Poland unveils CBWP heavy infantry fighting vehicle at MSPO 2026

Poland's state-owned defence group PGZ has unveiled its new heavy infantry fighting vehicle in full for the first time at MSPO 2026 in Kielce, after days of teasing only partial glimpses of the platform on social media.

The vehicle carries the Polish designation CBWP — Ciężki Bojowy Wóz Piechoty, or "heavy infantry fighting vehicle" — and has been developed by Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), the PGZ subsidiary that builds much of Poland's tracked armoured equipment. PGZ describes the design as combining a high level of crew protection, strong mobility and firepower delivered through the ZSSW-30 remotely controlled turret.

Developed by HSW together with Polish electronics firm WB Group, the ZSSW-30 mounts a 30 mm Bushmaster automatic cannon, a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and twin launchers for Spike-LR anti-tank guided missiles. Built around a hunter-killer architecture, it lets the vehicle commander search for new threats while the gunner engages one already found. The turret is already in Polish service on the Rosomak wheeled armoured personnel carrier and the amphibious Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle.

The CBWP chassis is based on the design used for the Krab self-propelled howitzer. Under a framework agreement signed with Poland's Armament Agency in August 2023, PGZ and HSW are to supply several hundred heavy IFVs in various configurations, together with a logistics and training package. The vehicle is intended to carry a crew of three and eight dismounted soldiers, engaging armoured and unarmoured targets, exposed weapon positions and field fortifications while providing fire support to infantry in direct contact with the enemy, day or night.

Polish industry reports describe the MSPO 2026 exhibit as a full-scale technology demonstrator. HSW previously showed a model of the design under the name Ratel at MSPO 2025. Poland has said it is targeting a running prototype of the new chassis by the end of 2026, to be followed by qualification trials, ballistic and mine-resistance testing and formal evaluation against military requirements.

Poland unveils CBWP heavy infantry fighting vehicle at MSPO 2026

Sources