Poland proposes that the countries of Western Europe buy AHS Krab self-propelled howitzers from it and donate them to Ukraine.

This was stated by Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak at the fifth Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Germany. His words are quoted by WNP.pl.

Generally, the second part of Ramstein 5 was devoted to the problems of the arms production industry, but the details of all discussions are unknown to the media.

“For my part, I presented the proposal of the Polish military industry, especially regarding the AHS Krab howitzers. This proposal is addressed to countries, especially Western Europe, which, ordering Krab for Ukraine, can invest their money well,” he said.

“These funds are needed to increase the production capacity of Huta Stalowa Wola and the entire PGZ group,” he added.

Moreover, Kyiv is emphasizing that other countries should start their own production of weapons for the needs of Ukraine. This is stated in the joint statement of General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Lieutenant General Mykhailo Zabrodskyi, First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence.

The generals explain: the war is dragging on and there is not enough military aid for Ukraine only from the own reserves of the allies. Therefore, the partners should demonstrate the political will to form long-term plans to provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with equipment and ammunition. That is, to move to planned production and supply of equipment and ammunition.

While European countries are only evaluating Poland’s proposal, at the beginning of the summer, Ukraine signed an agreement for the purchase of about 60 units of 155-mm AHS Krab self-propelled howitzers. The Polish media reported about this.

The self-propelled howitzers will be produced at the Huta Stalowa Wola, which is part of the Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa holding.

The value of the deal amounts to about 3 billion zlotys. Ukraine is the first export customer of this type of weapon. Such a contract is a significant step forward for the Polish defense industry, as the country has not had such a large export order for many years.

The licensed British AS90 howitzer turret is being used in the Krab’s production. The barrel length is 52 calibers. It is mounted on the South Korean K9 Thunder ACS chassis.

It is stated that the effective range of fire is 30 kilometers, and the maximum range is 40 kilometers.