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 the price nor the 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 Ukraine 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 drone forces on January 1. 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.
The first Warmate consignments are expected to be delivered by early 2026 after acceptance trials, the ministry said.
(jh)
Source: IAR, PAP