The Swedish Armed Forces will get 45 heavy recovery and technical rescue vehicles 100% made in Poland. The order is a rarity in a list of foreign military equipment got by Sweden and is a special type of military equipment.
The vehicles are being developed and built from scratch by Polish company, Szczęśniak Pojazdy Specjalne, which has more than 30 years’ experience in the field of producing military and rescue vehicles. The company has a specific NATO and government codes for the different companies, and this was a reason that Swedish defence officials were confident enough that they could ignore the norm of going with domestic suppliers.
The advanced Recovery Vehicles are based on a Scania Group-supplied heavy-duty R520 XT chassis. The 70-ton tow capacity in off-road conditions, with a 38-ton disabled military asset, is achieved by a powerful 520-horsepower engine, the four-axle platform, and all-wheel-drive.
Advanced Engineering and Polish-Swedish Industrial Collaboration
Good operation of the project is very much dependent on the cooperation of several defence companies, and on independent assessments conducted by research institutes affiliated to the Government of Poland. The complex towing and lifting mechanisms are powered by a very special hydraulic system from Polish manufacturer PONAR Wadowice.
A majority of the vehicle’s components were designed with just this program in mind, according to company executives, and not built from a variety of off-the-shelf parts. This includes special short boom and full-extended boom configurations that enable safe towing and lift of disabled armored personnel carriers (APC) off the battlefield without towing them.
The design also features a winch system, supplied by Swedish company Sepson, which is attached to the frame, ensuring the stability of the vehicle under extreme dynamic loads. Even with the challenging technical demands, in about 12 months the engineers designed, constructed and successfully tested the heavy recovery vehicle.
The 45-vehicle deliveries will be made up until the end of 2029. The total order is based on an agreement to supply a total of 40 units, signed in early 2025 with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and extended by another 35 units in March 2026.
