On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, WB Group said on social media that its latest StormRider unmanned surface reconnaissance and strike vessel had taken part in a NATO Task Force X demonstration together with the Oliver Hazard Perry-class missile frigate ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko (273) in the Mediterranean Sea.
StormRider from WB Group / Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
“Our StormRider is representing Poland during the NATO Task Force X demonstration. WB Group’s unmanned surface vessel is working with the Polish Navy frigate ORP Kościuszko, and data from its sensors are being presented in real time during the NATO Summit in Ankara. Polish solutions, global stage. StormRider is now playing in NATO’s top league of unmanned systems,” the company said in a short press note accompanied by a video.
NATO Task Force X (TFX) is an initiative of NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT), which is responsible for the Alliance’s transformation and capability development. It is a special task force focused on the rapid implementation of modern technologies, primarily autonomous unmanned systems and artificial intelligence, in military operations.
The main goals of NATO Task Force X are to develop capabilities to increase situational awareness, protect critical underwater infrastructure such as telecommunications cables and seabed gas pipelines, detect and track threats, especially in the maritime domain, and integrate unmanned surface, underwater, air, and land systems with NATO forces (Protection of Underwater Infrastructure in the Baltic Sea).
The first initiative was Task Force X-Baltic in 2025, launched in response to threats in the Baltic Sea, including acts of infrastructure sabotage. This model proved successful and is now being developed in other regions as Task Force X-Arctic and Task Force X-Central Mediterranean. A demonstration of the latter is currently taking place from June 22 to July 10, 2026, in the Apulia region of southern Italy, with the participation of Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia, and the United States. The Polish frigate left Gdynia Naval Port on June 29 this year and will remain in the Mediterranean Sea until September.
StormRider
The participation of the Polish StormRider unmanned surface vessel, developed by a consortium of Radmor and Arex, both WB Group companies, in the Task Force X-Central Mediterranean demonstration marks its international debut, after it completed the first stage of sea trials in October last year.
It should be recalled that StormRider, based on the general concept of an unmanned surface vessel demonstrator, was unveiled in late August ahead of its planned September premiere at the 33rd International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO 2025 in Kielce.
The vessel is just over 8 meters long and is equipped with several sensor and weapon systems, including a remote-controlled weapon station and loitering munitions supplied by WB Group companies. The platform was inspired by Ukrainian unmanned surface drones used in combat operations against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The Polish maritime drone was developed to carry out a wide range of missions, including reconnaissance; engagement of personnel and surface targets; target identification and reconnaissance; battle damage assessment; support for information operations; operational support; precision strikes; protection of critical infrastructure; and surveillance of bodies of water. It is intended to cooperate with crewed reconnaissance vessels.
The unmanned surface vessel’s reconnaissance equipment includes an independent high-resolution observation turret operating in daylight and night-vision modes, a navigation radar, an echo sounder, and sonar. Its armament consists of an Arex ZMU-05N remote-controlled weapon station with a 12.7 mm machine gun, supplied by the Gdańsk-based company Arex. The module is equipped with a laser rangefinder and a camera operating in the visible and infrared bands. The unmanned surface vessel is also fitted with tube launchers for Warmate loitering munitions in TL-R and TL-C versions. In addition, StormRider carries small X-Fronter observation drones in the V or H version.
As Radmor CEO Bartłomiej Zając told MILMAG during MSPO 2025, StormRider, as a maritime component, complements what WB Group has developed in the air and land domains and is also based on solutions that have been verified in practice. He added that the drone’s range can be significantly increased by retransmitting communications links through airborne FlyEye relay drones. According to him, the maritime platform is a response to changes on the battlefield, such as digitalization, drone proliferation, and robotization, which will require rapid decision-making and management of all such assets. Speaking about multidomain operations today means building an entire ecosystem, not just the effector itself, which reflects ongoing doctrinal changes on the battlefield, Zając also emphasized.
Recently, the Armament Agency announced market consultations on Unmanned Surface Weapon Systems. One of the nine bidders was WB Electronics, part of WB Group.
Nasz #StormRider reprezentuje Polskę podczas demonstracji @NATO Task Force X. Bezzałogowa jednostka nawodna @WBGroup_PL współpracuje z fregatą ORP Kościuszko @MarWojRP , a dane z jej sensorów są prezentowane w czasie rzeczywistym podczas szczytu NATO w Ankarze.
Polskie… pic.twitter.com/xDbCYhqOZR
— WB GROUP (@WBGroup_PL) July 7, 2026
