Frag Out! Magazine

ZA total of 120 chassis units is to be built, which means that all of the five 24-cannon Regina battalions will be armed with Krab howitzers on new carriers. This also means that the first battalion. which was to be originally armed with UPG- NG-based Krabs will have artillery systems on new carriers at their disposal as well. The modification will delay the process of supply of implementational fire module by about two years; the first Krab were handed over to the army in 2016, and a complete 24-cannon battalion – in 2017. The vehicles already sent to Poland have been adapted to be equipped with the turrets in production. tests AnD trIAls After the "new" Krab howitzers were tested in 2015–2016, with the tests involving traction trials, test runs, and artillery firing (in the case of the artillery firing tasks, the scope of tests was limited compared to the tests of UPG-NG based gun-howitzers because of the fact that the performance of the mechanism of the sole turret module and firing with the turret positioned in a certain manner against the hull had been already tested before, just like firing using intelligent ammunition), it was decided that the vehicle met army's requirements. The conducted tests and trials proved that the vehicle moved faster and was more dynamic in field, fuel consumption was lower, and the level of comfort was improved compared to the previous carrier (the difference stemmed from the fact that K9 chassis was lighter and featured a more powerful engine: 736 kW/1,000 hp instead of UPG-NG's 625 kW/850 hp). What's more, the new solution offered a more effective sway dampening during firing and an elimination of cannon rocking after each shot thanks to better parameters of the hydro- pneumatic suspension compared to the variant applied in UPG- NG, i.e. based on torsion bars. The modified artillery system underwent the program of assessment tests required by MOD, which confirmed that the assumed tactical-technical parameters were achieved and that the system worked with the turret reliably and without malfunctioning. Both of the prototype Krab howitzers were handed over officially to the 11th Artillery Regiment in spring 2016. At the same time, HSW S.A. handed over further armaments maintenance and support vehicles constructed as part of Regina module, including C4 vehicles and ARVs . A final report on howitzer testing and an engineering change notice were developed and approved later in 2016, both constituting the basis for MOD's approval of tests, which opened the way to the stage of negotiations regarding the serial production and supply of further Krab units for the needs of the Polish Armed Forces. www.fragoutmag.com

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