Sunplaza

Ukrainian soldiers were able to hit a target at a record distance of 70 kilometers with the Polish Krab self-propelled artillery system. They used a “secret guided shell.”

The company, which manufactures Volcano shells of the same type, may have referred to the record of the Armed Forces in negotiations with the Polish government on the integration of its shells into Polish Krab. This is reported by Defense Express.

“Representatives of the Leonardo defence company are negotiating with the Polish military leadership on the possible integration of Volcano guided shells on Krab self-propelled artillery systems and further field tests of this artillery weapon system. The experience of the Armed Forces artillery, which was able to hit a target at a range of up to 70 kilometers using the same type of guided munitions, can serve as a reference example,” the statement said.

The Polish portal Defence24 was the first to share the relevant information. Its authors learned about the record from PGZ Serwis Orel as part of the Poznaj Gen Zbrojeniówki podcast. The time and place where the record shot was made were not specified.

According to Defence24 experts, the Armed Forces artillerymen could have reached such a range with the Krab, which can fire M982 Excalibur shells at a distance of up to 50 km, only if it used a Vulcano GLR guided one. From this they conclude that the adaptation of this type munition has most likely already taken place. This means that the Polish army can get new opportunities.

“The question of the possible integration of Vulcano shells in Polish artillery is not really new. The first talks about this possibility were 5 years ago, but then there was no further development,” Defense Express added.

The Vulcano GLR has already been integrated into the K9 self-propelled artillery systems, which are now also in service with the Polish Army. It creates a corresponding space for opportunities too.

Defense Express confirmed that the fact that AFU managed to hit a target at a distance of 70 kilometers using the Polish Krab is indeed a record. This is especially true given that the target was hit in a real battle, not during field tests of research and development (when it was possible to approach this range).

“From the above data, it follows that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did receive a certain number of guided Vulcano GLRs as part of military assistance from Western partners, as there was clear evidence of the receipt of unguided Vulcano BER shells, which have a range of up to 36 kilometers when used with artillery systems with a barrel length of 39 caliber, and a range of up to 50 kilometers when used with artillery systems with a barrel length of 52 caliber,” Defense Express said.

Instead, the Vulcano GLR uses a semi-active laser guidance system and a programmable fuze. Therefore, the range of 70 kilometers is achieved when used with artillery systems with a barrel length of 52 caliber.

In general, the declared minimum range of the Polish Krab self-propelled artillery system is 5 km. It can hit up to 32 km with high-explosive fragmentation shells, 40 km with rocket-assisted shells, and 50 km with M982 Excalibur shells, as already mentioned.

As a reminder, Polish Krab self-propelled artillery systems appeared in Ukraine in 2022, a few months after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.