OREANDA-NEWS The AHS Krab self-propelled artillery mounts (ACS) transferred by Poland to Ukraine turned out to be problematic, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports.

It is noted that the howitzer was planned to be built on the Polish UPG-NG chassis with the S-12U engine, but defects were found in the platform. Microcracks appeared in the chassis body, and the engine received an inefficient cooling system. Later, the company that produced the S-12U engines closed.

It is reported that the Polish engine was planned to be replaced by a German one, but it was not allowed to establish the dimensions of the engine-transmission compartment of the howitzer. In this regard, the developers of the howitzer decided to purchase a foreign-made chassis. In 2014, the chassis of the South Korean self-propelled guns K9 Thunder was chosen for Krab.

“Not everything was simple with howitzer barrels, the French ones from the Nexter concern were replaced with Rheinmetall products. It is interesting that a clone of the Soviet 12.7-mm NSVT "Utes" - WKM-B, with NATO ammunition was used as an anti-aircraft gun, ”the newspaper writes.

According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, about 80 Krab howitzers were produced in total. They can hit targets at a distance of 30-40 thousand meters. The rate of fire is six rounds per minute, the maximum speed on the highway is 67 km / h, the crew is 5 people.

Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Warsaw Sergei Andreev said that Poland, like the countries of NATO and the European Union, is involved in prolonging the conflict in Ukraine.