The ORP Wicher was christened at a naval shipyard in the northern port city of Gdynia.
The frigate is the first of three ships being built under Poland's Miecznik (Swordfish) programme, which is intended to modernise the country's navy and replace its aging fleet.
'Something exceptional'
Nawrocki called the ceremony a "milestone" and said the programme marked a breakthrough for Poland's defence capabilities and shipbuilding industry.
"Today, something exceptional and groundbreaking is taking place," Nawrocki said.
He noted that the frigate programme took shape in 2021, when Poland signed a contract to build the ships.
The president said the programme was particularly important after decades of underinvestment in the Polish Navy following the fall of communism in 1989.
He also stressed that the project had preserved Polish control over engineering, logistics, design and systems integration while involving foreign allies.
Nawrocki said the security situation in the Baltic Sea had changed significantly because of Russia's war against Ukraine and what he described as hybrid warfare.
"We may have come to believe in recent years that the Baltic Sea is an internal NATO sea," he said. "But that is not entirely the case."
He cited Russia's naval forces, its militarised Kaliningrad region and the so-called shadow fleet as threats in the Baltic.
Nawrocki pledged to support completion of the Miecznik programme regardless of the outcome of future parliamentary elections.
"Regardless of what the next parliamentary elections bring, I will make sure that the Miecznik programme reaches a successful conclusion and that the three multi-role frigates guard Poland's waters," he said.
Steel, guns and engines
Tusk called the ceremony a key day for Poland's security and said the country was becoming a major maritime power in the Baltic.
"Steel, guns, engines, modern technologies and the best radars weigh a thousand times more and mean a thousand times more than slogans and political catchphrases," Tusk said.
He said the frigate programme demonstrated the importance of long-term planning that transcended political divisions.
Tusk said the idea for the ships emerged in 2013-2014, during his previous term as prime minister, and that successive governments had contributed to the project.
"It took the efforts of my successors and this government, and it will take the efforts of future governments, regardless of their political background, for the ORP Wicher, ORP Burza and ORP Huragan to be able to stand guard at sea," he said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks at the PGZ Naval Shipyard in the Baltic port of Gdynia on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. Photo: PAP/Andrzej Jackowski
Deputy Defence Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said the Gdynia shipyard could build similar vessels for Poland's allies after completing the three frigates.
The Miecznik programme calls for three multi-purpose frigates that will form the backbone of Poland's naval fleet, replacing its aging Oliver Hazard Perry-class vessels. The programme is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2031.
It is being carried out by the PGZ Miecznik consortium under the state-owned Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), with foreign partners including Britain's Babcock, which owns the ship design.
The frigates are based on Britain's Arrowhead 140 design, adapted to Polish military requirements.
They will be equipped with British-made CAMM and CAMM-ER surface-to-air missile launchers, as well as guns with a range of up to 40 kilometres and anti-ship missiles capable of striking targets more than 200 kilometres away.
The ships, each more than 140 metres long, are designed to protect shipping routes and energy infrastructure and to serve in NATO's standing naval groups.
Poland signed the contract to build the three frigates in 2021. Its initial value was around PLN 8 billion (EUR 1.9 billion, USD 2.1 billion), but subsequent revisions increased it to around PLN 15 billion.
The ORP Wicher is the first of three Miecznik frigates, followed by the ORP Burza and ORP Huragan.
Construction of the third vessel began in April, and the programme is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2031.
The actual launching of the ORP Wicher is scheduled for Thursday.
Shipyard officials say transporting the frigate and lowering it into the water using a semi-submersible barge will be one of the most demanding engineering operations carried out by Poland's shipbuilding industry.
Poland's navy now relies primarily on two Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, the ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko and ORP Gen. K. Pułaski. Both entered service with the US Navy in 1980 before being transferred to Poland in the early 2000s.
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Source: IAR/PAP