Poland, Romania lead a drone bonanza in Eastern Europe

WARSAW, Poland — As Poland’s military is developing the Drone Force, its latest military component that was launched earlier this year, the Ministry of National Defence recently signed a deal to purchase the largest number of unmanned aerial vehicles in the country’s history.

The move comes as various Eastern European allies are advancing major drone purchases, drawing lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine.

On May 15, the Polish ministry signed a framework agreement with local private defense company WB Group to buy some 10,000 units of the Warmate loitering munition. The contract foresees deliveries until 2035.

“This is a large-scale investment – 10,000 Warmate drones are becoming a fact,” Władysław Kosiniak Kamysz, Poland’s deputy prime minister and defense minister, said at the official signing ceremony, as quoted in a statement.

“They will soon start being delivered to the Polish military. The next deals, which will be executive, will be signed in the near future,” he added.

WB Group has been expanding its portfolio of UAVs over the past years. Some of the latest additions to the company’s range include the Warmate TL-R reconnaissance system, FT5 mini tactical class drones in new variants, Warmate 20 loitering munition, and the extended-range Warmate 50. Warmate 20 has a range of “several hundred kilometers” and Warmate 50’s range exceeds that of Warmate 20, according to the company.

Remigiusz Wilk, the head of communications at WB Group, told Defense News that, since the war’s outbreak, the drone producer has observed a surge in interest in unmanned capabilities across the region.

“Drones are now considered an important protective measure for soldiers,” Wilk said. “When combined, they allow to create complex aerial systems.”

In the fighting between Ukraine against Russian invaders, sections of the front line have almost become devoid of human soldiers, with drones patrolling large swathes of land, ready to pounce on anything that moves.

“The more we push soldiers away from the battlefield and replace them with drones, the safer they are,” Wilk said. “Drones have the potential to protect many lives, and the military appreciates this now more than ever before.”

The Polish Armed Forces are showing an growing interest in buying new UAVs to develop their Drone Force, but WB Group is also using the company’s expanding manufacturing capabilities to unlock additional markets.

“WB Group is currently building new facilities to produce more drones,” the spokesman said, listing countries in Europe and Asia, including South Korea and Malaysia, as clients. “We have supplied drones to Ukraine’s military since 2015, so we are in an optimal position to draw lessons from the conflict and continue to enhance our unmanned systems to respond to the evolving battlefield requirements.”

At the same time, the Polish Drone Force will also comprise larger UAVs. In December 2024, the ministry signed a contract worth around $310 million to acquire an undisclosed number of MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones. The UAVs are to be delivered to Poland’s military by the first quarter of 2027.

Meanwhile in Romania, the country’s economy minister, Bogdan Ivan, recently paid a visit to the factories of local drone manufacturers Carfil SA and IAR Ghimbav. During his visit to their facilities, Ivan announced Bucharest intends to use a significant portion of the European Union’s funds for defense acquisitions by member states to buy drones for Romania’s military.

The Romanian minister was referring to the ReArm Europe plan, an initiative designed to bolster the EU’s defense expenditure and capacities. Mobilizing up to €800 billion ($906 billion) through various means, the program is to stimulate higher national defense budgets and finance a new loan instrument available to member states to facilitate equipment purchases.

Romanian officials hope the rising domestic drone production capabilities will allow to ramp up the military’s unmanned capacities, but also enable local producers to sell a sizable share of their output abroad, according to the economy minister.

“When you have a production line that can make up to 3,500 drones annually, we will not only produce for the Romanian military,” Ivan said, as quoted by local daily Adevarul.

Poland, Romania lead a drone bonanza in Eastern Europe

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