AHS Krab

The AHS Krab (Polish for crab) is a 155 mm NATO-compatible self-propelled tracked gun-howitzer designed in Poland by Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), by combining a heavily modified South Korean K9 Thunder chassis with a British BAE Systems AS-90M Braveheart turret with a Rheinmetall 52-calibre gun produced under license by HSW and the Polish WB Electronics' Topaz artillery fire control system. "AHS" is not a part of the name, but Polish abbreviation of armatohaubica samobieżna - gun-howitzer, self-propelled.

Krab
AHS Krab, a self-propelled tracked howitzer
TypeSelf-propelled artillery
Place of originPoland
Service history
Used by
  • Polish Land Forces
  • Ukrainian Ground Forces
WarsRusso-Ukrainian War
Production history
Designer
Designed1997–2006
ManufacturerHuta Stalowa Wola
Unit costUS$11.45M (est)
Produced2008–present
Specifications
Mass48 t (47 long tons; 53 short tons)
Length12.1 m (39 ft 8 in)
Barrel length8.06 m (26 ft 5 in) L/52
Width3.63 m (11 ft 11 in)
Height3 m (9 ft 10 in) to turret roof
Crew5
Caliber155 mm (6.1 in)
BreechSliding block
Elevation+70° (1244 mils)/-3.5° (-62 mils)
Traverse360° (6400 mils)
Rate of fire
  • 2 rds/min sustained
  • 18 rds/3 mins rapid
Maximum firing range
  • 30 km (19 mi) base bleed
  • 40 km (25 mi) Excalibur
SightsWB Electronics Topaz FCS
ArmorMax 16 mm (0.63 in) steel armour
Main
armament
155 mm/52-calibre howitzer
40 rounds (29 turret, 11 hull)
Secondary
armament
WKM-B .50 BMG
EngineSTX Engine/MTU Friedrichshafen MT881Ka-500 8-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine
750 kW (1,000 hp)
DriveTracked
TransmissionSNT Dynamics/Allison Transmission X1100-5A3
4 forward, 2 reverse
SuspensionMottrol/Horstman Hydropneumatic Suspension Unit (HSU)
travel distance: ≤ 275 mm
dead weight: 40 ~ 45 kN
Operational
range
400 km (250 mi)
Maximum speed
  • 60 km/h (37 mph) on road
  • 30 km/h (19 mph) off road
ReferencesJanes

The 2011 prototype version used a Nexter Systems barrel and Polish UPG-NG chassis.

For the production variant, since 2016, Poland decided to base the self-propelled howitzer on a modified K9 chassis with an STX Engine-MTU Friedrichshafen engine and uses barrels made domestically in HSW since 2019 (earlier, the barrels were delivered by Rheinmetall).

As of 2016 full-rate production of 120 Krabs for the Polish Army has started with deliveries to be completed by 2024.

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