Poland is one country that has been strongly standing by Ukraine and it is now planning
to do more.
Poland and Ukraine have come to an agreement as per which Ukraine will buy 60 Krab self-propelled
howitzers.
The howitzers will be manufactured at the Huta Stalowa Wola plant, which is part of
the Polish Armaments Group.
The artillery will be delivered to Ukraine in the next few months.
With this deal, Ukraine became the first export customer of this type of weapon.
Viewers may note Poland has already provided Ukraine with 18 Krabs (three batteries) and
trained 100 Ukrainian artillerymen to work with them.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why Polish Krab self-propelled howitzers would
be a major firepower boost for Ukraine?
Let's get started.
The AHS Krab (Polish for Crab) is a 155 mm NATO-compatible self-propelled tracked gun-howitzer
designed in Poland by Centrum Produkcji Wojskowej Huta Stalowa Wola, by combining the South
Korean K9 Thunder chassis with a British AS-90M Braveheart turret with 52-caliber gun and
WB Electronics' "Topaz" artillery fire control system.
The KRAB features an all-welded steel hull offering protection from small arms fire and
shell splinters.
The vehicle houses five crew members.
The driver is accommodated in front of the vehicle on the left side.
The power pack is on the forward right with diesel fuel tanks placed under the bottom
of the vehicle.
The turret is mounted on the rear end of the vehicle with the crew accessing the vehicle
through a large door on the rear side of the hull.
The vehicle can be equipped with NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) protection, self-entrenching
blade, fire suppression system and a laser warning system.
The KRAB SPH has a maximum length of 12m, a width of 3.5m and a shipment height of 3.4m.
The maximum height of the vehicle with an AA machine gun is 3.8m.
The driver has a single-piece hatch cover provided with a single, wide-angle day periscope,
or a passive periscope for driving at night.
A direct fire sight and a laser range-finder are also fitted coaxial with the main gun.
The vehicle also integrates a navigation system and a DD-9620 terminal providing target information.
The muzzle velocity measuring system above the main gun feeds information to the fire-control
system.
The ZZKO TOPAZ fire-control system controls the turret, gun layer computer and other subsystems.
The auxiliary power unit of the turret ensures the operation of onboard systems during shut
down of the main diesel engine.
The primary armament of the KRAB is a 155mm/52 caliber gun.
It has a burst rate of fire of three rounds per ten seconds.
The gun can fire 155mm Nato projectiles for a maximum range of 40 km or 25 miles.
Forty rounds of ammunition are stowed inside the turret and chassis.
The turret is mounted with a 12.7mm machine gun serving as a secondary armament for the
vehicle.
KRAB is also armed with a bank of four 81mm smoke grenades on either side of the turret.
The KRAB 155mm howitzer is powered by a S12-U four-stroke, 12-cylinder, multi-fuel, water-cooled,
turbocharged diesel engine.
The engine is coupled to a mechanical transmission with a transfer box and two gearboxes (seven
forward and one reverse gear).
The engine delivers a maximum power of 625kW at 2000rpm.
The howitzer is equipped with the torsion bar type suspension.
Either side of the vehicle features seven, dual, rubber-tyred wheels with the front-drive
sprocket and rear idler.
The vehicle can traverse a vertical obstacle of 0.8m and a trench of 2.5m.
The KRAB 155mm howitzer can travel at a maximum speed of 60 km/h or 37 mph on surface roads.
It has a maximum range of 650 km or about 400 miles with full fuel tanks
Ukraine is in need of a long-range fire as it faces a concentrated Russian push in the
Donbas region.
As noted by US Press Secretary for the United States Department of Defense John Kirby earlier,
the land there is flat, rolling plains and conducive to using long-range fires.
He said, "The terrain lends itself to the use of artillery, and we know that the Russians
also believe the same thing because we're seeing them move artillery units into the
Donbas, as well.
So, we want to give the Ukrainians every bit of advantage that we can.
They specifically asked for artillery support."
Since Ukraine is already using the system, it will be much easier for its forces to get
up and running as new stocks appear.
The compatibility with standard NATO shells is the icing on the cake.
It is also a kind of breakthrough for the Polish defense industry because they didn't
have such a large export contract for several dozen years.
The most important part now is how quickly Poland can get these to Ukraine.