Poland has announced a deal to sell Polish-made Krab self-propelled tracked gun-howitzers to Ukraine for almost 3 billion zloty (€650 million), in what is believed to be the country’s largest ever arms export deal.
“We are signing one of the largest – if not the largest – arms export contracts of the last three decades,” declared the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, during a visit to the Stalowa Wola Steelworks where the howitzers are produced.
“This contract is indeed record-breaking,” added Jacek Sasin, the minister for state assets. “It amounts to almost 3 billion, over 2.7 billion zloty.”
The contract, signed in Kyiv, envisages the sale of around 60 Krab howitzers to Ukraine, the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily had earlier reported, also citing a record figure of 3 billion zloty for the deal. The transaction marks Poland’s first export sale of the NATO-compatible weapon.
Premier @MorawieckiM w #StalowaWola: Teraz podpisujemy jeden z największych kontraktów zbrojeniowych z ostatniego trzydziestolecia – sprzedaż broni dla Ukraińców na Ukrainę. Ta broń jest dobrze sprawdzana i już dziś wiemy, że będzie bardzo ważną bronią na polu walki. pic.twitter.com/Plw8E5qnEG
— Kancelaria Premiera (@PremierRP) June 7, 2022
Deliveries of the howitzers, which will be deployed in eastern Ukraine, where Russia’s invading forces are currently concentrated, are expected to begin this year and be completed in 2023.
Morawiecki says that Ukraine will fund the purchase partly with money from the EU and partly from its own budget. Poland’s revenue from the sale will help “enrich our production potential here”, he added.
The 155-mm Krab self-propelled howitzer is currently the most powerful gun at the disposal of Polish artillerymen. Weighing over fifty tonnes, it is capable of firing up to six rounds per minute at a distance of up to around 40 kilometres.
Poland already handed over 18 Krab howitzers to Ukraine last month as part of military aid. In addition, Poland trained around 100 Ukrainian artillerymen, reported Gazeta Wyborcza.
Poland has provided Ukraine with 18 AHS Krab self-propelled howitzers, according to a government source speaking with @polskieradiopl https://t.co/CWviI5iS51
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 29, 2022
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Polish government has also stepped up its own military procurement efforts. In March, it passed a Homeland Defence Act that increases the defence budget to 3% of GDP, one of the highest levels in NATO.
Poland has also announced a number of arms purchase agreements with the US, including Patriot air defence systems, F-35 combat aircraft and 250 Abrams tanks. In April, the government accelerated the delivery of new British air-defence missiles and launchers.
In addition, last year Poland became the first NATO member to buy Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicles, which have played a major role in the war in Ukraine, from Turkey.
Main photo credit: KPRM/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
