Borsuk IFV programme marks turning point for Poland’s armoured modernisation
The Borsuk vehicles are to replace the Soviet-designed BMP-1 as the Polish military’s main tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).
Allison Transmission 4000 Series fully automatic transmission. (Photo: Allison Transmission)
Allison Transmission revealed on 23 May that it aims to support ‘multiple customers’ in the Common Tactical Truck (CTT) programme, in which the US Army is replacing more than 7,000 heavy transport trucks with more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The work would be worth more than $150 million to Allison.
CTT will see a single platform with a common powertrain (potentially the 4000 Series fully automatic transmission), chassis and cab replace most variants in the US Army’s fleet of heavy tactical wheeled vehicles.
Prototype vehicle testing will begin in late 2023 and a contract could be awarded as soon as 2025.
Allison stated that it will support fuel efficiency targets in CTT by ‘incorporating propulsion systems equipped with FuelSense 2.0’.
This advanced set of software and electronic controls could deliver fuel savings of up to 6% ‘without sacrificing performance’, the company added.
The US Army in February 2022 released a ‘Climate Strategy’ plan in which it aims to make the transition from traditional to hybrid-drive tactical vehicles by 2035.
The Borsuk vehicles are to replace the Soviet-designed BMP-1 as the Polish military’s main tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).
The package of three standalone follow-on contracts makes this the largest contract won by the Australian company and larger than its total 2024 revenue.
Patria quotes a maximum rate of fire of eight rounds a minute from the new ARVE (ARtillery on VEhicle) self-propelled gun with a range of 40km for an assisted round. The rapid, low-risk development is designed to meet emerging requirements which have arisen out of the Ukraine war.
The termination of programmes such as JLTV and RCV has been harshly criticised by members of the US Congress.
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This recent purchase of the medium-range air defence system adds to the country’s ongoing efforts to ramp up its overall defence readiness and capabilities.