Poland broadens commercial defence channels with South Korea through sales of Warmate drones
The Warmate drone will be a feature of South Korea’s defence posture by the end of 2024. (Image: The WB Group)
The sale was welcomed by South Korea, which advocated ongoing mutual commercial support.
South Korea is set to buy up to 200 Polish Warmate drones from the WB Group. The sale had been rumoured for some time, but at Polish defence conference MSPO 2024, last week, WB Group chief operating officer Marcin Kubica confirmed the company’s intention to complete the sale and to begin supplying the drones by the end of 2024.
“You expressed your wish to have Warmate systems this year,” Kubica said. “On behalf of the WB Group, I would like to express a commitment: you will have Warmate systems in [South] Korea this year.”
Warmate drones are lightweight enough to be man-carried or easily transported, and they have been used as replacements for more cumbersome anti-tank missile systems, using a far larger operational radius. The hovering, self-destructing drones have seen action in the war between Ukraine and Russia, and it was that action which interested South Korea in acquiring them, despite a tangled international procurement process.
Related Articles
Poland formally commissions Warmate
MSPO 2022: First batch of crowdfunded Warmate loitering munitions arrives in Ukraine
South Korea is itself in the process of developing similar drone technology largely for its own use, and the deal with the Polish manufacturer has been seen as something of a trade-off, after Poland put in orders for South Korean weaponry, including the K9 self-propelled Howitzer and the K2 tank.
South Korea deputy minister of defence Maj. Gen. Il Sung acknowledged the WB Group’s assurances on the Warmate drones, and added that the relationship between the two nations’ defence products would hopefully lead to further commercial defence interaction.
“The [South] Korean defence industry was not planned as an exporter of our products,” he explained. “We can enter a higher level of cooperation. If something happens in [South] Korea, you can support us. When something happens in Europe, [South] Korea will be Poland's supplier.”
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
![US Navy’s FA-XX programme still an “option”, as FY2026 US defence budget outline proposed]()
US Navy’s FA-XX programme still an “option”, as FY2026 US defence budget outline proposed
The US Navy’s answer to a sixth-generation fighter has experienced a range of setbacks and delays to the programme, with only $47 million in this latest proposed budget set aside for completing the aircraft.
-
![Eurofighter eyes mid-life upgrade for Typhoon jets, with production increase underway]()
Eurofighter eyes mid-life upgrade for Typhoon jets, with production increase underway
With roughly 80% of combat missions flown by Typhoons in Europe, the Eurofighter consortium is emphasising the continued relevance of its jet and wants to ramp up production to continue to deliver combat mass in light of a shifting geo-political world order.
-
![NATO orders two more A330 MRTT aircraft, while Sweden and Denmark join programme]()
NATO orders two more A330 MRTT aircraft, while Sweden and Denmark join programme
The order for two more aircraft for the NATO Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) fleet comes as Airbus considers increasing A330 MRTT production to meet demand.
