Assault Breacher Vehicles for the Polish Army

Poland is to procure 25 M1150 vehicles, nicknamed Shredder by the USMC troops. It is a good, and necessary decision to fill in the inventory gaps in the newly established 18th Mechanized Division. The new vehicles would act as a complementary asset alongside the M1A1FEP and M1A2SEPv3 main battle tanks, and specialized platforms based on those, including the M1110 bridges, and M88A2 ARVs.

The Polish military has no sufficient number of such vehicles at its disposal. The Army primarily uses the T-72-based MID (Maszyna Inżynieryjno-Drogowa, Road-Engineering Machine) platform for that purpose. 12 MIDs have been manufactured, they are currently undergoing a modernization, being upgraded to the MID-M variant.

One should, however, remember that MID is not a 1:1 counterpart of the M1150. The latter has been designed for clearing safe routes in minefields and other field fortifications. Meanwhile, MID has lighter armour, and is designed for a different purpose. This also means that both vehicles may work in a complementary manner.

The M1150 itself is a result of a long-term R&D process undertaken in the US to develop ABVs. As a result of those steps, M60 Panther I, and M1 Panther II MDCV (Mine Detection & Clearing Vehicle), M60 AVLM (Armored Vehicle Launched Mine Clearing Line Charge), XM1060 ROBAT (Robotic Obstacle Breaching Assault Tank) and M1 Grizzly were all born.

Back in 2009, the M1150 was commissioned by the USMC and US Army. The vehicle uses a standard M1A1 base with a turret removed. The turret has been replaced with a turret system featuring two M58 MICLIC (Mine Clearing Line Charge) launchers, and a .50-cal. M2/M2A1 machine gun embedded in the CWS (Commander Weapon Station).

The M1150 can feature numerous accessories in front of the hull, such as FWMP (Full Width Mine Plough), TWMP (Track Width Mine Plough), or minesweeps. It is also possible to install different accessories, many of which are in Pearson Engineering’s catalogue.

Up until today, more than 200 M1150s have been manufactured for the US military. Another 29 were ordered by Australia and 4 by Romania.

Apart from the release on procurement of the ABVs, the Armament Agency also issued a release on the Armed Forces being interested in procuring more M88A2 Hercules ARVs and containerized MBT/Vehicular workshops.