Polish Armed Forces today may have in service up to 1,000 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, and Brigadier General Grzegorz Potrzuski, head of Strategic Planning Directorate of Polish armed forces general staff, believes these armored vehicles could still serve Polish military but already as remotely controlled platform.
Polish general believes unmanned BMP-1s could perform role of logistics support vehicles on battlefield, conduct wounded evacuation or act as heavy EW asset carriers. He expressed such opinion in conversation with Defence24 publication.
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Open remains question of how many vehicles total may be modernized into remotely controlled ones (one can assume this will be limited quantity), as well as what modernization cost will be — to point where Potrzuski says conversion costs to remotely controlled BMP level will not be comparable to purchasing new vehicle of this type with significantly improved technical parameters. Also there are questions about possible technical difficulties, for example with transmission.
Defense Express notes Poland is not first considering transforming obsolete armored vehicles into remotely controlled platforms — for example, in Israel back in 2024 they showed using autonomous M113 APC versions in combat operations against Hamas terrorists.
Such concept has both its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, this enables giving second life to old weapons samples, which otherwise would most likely be retired.
On other hand, BMP-1 remains obsolete and large in dimensions compared to modern ground robotic systems. Meaning it will have great risks of being destroyed on battlefield by FPV drones.
And if armored vehicle upgrading to large UGV level will also entail considerable costs, then question arises altogether how economically expedient this may be.
Since UGV essence should specifically be that these should be relatively inexpensive platforms, which due to adversary's intensive drone use sometimes remain sort of expendable material.
Previously Defense Express reported first BMP-1 hull prototypes were made in Europe for secret customer, which may be Ukraine.
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