Michał Bijan, member of the management board of Flytronic, representing WB Group, and Aurora Sperenta Munutenau, representing Romaero, signed the document during the BSDA (Black Sea Defence and Aerospace) exhibition in Bucharest. The cooperation is to involve the joint offering of a reconnaissance-strike system based on Gladius, which has been introduced into service with the Polish Armed Forces and forms the basis of WB Group’s offer for the Romanian armed forces.
Signing ceremony for the cooperation agreement between WB Group and Romaero / Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
Under the agreement, WB Group and Romaero will cooperate on the assembly and production of Warmate loitering munition systems in Romania. The partnership provides for adapting Romaero’s facilities for high-volume production for the Romanian armed forces, as well as creating additional production capacity for European markets.Na mocy porozumienia Grupa WB i Romaero będą współpracować przy montażu i produkcji systemów amunicji krążącej Warmate w Rumunii. Partnerstwo zakłada dostosowanie zakładów Romaero do produkcji wielkoseryjnej na potrzeby rumuńskich sił zbrojnych, a także stworzenie dodatkowych zdolności produkcyjnych na potrzeby rynków europejskich.
“Romania is a strategic market for WB Group and a country with which we want to build long-term industrial cooperation, rather than merely deliver equipment. Cooperation with Romaero is another step in this direction,” ‒ said Piotr Wojciechowski, president of WB Group.
The agreement is intended to support Romanian procurement programs financed in whole or in part under the European Union’s SAFE (Security Action for Europe) instrument, of which Romania is one of the largest beneficiaries. Poland has already announced several programs to be carried out under SAFE with the participation of WB Group reconnaissance-strike systems.
“The cooperation places Romanian industrial and engineering capabilities at the center of the solutions we want to deliver, while ensuring that the value generated by SAFE-funded programs remains within Romania’s industrial ecosystem. The signing of the agreement at BSDA, shortly after the establishment of WB Romania, marks another stage in the long-term development of our presence in the country,” ‒ added Piotr Wojciechowski (The Establishing of WB Romania).
The agreement builds on the earlier announcement regarding the establishment of WB Romania ‒ WB Group’s entity on the Romanian market ‒ and reflects a broader strategy based on industrial cooperation, technology transfer and the development of local capabilities.
Romaero brings more than 70 years of experience in aircraft production at its facilities in Bucharest, as well as expertise in airframe structures, and in the service and maintenance of military and civil aircraft. This makes the company a natural industrial partner for the assembly and production of advanced unmanned systems in Romania.
MILMAG analysis
WB Group’s agreement with Romania’s Romaero is another step by the Polish company toward entering new markets. The reconnaissance-strike system offered under the SAFE program could strengthen the position of the Polish-Romanian consortium in the Balkans.
The Gladius reconnaissance-strike system has been introduced into service with the Polish Armed Forces / photo and graphic: WB Group
WB Group’s offer is based on the Gladius system, delivered to the Polish Armed Forces, which combines Warmate-family loitering munitions ‒ providing strike capabilities at ranges of more than 100 kilometers ‒ with WB Group’s unmanned reconnaissance platforms, operating on the basis of the TOPAZ battle management system. This creates a unified, network-centric environment cooperating with tube artillery, rocket artillery and missile systems, significantly increasing the flexibility of operations and the situational awareness of artillery units.
However, thanks to its modular structure, the Polish solution can be adapted to the customer’s requirements. As part of such efforts, it can be integrated with national communications and cryptographic systems, as well as connected to a local BMS. Perhaps, then, WB Group and Romaero will develop a new export version of Gladius.