Ukraine turns to Polish Krab Howitzer, RAAM to halt Russian advance
Ukraine has revealed the effective use of the Polish Krab howitzer in combination with RAAM ammunition. This remote mining solution was used to stop a moving column of Russian vehicles.
The victim of the Krab, or several Krabs serving in the Ukrainian 40th Artillery Brigade, was a Russian tank and an infantry fighting vehicle, and the attack in which these vehicles participated was halted. The Ukrainian shared videos show how a drone detected the Russian column, which was then fired upon with RAAM ammunition.
RAAM (Remote Anti-Armor Mine) projectiles were developed in the late 1970s and launched by 155 mm artillery systems such as the AHS Krab, PzH 2000, FH77BW Archer, or the towed M777 howitzer.
Each of these projectiles contains nine anti-tank mines (there is also an ADAM version - Artillery Delivered Antipersonnel Mine – containing anti-personnel mines).
RAAM Ammunition - a way for Russian tanks
Ukraine has received at least 10,200 M718 or M741 projectiles from the United States. These projectiles work similarly to cluster munitions. However, after being dispersed over the designated area, their charge does not explode immediately but creates a minefield that reacts to the magnetic signature of nearby passing vehicles.
This allows for the remote mining of an area nearly 18 kilometres away. The mines from RAAM projectiles are equipped with a self-destruct mechanism, which, after a period (48 hours or less), leads to their self-destruction not to pose a risk to civilians.
Each of the RAAM system mines weighs around 2.3 kilograms, about half of that being the explosive charge. That's not enough to irreparably destroy a tank, but sufficient to tear off the tracks or otherwise damage the driving system, immobilizing the vehicle.
Used along with modern reconnaissance means – such as drones – this solution enables the quick, remote creation of mine barriers precisely in the path of the opponent's vehicles. As the Ukrainian footage demonstrates, this stops their advance many kilometres away from one's own forces.
