Industry
Who Will Supply Precision-Guided Munitions for the Krab and K9?
The editorial team of Defence24.pl learned from the Armament Agency which entities participated in the preliminary market consultations for 155 mm Precision-Guided Munitions for the Krab and K9A1 self-propelled howitzers.
At the end of July, the Armament Agency announced the launch of preliminary market consultations regarding the acquisition of 155 mm precision-guided ammunition for the Polish Army’s self-propelled howitzers. Defence24.pl contacted the agency to inquire about the entities involved in this stage of the process. Lieutenant Colonel Grzegorz Polak, the agency’s spokesperson, provided the following list of companies:
- IMI Systems Ltd.,
- BAE Systems Bofors AB,
- GIWS mbH,
- MESKO S.A.,
- Raytheon,
- Unitronex Poland Sp. z o.o. with Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation,
- LEONARDO S.p.A.,
- KNDS Ammo France.
The war in Ukraine shows that fighting against enemy that remains advantageous requires various types of ammunition, including precision-guided munitions that allow for pinpoint strikes on specific targets, such as main battle tanks or artillery. At the same time, operations beyond Poland’s eastern border indicate that relying solely on GPS-based solutions is unreliable due to increasingly effective Russian electronic warfare (EW). Therefore, it seems logical to acquire at least two types of effectors for 155 mm artillery, utilizing different targeting methods.
Although no company has officially revealed what it offers in the program so far, the Polish industry (Mesko in cooperation with CRW Telesystem-Mesko) has developed 155 mm Precision-Guided Ammunition, along with a guidance system under full national control and compliant with NATO standards.
The APR 155 (155 mm Precision Strike Munitions) round developed by ZM Mesko, CRW Telesystem-Mesko, Military University of Technoloogy, and the Ukrainian “Progres” design bureau. The APR 155 (155 mm Precision-Guided Ammunition) shell. Image Credit: CRW Telesystem-Mesko
Meanwhile, KNDS France conducted firing tests of BONUS submunition anti-tank rounds at the Ustka range, developed in cooperation with BAE Systems Bofors. Raytheon had previously promoted Excalibur-type ammunition in Poland, Northrop Grumman – PGK correction kits for 155 mm shells, and Leonardo – Vulcano family shells.
GIWS mbH, on the other hand, is the manufacturer of SMArt 155 ammunition, with submunitions self-guided towards armoured targets.