Poland to produce self-propelled howitzers, service Leopards

Poland will have Krab self-propelled howitzers and service Leopard 2 tanks, equipment also sent to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced on Wednesday.

The production and repairs will occur in the Bumar-Łabędy factory in Gliwice in Silesia, which Morawiecki and Błaszczak visited. Morawiecki said his conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government intends to invest in developing the Polish defence industry.

“Poland’s security depends (also) on the capacity of the country’s defence industry,” said Morawiecki, as quoted by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, adding that public investments will result in more demand for labour, which will translate into more jobs and higher pay.

The AHS Krab is a 155 mm NATO-compatible self-propelled tracked gun-howitzer designed in Poland by Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) combining the South Korean K9 Thunder chassis with a British BAE Systems AS-90M Braveheart turret and other weapons of similar types.

Krabs and Leopard’s tanks are among the military equipment Poland sends to Ukraine. The AHS Krab was used during the 2022 Ukrainian eastern counteroffensive in the Kharkiv Oblast and during fighting near Severodonetsk.

Ukraine has recently ordered a considerable amount of Polish equipment, including AHS Krabs, Grot assault rifles, and KTO Rosomak multi-role military vehicles, according to the prime minister’s office.

During a meeting of NATO ministers in Ramstein on 21 April, Błaszczak signed an agreement with his German counterpart to establish a servicing centre for Leopards 2 in the Bumar-Łabędy factory.

Leopards 2, produced by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, are used by many European countries, including Poland. An argument for choosing that company was its 20-year experience servicing and modernising older Leopard tanks, Błaszczak explained.

In Gliwice, Morawiecki also responded to the recent criticism by opposition Civic Platform (PO) leader Donald Tusk, who said it was unwise for the government to buy military equipment in South Korea similar to what is produced in Poland.

Morawiecki accused the former European Council president of selling one arms company to a Chinese investor, and for the job losses caused when factories were closed when he was prime minister between 2007 and 2014.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | EURACTIV.pl)