AHS Krab. Specifications. Photo.

2022-12-20

other

AHS Krab (SAU "Krab") is a Polish-made self-propelled artillery mount designed for firing at long distances with corrected and non-corrected ammunition of 155-mm caliber, developed by Zakłady Mechaniczne Bumar-Łabędy.

At the end of 2022, the Crab self-propelled guns were considered one of the most effective self-propelled artillery guns based on low cost, long range, and high survivability on the battlefield.

History of the AHS Krab

The development of a new type of self-propelled artillery gun for the needs of the Polish army began in the 90s of the last century. Initially, it was supposed to use Soviet-style artillery ammunition of 152-mm caliber. due to the rather large number remaining in service with the Polish army, however, it was ultimately decided to switch to the use of NATO-standard 155-mm ammunition.

The real development of AHS Krab began in 1997, when a tender was announced for a tower for the projected self-propelled guns "Krab". Despite the fact that the German PzH 2000 self-propelled guns satisfied Poland with their characteristics, it was decided to use the turret from the British AS-90 self-propelled guns as they had time to prove themselves.

The first tests of the Polish AHS Krab were carried out in 1999. As it turned out, far from all the characteristics satisfied the Polish military, in connection with which the project was finalized, and already in 2010, the Crab self-propelled guns were adopted by the Polish army.

During development, the AHS Krab proved to be inexpensive, easy to operate and repair, fast-firing, and fairly reliable. However, its first combat tests of the Crab self-propelled guns took place only in the summer of 2022 in Ukraine, where it demonstrated high survivability rates - as of December 2022, only two self-propelled howitzers of this type were lost.

Datasheet AHS Krab

The AHS Krab self-propelled artillery mount is a licensed version of the South Korean K9 Thunder howitzer, which has been massively purchased by Poland since 2022 for a possible confrontation with Russia.

The chassis of the Crab self-propelled guns almost completely repeats the chassis of the South Korean self-propelled guns K9 Thunder, however, it has a number of additional improvements that made it possible to increase the reliability of these self-propelled artillery mounts. It uses an additional power plant, additional means of protection and there are additional improvements that provided the Crab self-propelled guns in the future with increased survivability in battles, including in Ukraine. With a long range of up to 400 kilometers and a maximum speed of 67 km/h for the AHS Krab self-propelled howitzers, these self-propelled howitzers can quickly move between positions and from one front line to another, which in many ways surpasses even a number of modern artillery mounts.

The tower, as originally, is British, while the rate of fire of the Polish AHS Krab self-propelled guns is 6 rounds per minute, however, in practice, most often, this figure is two less, especially when working on single targets.

The maximum target engagement range is 40 kilometers, however, limited ammunition somewhat reduces the effectiveness of the use of such self-propelled guns.

The AHS Krab ACS systems are fully computerized, which provides high efficiency for working like an ACS, especially in target selection and fire adjustment, and thanks to the counter-battery radar, the Krab ACS can effectively work as a counter-battery weapon.

Combat use of self-propelled guns "Crab"

The AHS Krab self-propelled guns have been actively used on the territory of Ukraine. Despite the rather large number of self-propelled guns of this type put into service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it is known that, as of December this year, only two self-propelled artillery mounts were lost.

A key feature of the combat use of AHS Krab self-propelled guns in Ukraine was the high rate of fire with the ability to quickly retreat to another position. Thanks to the effective protection of the AHS Krab, the latter withstood the drop of ammunition from drones and explosions of ammunition in close proximity.

In the fall of 2022, the Crab self-propelled guns were used in conjunction with Excalibur adjustable munitions, which made it possible to expand the target engagement range by another 10 kilometers - up to 50 kilometers.

According to the data for 2022, AHS Krab self-propelled guns are in service with Poland and Ukraine, however, in 2023 the number of Krab self-propelled guns in service with Ukraine can reach 96 units, which in turn will make this country the largest owner of Polish self-propelled guns of this type.