During the MSPO 2026 defence showcase in Kielce, Poland, held from 8-11 September, Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) and Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) have unveiled their demonstrator for the Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle (HIFV) requirement expressed by Poland’s Army.

This follows the unveiling just at last year’s edition of the show, of a 1:4 scale model. At the time, the project arrangement was described as a PGZ supervision, with HSW responsible for the design of the new tracked chassis, which draws experience from the BORSUK light, amphibious IFV program and the Polish adaptation of the South-Korean K9 chassis used for the KRAB self-propelled howitzer and a number of supporting vehicle variants.

PGZ currently has one single operational demonstrator which is intended for factory trials. 2 fully functional prototypes are expected to follow next year, enabling intensive testing with the Polish Army.

The ambition is to get to production-ready status as early as 2029, although this timeline remains aspirational at present. The actual schedule will depend on the result of testing and on the nature and extent of modifications that might be required, as well as by negotiations and funding profiles with the customer.

The demonstrator weights over 40 tons, depending on the exact configuration of its modular armour and the possible future adoption of Active Protection Systems. It uses a tracked chassis with seven road-wheel pairs delivered by the Polish PONAR company. There are clear pull-throughs from the earlier BORSUK light IFV, as is to be expected in a project carried out in record time. BORSUK took over 12 years to mature, so the solutions developed have of course been transferred, although with redesign to fulfil the specific HIFV requirement. One immediately obvious difference is the number of roadwheels, 7 vs 6: the HIFV has an additional axle.

While BORSUK is amphibious, the HIFV weighs 14 tons more and ensures “twice” the ballistic protection, according to Pawel Smogor, Director for production and logistics at HSW. Interestingly, speaking at the show, Smogor also mentioned that within 2 years they intend to showcase a variant armed with a 105 mm gun, presumably intended to deliver heavy fire support.

The powerpack for the HIFV is rated at over 1,000 HP and according to PGZ the vehicle can reach speeds of up to 65 km/h with a range of up to 500 km. The two IFV types share, at present, the exact same turret and armament, the remotely operated ZSSW-30 with 30x173 mm cannon and SPIKE LR anti-tank missiles in pod.

For laser warning, the HIFV can employ an OBRA-3 warning system, integrated with the smoke grenade launchers. The demonstrator sits gunner and commander in the hull underneath the non-hull penetrating ZSSW-30 turret, with 8 dismounts accommodated in the rear.

The development of the Heavy IFV was launched with a framework agreement that Poland’s Armaments Agency signed with PGZ and HSW indicating a requirement for up to 700 vehicles. In December 2024 industry had formally asked permission to seek the assistance of foreign companies to employ an existing IFV hull as base for the development. While various options have been considered, the presentation of this polish-developed hull presumably puts an end to that effort.

The HIFVs will be assigned first of all to the brigades equipped with the M1 ABRAMS tanks. The brigades with the K2 tanks will instead get the lighter BORSUK. Up to 1,000 BORSUK are planned, with contracts in place so far for a total of 257.

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