Polski
Jet-Powered Warmate and a Mobile Laser: The Week the Drone Arms Race Sped Up
This week in the unmanned systems industry shows two sides of the same coin. On one hand, a Polish loitering munition is reaching performance levels once associated with cruise missiles. On the other, the US is testing a counter-drone laser that, instead of sitting in a concrete bunker, rides along with infantry. We take a look at what both stories say about the direction the entire UAV/UAS sector is heading — and why these two pieces of news are worth following together, not separately.
01 · Loitering Munitions
Warmate 30: Poland's Loitering Munition Reaches a New Level [1]
WB Group, one of the leaders of Poland's drone industry, has unveiled the Warmate 30 — the next generation of its well-known loitering munition family, already proven in earlier conflicts and military exercises. The key change lies in propulsion: instead of a classic propeller engine, the Warmate 30 now runs on a jet engine. That translates into speeds of up to 450 km/h and a range of up to 250 kilometres — figures that put the system closer to light cruise missiles than to the typical, slower kamikaze drones we've seen in recent years. Higher speed also means less reaction time for the enemy's defences, which is itself a meaningful qualitative shift.
Structurally, the Warmate 30 is a flying wing — a design that reduces radar signature and makes detection by enemy air-defence systems harder. The airframe is built from composites, and the warhead, weighing up to 30 kg, is interchangeable, allowing the payload to be tailored to the specific target type, from armoured vehicles to infrastructure. Importantly, this isn't just an announcement or a demonstrator — the system has already entered series production, and the Polish Armed Forces have placed an order for it. That means the Warmate 30 could become a real part of the arsenal in a relatively short time, rather than staying merely an entry in a trade-show catalogue.
For the industry, this is a sign that the line between a drone and a cruise missile is increasingly blurring — and that Polish manufacturers are closer to the front of this race than one might expect.
With loitering munitions becoming faster, longer-ranged, and harder to detect, the natural question is how to defend against them at all. That's the question our second story of the week tries to answer.
02 · Directed-Energy Weapons
Laser on Wheels: The US Tests Mobile Drone Defence [2]
At Fort Bliss, soldiers of the US Army's 1st Armored Division field-tested a prototype of the AMP-HEL system — a 20 kW laser mounted on an Infantry Squad Vehicle. The project combines LOCUST laser technology, developed by AeroVironment, with a driving platform supplied by General Motors Defense — pairing the expertise of a company known for unmanned systems and directed-energy weapons with a maker of light military vehicles.
But the heart of the test isn't the laser's power output — it's its mobility. Until now, directed-energy weapons have mostly been associated with fixed, fortified positions protecting bases or critical infrastructure. AMP-HEL aims to find out whether this kind of technology can move together with units on the battlefield, providing protection against Group 1 and 2 drones — the smallest but also the most numerous threats infantry face on a daily basis. The Fort Bliss test isn't an isolated experiment; it's part of a broader, year-long program in which the US Army is evaluating lasers and microwave weapons as a permanent element of base defence.
If the concept proves itself, it could mark the end of thinking about counter-drone defence purely in terms of stationary domes — and a shift toward mobile systems that travel with troops, ready to go wherever they're needed.
Summary
Summary
This week's two stories are, at heart, one story told from two sides. Loitering munitions are gaining the range, speed, and stealth once reserved for far more expensive cruise missiles, while counter-drone defence answers back by taking lasers off their foundations and putting them on wheels, ready to roll out alongside soldiers. This race between attack and defence will be one of the central themes of this year's Drone World Expo – Targi Technologii i Zastosowań Dronów oraz Systemów Bezzałogowych. If you're curious how Polish and global manufacturers are responding to these challenges, on both the offensive and defensive side, come visit the expo and see the latest systems live.
Invitation
From jet-powered loitering munitions to mobile lasers on wheels — the arms race between attack and defence is picking up speed. See these and other unmanned systems live at Drone World Expo – Targi Technologii i Zastosowań Dronów oraz Systemów Bezzałogowych. Meet manufacturers, counter-drone defence developers, and industry experts all in one place.
Drone World Expo 2026