Ukraine to buy 60 Krab howitzers from Poland
Ukraine will buy about 60 self-propelled artillery howitzers AHS Krab in addition to the 18 that Poland already shipped to Ukraine, reported the Polish newspaper Dziennik.
According to the newspaper, on Tuesday an agreement was signed for three more shipments, that is, about 60 howitzers capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 40 km.
They will be manufactured by Huta Stalowa Wola, which is part of Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa SA concern. Deliveries will begin in the next few months. The current production capacity is 20-30 units per year.
The cost of the transaction is about 3 billion zlotys (approximately $ 700 million). Ukraine became the first export customer of this type of weapons.
According to the Polish Ministry of Defense, the 155-millimeter self-propelled gun weighs about 48 tons and can hit targets at a distance of 40 km, firing up to 6 shots per minute. The tracked chassis is produced under a Korean license, and the gun is a modification of a modification of a British gun.
The ammunition supply remains a problem since the Polish industry is not yet able to produce them independently. Shells for these self-propelled guns are likely to be provided by the USA.