-1 as an unmanned carrier can only make sense as an auxiliary tool. It's expected to relieve soldiers, carry supplies, pull out wounded, carry WRE equipment, and take risks. There can be no alibi for delays in Badger or for endless analyses.
For Poland the rate is higher than the destiny of 1 old vehicle. It's about a culture of decisions in defense. Either the state can rapidly transform experience from the front into applicable solutions, or it will pay blood for another people’s lessons. In this case, General Porzuski points to a sober direction: take advantage of what you can, but without false belief that the old iron will replace the modern army.
Source: Defence24.
Source: Defence24
