Recently it became known that Ukraine intends to purchase about 60 AHS Krab
self-propelled howitzers in addition to those 18 that Poland handed over to us.
Now it is hard to say when the Russian-Ukrainian war will end, so our defenders need regular
support in the form of various types of military equipment and weapons. The military support of
Ukraine from Poland is very generous (in the amount of ~ 7 billion zlotys), taking into
account the capabilities of our neighbor. This is not surprising, because if Russia took over the
territory of our country, Poland would be next. More recently, a batch of AHS Krabs from Poland
arrived in Ukraine, but the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine wants to purchase about 60 more of these
powerful self-propelled howitzers manufactured by Huta Stalowa Wola for our armed forces. In this
video, we will get to know what ‘the most powerful howitzer of the Polish Army’ is capable of.
AHS Krab: how the howitzer was created
The AHS Krab is a self-propelled 155 mm tracked artillery mount developed in Poland by the Huta
Stalowa Wola Military Production Center. This self-propelled unit combines the South
Korean K9 Thunder chassis, the British AS-90M Braveheart turret with a 155/L52
cannon, and the WB Electronics Topaz artillery fire control system. Thus it is a modern weapon
assembled from highly efficient components and equipped with the highest quality electronics.
However, achieving such a technical level was not easy, and the project itself was on the verge of
failure several times. For the first time, the idea of ​​creating a Polish heavy howitzer arose
back in the 90s of the last century, back then it was decided not to buy a finished foreign product,
but to produce these weapons by own efforts from scratch. But it turned out to be more difficult
than expected. The first KRAB variants were based on the Polish UPG-NG chassis manufactured by the
Bumar-Labendy machine-building plant. However, microcracks were soon discovered in the chassis,
the cause of which the engineers could not find out. In addition, there were problems with the
cooling system, and leaks in the fuel and exhaust systems, which led to the poisoning of the crew.
Due to these problems, in 2014 it was decided to change the chassis supplier. The chassis of the
South Korean company Samsung Techwin was chosen – the one used for the Korean howitzer K9 Thunder.
However, not only did the chassis cause problems:
it soon turned out that the production of gun barrels for the licensed British AS-90 turret was
discontinued. If a replacement had not been found quickly, the entire project could have failed.
Fortunately, it turned out that the French barrel from Nexter Systems meets the necessary
parameters. It turned out that they be installed into the British turret, and
firing tests confirmed expectations. In the end, despite many turmoils, this combination of South
Korean chassis, British turret, French cannon, and Polish electronics was a great success.
In the end, it became possible to equip Polish Krab self-propelled guns with Polish-made barrels.
Thus, one of the most modern and powerful self-propelled artillery
systems in the world was created, which is compatible with 155 mm NATO ammunition.
AHS Krab and its capabilities
The 155 mm KRAB self-propelled howitzer is designed to destroy artillery, command posts,
communication centers, enemy fortifications, armored vehicles, helicopters at landing sites,
and enemy logistics facilities. The most important ‘tool’ for performing these tasks is a huge,
more than 8 meters long (52 caliber), 155 mm cannon. It is located in the
AS-90 turret, manufactured in Poland under license from the British.
This colossus weighing 48 tons (fully loaded with fuel and ammunition – 52.1
tons) is controlled by a crew of four or five people (depending on needs). The 1000 hp MTU MT
881 Ka 500 diesel engine can accelerate AHS Krab up to 60 km/h on the highway, and on the road,
it can move at a speed of about 30 km/h. Despite its huge weight, thanks to the rubber pads,
the Krab exerts less pressure on the ground than a conventional truck with a semi-trailer.
With a fully filled tank, the vehicle is capable of covering a distance of about 400 km.
Polish electronic equipment of top quality
Although many important design elements are developed abroad and produced in Poland under
license, the electronic equipment and modern computers of the plant are completely developed by
Polish specialists. The AHS Krab is equipped with, among other things, a FiN 3110L ground navigation
and topographic communication system, a GPS system, an MVRS-700 SCD ballistic radar,
a fire control system, internal and external communications (VHF digital radio type RRC
9311AP), day and night surveillance devices, and as well as the OBRA-3 SSP-1 warning system.
The self-defense systems of the vehicle are especially interesting: sensors mounted on
the Krab armor warn the crew when an enemy laser sight is aimed at the installation. This system
is so sensitive that it even detects the beam of a typical laser pointer used for presentations.
When the system detects a laser beam hit, the crew can fire smoke grenades outward to cover the
installation and allow it to relocate to safety. When chemical contamination is detected in the
environment, the machine is pressurized to prevent the entry of contaminated air from outside.
AHS Krabs is equipped with the TOPAZ automated fire control system,
manufactured by the Polish company WB Electronics, which, among others,
is the manufacturer of excellent FlyEye drones and Warmate kamikaze drones, also used in Ukraine. The
data entering the system, obtained, for example, from drones circling over the battlefield,
allows you to instantly calculate howitzer settings and fire almost instantly. The whole
process, that is, obtaining information about the location of the enemy, sending it to the team,
then directly to the commander of the vehicle, ballistic calculation, and firing, takes seconds.
The AHS Krab is able to take action in the shortest possible time: it can go from traveling
to combat in just 30 seconds, and it takes the same time to return to the traveling position.
Fast reaction time is not the only benefit of the AHS Krab. Electronic systems,
developed entirely in Poland, are responsible for very high accuracy and rate of fire. They
include aiming and ballistic computers. The first is used to control the operation of the tower.
The second shows the situation on the battlefield and is also responsible for performing ballistic
calculations and providing the gunner with the exact settings necessary for the shot.
How many AHS Krab do Polish Armed Forces have as of the beginning of 2022?
Previously, the plans of the Polish Army assumed the creation of 5 divisions,
with AHS Krab howitzers to become their key element.
At first, the contract was for 96 vehicles, but then the order was increased to 120.
Now 18 of them are already helping our military defend the Motherland. About 60 more powerful
self-propelled howitzers will be purchased for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the near future.
Why do we need powerful howitzers?
As events at the front have shown, this war can be called a war of artillery and missiles.’ In the
early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it turned out that the tanks that the Russians were
counting on were burning very well. The newest anti-tank systems that our military has received
have allowed them to destroy more than 1,300 tanks, which is half of all that Russia has.
Therefore, they were forced to use their artillery and rocket systems – our cities, villages,
and positions of the military were subjected to dense artillery and rocket fire from the invaders.
Our defenders also had to reorganize and, thanks to the support of our Western partners,
arm themselves with the latest howitzer systems and self-propelled guns.
This allowed us to quickly restore parity at the front and give a worthy rebuff to the invaders.
The AHS Krab is, of course, not the only modern Western artillery system
supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The French provided CAESAR 155 mm self-propelled
howitzers with turbo engine on all-wheel-drive chassis 8×8 chassis. This howitzer system,
depending on the ammunition used, can hit targets at a distance from 42 km (in the case of ERFB
ammunition) to 50 km (if projectiles equipped with an additional RAP rocket engine are used).
In turn, the Australians, Canadians, and Americans supplied the ultralight M777 155mm howitzers.
The range of this howitzer also depends on the ammunition that uses it – the range of
high-explosive fragmentation projectiles exceeds 24 km, rocket projectiles fire up to 30 km,
and M982 Excalibur guided missiles hit targets at up to 40 km.