Poland announced a record deal Tuesday to sell Krab self-propelled howitzers from local manufacturer Huta Stalowa Wola to Ukraine, the largest-ever export weapon order for the country.
In what could be the biggest-ever export order for Polish defense companies, Poland has agreed to sell around 60 Krab self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
Visiting one of the country’s largest weapons producers, Stalowa Huta, Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed that Poland has signed its largest weapons deal in 30 years and will supply weapons worth PLN 3 billion ($700 mln) to Ukraine.
He said that the new weapon will play a very significant role on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine.
According to Dziennik.pl, Ukraine already received 18 Krab self-propelled howitzers as part of military aid.
The Krab is a self-propelled tracked gun-howitzer with 155mm cannon. It is combining the South Korean K9 Thunder chassis with a British AS-90M Braveheart turret with a 52-caliber gun and WB Electronics’ “Topaz” artillery fire control system.
The design of the Krab is standard for a modern self-propelled howitzer with the driver position on the left, the powerpack is on the forward right and the turret is mounted at the rear of the hull. The Krab howitzer has a crew of five. The turret and the hull provide protection against the firing of small arms and artillery shell splinters. It has a combat weight of around 52 tons.
A battery of Krab artillery system consists of 6 Krab self-propelled howitzers, 2 ammunition resupply vehicles based on trucks chassis, Waran maintenance vehicle and Azalia artillery C3I vehicle.