Ukrainian Krab self-propelled guns gunners began to use improvised anti-drone screens.
They are designed to protect Krab ACSs from Russian kamikaze drone attacks as well as from munitions dropped by those drones.
A photo of Polish-made self-propelled guns with improved protection was published by the 26th Artillery Brigade, named after Khorunzhy Roman Dashkevich of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The photo shows that screens made of metal frames and grids completely cover the Krab self-propelled gun all over, including the hull, the turret, and its upper part. Screens also cover the aft part of self-propelled guns.
Metal frames and mesh are designed to provoke early detonation of the warhead of kamikaze drones or ammunition dropped from UAVs.
There is also a possibility that the drone or ammunition may stick in the grille without exploding. This solution should protect the self-propelled howitzer from serious damage and, therefore, keep it from destruction.
The screens should protect against strikes by Russian kamikaze drones such as the Lancet and FPV kamikaze drones, which are often used by the enemy to defeat important military equipment. They are also used for the convenient placement of camouflage nets on them.
A similar decision by Ukrainian gunners was previously used to protect M109L self-propelled howitzers.
Social media published the consequences of hitting such a screen. The authors of the video said that then the Lancet attacked the roof of the self-propelled gun turret. As a result of the detonation of its warhead, the screen grille was pierced, but only shallow scratches remained on the armor of the ACS.
Preliminary solutions
Welded on the body of self-propelled guns, metal screens can be considered a further development of folding anti-drone nets, which were previously used by Ukrainian gunners.
With the help of such, for example, in March 2023, the Ukrainian military rescued the 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled guns—the net prevented hitting the ACS and detained the Russian drone.
Due to such nets, it was possible to protect the Krab self-propelled guns previously. Then the Russian Lancet loitering munition got stuck in a metal grid, which was stretched over a self-propelled artillery mount.