Poland took a major step in modernizing its navy on Sunday as the hull of ORP Wicher, the first of three frigates under the "Miecznik" ("Swordsman") program, was rolled partway out of its construction hall and lit up at the PGZ Naval Shipyard in Gdynia.
The Miecznik program is Poland's largest naval modernization effort, intended to give the fleet three modern multi-role frigates that will replace its Cold War-era Oliver Hazard Perry-class ships as its main combat vessels. The current fleet's backbone, ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko and ORP Gen. K. Pułaski, entered service with the U.S. Navy in 1980 before being handed to Poland in the early 2000s.
ORP Wicher, the first of the three frigates to be launched, will undergo a formal christening Wednesday, followed by its full launch on Thursday. Shipyard officials called the transport and controlled lowering of the vessel into the water by semi-submersible barge one of the most demanding engineering operations in Polish shipbuilding history.
ORP Wicher. PAP/Andrzej Jackowski
Two sister ships, ORP Burza and ORP Huragan, are also under construction, with the last frigate — work on which began in April — expected to enter service around 2031-2032.
The frigates are built on Britain's Arrowhead 140 design, adapted to Polish military requirements, through the PGZ Miecznik consortium in partnership with the design's British owner, Babcock. Exceeding 140 meters in length, the ships are designed primarily for air defense, carrying British CAMM and CAMM-ER anti-aircraft missiles, guns with a range of up to 40 km, and anti-ship missiles capable of hitting targets beyond 200 km. They are also intended to protect shipping lanes and energy infrastructure and to serve with NATO's Standing Naval Forces.
Poland's Armaments Agency signed the construction contract with the PGZ Miecznik consortium in 2021 at an initial value of PLN 8 billion (EUR 1.86 billion). Contract amendments pushed that figure to PLN 15 billion (EUR 3.49 billion) by late 2023.
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Source: PAP