The launch of the first frigate under the Miecznik program – the future ORP “Wicher” – is scheduled for August next year, announced PGZ Vice President Jan Grabowski. He added that in December of this year, the keel for the second frigate – ORP “Burza” – is planned to be laid.
The Miecznik program is currently the largest modernization program of the Polish Navy. Its goal is to build three modern multi-role frigates that will become the backbone of Poland’s naval combat force, replacing the outdated Oliver Hazard Perry-class ships.
Construction of the first Miecznik, the future ORP “Wicher”, is now underway and it is expected to enter service in 2028. PGZ Vice President responsible, among other things, for naval matters, Jan Grabowski, said on Thursday during a conference at the MSPO defense fair in Kielce that the construction of “Wicher” is already at an advanced stage, and its launch is scheduled for August next year. The ship is expected to sail directly into the waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk, unlike smaller vessels, which are usually launched in the shipyard basin.
Grabowski also announced that in December of this year, the ceremonial keel laying of the second frigate under the Miecznik program – ORP “Burza” – will take place. This stage, following the symbolic so-called steel cutting, marks the actual beginning of the ship’s construction. According to the plan, this vessel is to enter service in 2030. The third frigate – ORP “Huragan” – is expected to enter service at the turn of 2031 and 2032.
The ships of the Miecznik program are modern multi-role frigates based on the British Arrowhead 140 design, adapted to the requirements defined by the Polish Armed Forces. The project involves not only the PGZ Miecznik consortium established for this purpose under the auspices of PGZ, but also foreign partners, above all the British company Babcock, the owner of the ship design.
One of the main tasks of the frigates will be air defense; they will be equipped with launchers for British CAMM and CAMM-ER surface-to-air missiles, as well as guns with a range of up to 40 km and anti-ship missiles capable of striking targets at distances of over 200 km.
The ships, measuring over 140 meters in length, will, among other tasks, protect shipping routes and energy infrastructure, as well as carry out missions within NATO Standing Naval Forces. The contract for the construction of the frigates was signed between the Armament Agency (AU) and the PGZ Miecznik consortium in 2021. The value of the contract initially amounted to about PLN 8 billion, but as a result of annexes concluded by the end of 2023, it rose to about PLN 15 billion.
Currently, the backbone of the Polish fleet consists of two Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates – ORP “Gen. T. Kościuszko” and ORP “Gen. K. Pułaski”, which entered service with the US Navy in 1980 and were transferred to the Polish Navy in the early 21st century.