Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced on 5 September that Poland will order 48 more AHS Krab self-propelled howitzers (SPH) and 36 accompanying vehicles from local arms producer Huta Stalowa Wola in a deal worth 3.8 billion zlotys ($797 million).
The SPHs along with 22 command vehicles, 12 ammunition support vehicles, and two mobile workshops for weapons repair are scheduled to be delivered between 2025 and 2027.
This order is in addition to the 96 Krab SHPs that Poland ordered from Huta Stalowa Wola in 2016 and scheduled to be delivered by 2024.
18 Krab SPHs were donated by Poland to Ukraine in late May. Both countries also signed a contract under which Poland would sell Ukraine an additional 60 Krab SPHs, in a deal worth US $700 million.
In a statement Mariusz Blaszczak said:
“It is important that we are consistently increasing the defence capabilities of the Republic of Poland by developing both the numerical strength of the Polish Army and equipping the Polish Army with modern equipment.”
“I always emphasise that whenever we can, we order military equipment in the Polish arms industry. This is the case with Krabs. This is the case with cannon-howitzers that proved themselves during the war. They are an important weapon in the hands of Ukrainians, they are an effective weapon in the defence of Ukraine.”
AHS Krab self-propelled howitzer
| Type: | Self-propelled howitzer |
| Country of origin: | Poland |
| Designer: | OBRUM, Huta Stalowa Wola, BAE Systems, Samsung Techwin |
| Manufacturer: | Huta Stalowa Wola |
| Produced: | 2008 – present |
| In service: | 2015 |
| Operators: | Poland, Ukraine |
| Weight: | 48 tonnes |
| Length: | 12.05 m |
| Width: | 3.60 m |
| Height: | 3.00 m |
| Crew: | 5 |
| Main armament: | Nexter Systems 155 mm gun |
| Secondary armament: | Turret-mounted 12.7 mm heavy machine gun |
| Engine: | STX Engine-MTU Friedrichshafen MT881Ka-500 8-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine (735 kW, 1,000 hp @ 2,700 rpm) |
| Range: | 400 km (250 mi) |
| Speed: | 67 km/h (42 mph) |
