The agreement, inked at an army base near Warsaw in the minister’s presence, will supply the newly formed Drone Forces with batches of man-portable, tube-launched munitions over “the next few years,” according to the defense ministry.
Neither price nor delivery schedule was disclosed.
Lessons from Ukraine
Kosiniak-Kamysz said Russia’s war in Ukraine proved that low-cost kamikaze drones can “decide the outcome on today’s battlefield.”
Hundreds of Polish-made Warmates delivered to Kyiv since 2022 have been credited with disabling Russian armor and artillery.
What is a Warmate?
The 5.7-kg expendable aircraft has a 30-minute endurance, a 30-km data-link and interchangeable fragmentation or anti-tank warheads.
Operators can abort an attack and loiter until a target appears, giving infantry a precision-strike option without air support.
Birth of a new branch
Poland stood up its Wojska Dronowe (Drone Forces) on 1 January. General Mirosław Bodnar, head of the Unmanned Systems Inspectorate, said the Warmate deal “fills the backbone of the strike inventory.”
He added that a separate tender for micro-drones—“one for every soldier” for reconnaissance—will be issued later this year.
WB Group, Poland’s largest private defense firm, already supplies FlyEye tactical drones and TOPAZ fire-control software to the army. The Warmate order is its biggest single contract to date and will involve expanded production lines near Warsaw.
The purchase comes as NATO’s eastern-flank states scramble to harden defenses. Poland spends about 4 % of GDP on defense and has launched multibillion-euro programs for tanks, air-defense missiles and F-35 fighters. Officials say massed drones complement heavy platforms by saturating enemy sensors at lower cost.
First Warmate consignments are expected to reach front-line battalions by early 2026 after acceptance trials, the ministry said.
(jh)
Source: IAR, PAP