Soldiers of the 18th Mechanised Division are testing the Korean AS21 Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The exercises are taking place at the training ground in Nowa Dęba in the Podkarpacie region. The purchase of this vehicle for the Polish army is being considered by the Ministry of Defence.
The Korean BWP is to work with the Polish Abrams tanks that will be delivered to the 18th Mechanised Division, hence the soldiers of this division are testing the vehicle in Nowa Dęba.
The demonstration of the vehicle was organised by the AS21 manufacturer Hanwha Defense. In Nowa Dęba, Pasi Pasivirta, who represents Hanwha for Northern Europe, emphasised that the vehicle tested at the training ground is the most modern version of the AS21 Redback. The sample that arrived in Poland was manufactured for the Australian military.
Pasivirta said that the vehicle was equipped with state-of-the-art systems that protect the crew and recalled that the company already has experience of working with Polish companies, including the Huta Stalowa Wola.
“Our proposal for the Polish army also includes cooperation with Polish industry, which means the polonisation of the production of this vehicle”, added Pasivirta.
According to the concept of the Ministry of Defence, the BWP1 vehicles used in the army so far are expected to have two types of successors. The first is to be the Borsuk, developed in Poland, and the second is to be the AS21 Redback, which is heavier than the Borsuk, more heavily armoured and equipped with active Iron Fist armour.
According to the head of the testing team, the commander of the 3rd Zamość Mechanised Battalion, which is part of the 18th Division, Lieutenant Colonel Krzysztof Stanek, the Korean vehicle, if selected, would mean a technological leap.
“From the perspective of mechanised troops, it is an entry into the 21st century. Comparing it to the BWP1, the vehicle we are currently using, it is a 50-year leap in technology. It is certainly a vehicle that meets the basic requirements of the modern battlefield”, assessed Lt Col Stanek.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński