 "Aero India 2025: Polish defence giant seeking to boost Indian forces with war-tested drones")
The conflicts raging the world over, the changing nature of warfare and weapons has never been more apparent in contemporary times.
Reports about weaponry from around the globe increasingly mention unmanned systems capable of causing extensive damage beyond enemy lines while avoiding harm to one’s own forces.
As such, at Asia’s biggest airshow, Aero India 2025, that concluded just a day prior, this emphasis on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or commonly, drones) and loitering munitions was evident.
International debut in India
From a global lens, the exhibits put up by WB Electronics India Pvt Ltd, a joint venture with Poland’s largest private defence company WB Group, were of particular interest because one of the systems showcased here, the Warmate Tube-Launched Version, was making its international debut at Aero India 2025. It had not been exhibited outside of Poland until the 15th edition of the airshow at Yelahanka opened.
The reason for making the international debut here was understood to be a signal how serious the company is towards the Indian market.
Ashish Sharma, the CEO of WB India also said that the company is committed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Beyond that, there was a much more important global angle: Of the remaining weapons on display– namely the Warmate Loitering Munition, X-Fronter Personal Unmanned Aerial System that can be hand-launched, and the FlyEye Mini Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance UAV–some had been battle-tested in the Ukraine war.
The company’s Vice President, Colonel Sandeep Malik (Retd) said that “WB Group’s equipments, especially FlyEye Mini UAV and WarMate Loitering Munition System, which is also in service with the Indian Army are battle tested and are the most successful equipment in their class with a very high survivability on a real battlefield.”
As expected, that factor was responsible for pulling eyes at the airshow.
And eyes it did pull– as the pictures below illustrate.
Indian armed forces show interest
India-Poland defence partnership
The private sectors of two nations hold great importance when it comes to working with defence technology. The lessons that WB Group has imbibed from the Ukraine conflict would be more than welcome in India, a country facing security threats from two countries in its neighbourhood.
WB Electronics India has capitalised on this need in the past. It has already made an investment in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC). The company has noted on various occasions that its focus is on fulfilling its commitment to local production, and technology transfer.
Impact Shorts
View AllThe wider context is also of note.
In August 2024, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Warsaw, the two countries elevated their relationship to a “Strategic Partnership”. This upgrade has led to increased focus on defence cooperation, with both nations agreeing to expand bilateral defence and security ties.
Poland has expressed eagerness to participate in India’s efforts to boost domestic defence production and modernise its armed forces.
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