Polish weapons are a huge help for the defenders of Ukraine. Poland is definitely Ukraine’s closest ally both geographically and in terms of military aid. Poland donated hundreds of armoured vehicles and other weapons for Ukraine’s defensive effort. One such weapon is a loitering munition called Warmate. Recently it engaged a Russian air defence system Tor and almost fell victim to it.
Polish drone Warmate. It is a loitering munition – a kamikaze drone. Image credit: Michał Derela via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Polish drone Warmate recently helped the defenders of Ukraine destroy a Russian short-range air defence system Tor. The Warmate is a small drone developed by WB Electronics company and the Military Weapons Institute of Technology of Poland. Poland, of course, is one of Ukraine’s main arms suppliers, and drones are extremely important in this war.
Ukraine manufactures many of the drones it uses, but there is no time or resources for the development and production of more advanced systems. Meanwhile, the Warmate is a very capable weapon, developed several years before the outbreak of this war.
The Warmate engaged a Russian Tor system in Ukraine and managed to impress the defenders of Ukraine. The Polish drone itself became a target while approaching the Tor in its crosshairs. The air defence system tried to defend itself, but the missile it fired missed – it passed right under the drone. From that point on the days of that particular Tor system were counted:
A Russian TOR air defense system destroyed with the use of a WARMATE by the 15th separate artillery reconnaissance brigade. pic.twitter.com/2vbUYmR9oa
— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) January 20, 2024
It is possible that Warmate was too small a target for the Tor missile system, which is not that new. The development of Tor started in 1975 and it entered service in 1986. In other words, Tor missiles may not be precise enough to shoot down a very small drone. Of course, the Tor short-range air defence system was designed to shoot down cruise missiles, which are also quite small, but the Warmate is tiny compared to the regular targets of Tor.
The Tor is a mobile low-to-medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system, based on a tracked armoured chassis. It is able to track targets while on the go, although it does need to stop to fire missiles.
This attack is said to have been carried out by drone operators from the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine The Warmate is used by soldiers of the 15th Separate Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade in Ukraine.
The Warmate weighs just 5.5 kilograms, making it very light to transport by hand. Its maximum speed is more than 150 km/h. It can stay in the air for about 70 minutes while searching for a target. The Warmate is a simple aircraft with a pusher propeller, V-tail and a warhead in the nose.
The Warmate is technically a loitering munition – a type of a single-use weapon that is able to stay in the air while waiting for an opportunity to strike. Soldiers prefer to call it a less formal name of kamikaze drone.
Written by Povilas M.