According to a statement published by the Polish Ministry of Defense on January 20, 2023, during the meeting in Ramstein, the Polish Ministry of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak announced that Poland will provide more T-72 tanks and BWP-1 IFV, a Polish version of the Soviet-made BMP-1 to equip one brigade of the Ukrainian army.
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Poland will supply Ukraine with T-72 tanks and BWP-1 tracked armored infantry fighting vehicles to equip one brigade.
A brigade is a military unit typically consisting of between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers and is commanded by a brigadier general or colonel. It is the smallest unit of organization that is self-sufficient and capable of independent operations.
Brigades are typically organized into larger units such as divisions or corps. In the US Army, a brigade is typically made up of several battalions of infantry, armor, or artillery, along with support units such as engineers and medical personnel. In general, the role of a brigade is to conduct tactical operations on the battlefield and support larger strategic objectives.
Citing information from the Polish Ministry of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland can supply old combat vehicles from the Polish army including T-72, PT-91 Twardy, and BWP-1 that will be replaced by South Korean K2 and American M1 Abrams tanks. Poland also launched a defense modernization program to replace the BWP-1 with the new locally-made Borsuk tracked armored IFV.
According to open source information, before the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Poland had a total of around 800 MBTs (Main Battle Tanks) including 137 Leopard 2A4, 105 Leopard 2A5, an undisclosed number of Leopard 2PL, 232 PT-91 Twardy and 329 T-72A/T-72M1.
In terms of IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), the Polish army has 1,611 vehicles including 1,252 BMP-1 tracked armored IFVs and 359 Rosomak 8x8 wheeled armored IFVs. Currently, Poland has already delivered to Ukraine 260 T-72 tanks in different versions and 40 BWP-1 tracked armored IFVs.
Soviet-made T-72 and BMP-1 IFVS are currently in service with the Ukrainian armed forces, therefore, it will be easy for Poland to donate armored vehicles to Ukraine, which will be able to quickly integrate them into their armed forces and compensate for the tank losses since the start of the conflict.
Polish army T-72 MBT Main Battle Tank. (Picture source Army Recognition)
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered service in the 1970s. The tank is armed with a 125mm smoothbore gun, which is capable of firing a variety of shells including high-explosive, armor-piercing, and anti-tank guided missiles.
The BWP-1 is a Polish amphibious tracked armored IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) which has the same design and armament as the Soviet-made BMP-1. It was first introduced in the 1970s and is still in service with the Polish Army today.
Polish army BWP-1 tracked armored infantry fighting vehicle. (Picture source Wikimedia)
The BWP-1 is a Polish amphibious tracked armored IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) which has the same design and armament as the Soviet-made BMP-1. It was first introduced in the 1970s and is still in service with the Polish Army today.
The BWP-1's primary armament is a 73 mm 2A28 Grom low-pressure smoothbore gun that can fire both HE-FRAG (High Explosive Fragmentation) and HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds. The gun has a rate of fire of around 8 rounds per minute and is effective against both infantry and light armored vehicles.
The BWP-1 also has a coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun and a launcher for AT-3 Sagger anti-tank guided missiles. This provides the BMP-1 with a significant anti-armor capability.
