“People don’t realise the extend of WB and we are educating users about the capabilities of FlyEye and Warmate,” Jim Curtin, president and CEO, WB America told Armada International during an exclusive interview on Friday 10 May.
However he added that the awareness campaign was gaining momentum, particularly after WB Group Poland conducted a demonstration for foreign delegates in September 2018 of both the mini unmanned aerial vehicle (MUAV) and the loitering munition Warmate 1 as a reconnaissance and strike system, and working together to in a Swarm concept.
Curtin said that the loitering munition gave another dimension to how artillery is used on targets, considering the need for ground artillery to “shoot and scoot” to avoid counter-battery fire. It gave army units and special forces the ability to conduct local reconnaissance and then quickly use kinetic force to strike at an identified target.
Working in coordination with Topaz, WB Group’s own software that integrates with battle management systems to fuse situational awareness with data communications and strike recommendations, FlyEye and Warmate become a potent combination.
Warmate comes as either a man-portable/deployable system, or as a towed or mobile catapult launched munition (Warmate 2). The weapon’s endurance ranges from a minimum of 30 minutes to over two hours in the case of Warmate 2. “This allows users in the field to push the decision making ability further forward,” continued Curtin.
“We are seeing traction in certain areas of US Army and USMC system command,” Curtin added. “Polish special forces have already flown FlyEyes in combat and have not lost a single system in two years of operation,” he concluded. “And don’t think of Warmate as a UAV; it is a piece of ammunition” he concluded.
by Andrew Drwiega
