PGZ Announces Launch of First Frigate in Miecznik Program Next Year

The launch of the first frigate in the Miecznik program – the future ORP Wicher – is scheduled for August next year, announced PGZ Vice President Jan Grabowski. As he added, the laying of the keel for the second frigate – ORP Burza – is planned for December this year.

The Miecznik program is currently the largest modernization program of the Polish Navy. Its goal is to build three modern multi-purpose frigates that will become the main combat force of the Polish fleet, replacing the obsolete Oliver Hazard Perry-class ships.

Construction of the first Miecznik, the future ORP Wicher, is currently underway and is scheduled to enter service in 2028. PGZ Vice President responsible for maritime affairs, 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 then expected to immediately sail into the waters of the Gdańsk Bay, unlike smaller vessels which are usually launched in the shipyard basin.

Grabowski also announced that the ceremonial laying of the keel for the second frigate from the Miecznik program – ORP Burza – is scheduled for December this year. This is the next stage after the symbolic “steel cutting,” marking the actual start of ship construction. This vessel is planned to enter service in 2030. The third frigate – ORP Huragan – is scheduled to enter service at the turn of 2031 and 2032.

The ships from the Miecznik program are modern multi-purpose frigates whose design is based on the British Arrowhead 140 project, adapted to requirements specified by the Polish military. The project involves – in addition to the PGZ Miecznik consortium established for this purpose under PGZ auspices – foreign partners, primarily British Babcock, which owns the ship’s design.

One of the main tasks of the frigates will be air defense; they will be equipped with British CAMM and CAMM-ER anti-aircraft missile launchers, as well as guns with a range of up to 40 km and anti-ship missiles capable of striking targets at distances exceeding 200 km.

The ships, measuring over 140 meters, are intended to secure shipping routes and energy infrastructure, as well as fulfill tasks within NATO Standing Maritime Groups. The contract for building the frigates was signed between the Armament Agency and the PGZ Miecznik consortium in 2021. The contract value was initially approximately 8 billion PLN, but as a result of concluded amendments, it increased to approximately 15 billion PLN by the end of 2023.

Currently, the core of the Polish fleet consists of two Oliver Hazard Perry-class missile frigates – ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko and ORP Gen. K. Pułaski, which entered service in the US Navy in 1980 and were transferred to the Polish Navy at the beginning of the 21st century.

PGZ Naval Shipyard is also implementing a project to build a rescue vessel for the Navy, called “Ratownik” (Rescuer). The contract for building this unit was signed in December last year; as announced on Thursday by Naval Shipyard President Marcin Ryngwelski, “steel cutting” for the rescue vessel is scheduled for the day before Navy Day, which falls on November 28.

In addition to building Miecznik frigates and other ships, PGZ is also developing other programs related to the maritime domain. These include the “Digital Baltic” program, developed by the Maritime Technology Center, which is part of PGZ. The program involves building a communication and connectivity system that allows various units and institutions to continuously monitor the sea and, for example, provide real-time information about emerging threats.