Polish defense company WB Group has introduced FlyMate, a system concept that integrates reconnaissance drones with strike effectors to enable real-time cooperation among multiple unmanned platforms.
The system is primarily designed around WB Group’s FlyEye reconnaissance drones and Warmate loitering munitions. Under the concept, an operator of one unmanned system can guide another platform toward its target in real time and maintain control until impact, according to the Polish media outlet Polska Zbrojna.
Unlike the existing semi-autonomous operation of loitering munitions, FlyMate is designed to allow operators to control the effector until the final stage of the engagement and immediately assess the results of the strike. This could allow operators to determine whether another effector is required or whether the mission has been completed successfully.
FlyMate is not a standalone product but rather a system architecture that can integrate multiple WB Group platforms. Its basic configuration pairs the FlyEye with the lightweight Warmate 5, and it can also guide larger systems such as the Warmate 8X and Warmate 30.
The concept also allows multiple reconnaissance drones to share data and hand off control of the same effector at different stages of a mission. For example, one drone could guide the munition for several kilometers before transferring control to another platform operating deeper behind enemy lines.
WB Group spokesperson Remigiusz Wilk said the concept is intended primarily for existing users of the company’s unmanned systems, who could expand their capabilities by adding a mission module rather than acquiring an entirely new system.