(
Soldat-und-technik.de, june22)
India receives Warmate Loitering Munitions
India has received 100 systems of Warmate loitering ammunition, according to various concurring national and international media reports. According to these reports, the
Warmate, which is produced by the Polish manufacturer
WB Electronics, is another type of loitering ammunition to be introduced in the Indian armed forces. The order will presumably be handled by the New Delhi-based subsidiary WB Electronics India Pvt Ltd, which was founded in October 2020.
According to reports, the new users of the Warmate will be the Indian Special Forces.
The
Warmate Loitering Munition has been introduced to the Polish Armed Forces since 2017. The same year also saw the start of cooperation with the Ukrainian manufacturer CheZaRa, with the aim of developing an agent complex called Sokil based on the Varta protected wheeled vehicle.
Warmate agents have been documented several times in the Ukraine war since April 2022. In addition, Poland recently announced the procurement of a comprehensive package consisting of reconnaissance drones and command and control systems, as well as associated logistics and training components, worth €450 million. Furthermore, an additional procurement of Warmate Loitering Munitions worth eleven million euros was initiated for the Polish Territorial Defence. With a top speed of 150 km/h, the
Warmate has a range of 30 km and can be equipped with a HE warhead as well as thermobaric and shaped charge warheads.
With the exception of the delivery of the system to Ukraine, the manufacturing company is keeping a very low profile with regard to export orders. This is also the case in the current case of India. Upon request,
Soldat & Technik received the answer that they did not want to comment on the matter for contractual reasons. It can therefore only be assumed that the procurement is based on a Request for Information (RFI) from the Indian armed forces in 2020. Apparently, the agent was able to prevail against the unknown field of competitors. However, there does not seem to have been a formal tender.
As early as September 2021, the Indian armed forces declared their intention to immediately procure 120 SkyStriker loitering ammunition systems from the Israeli manufacturer Elbit. The systems were to be produced by the joint venture between Elbit and the Indian manufacturer Alpha Design Technologies. It is currently unclear to what extent WB Electronics India is involved in the production or support of the
Warmate in the present case. (DeepL)
(thanks to the original poster)