This was the first laying of the keel of a combat vessel for the Polish Navy at this shipyard in 23 years. The letter “W” was also painted on the keel, referring to the historic destroyer (French: contre-torpilleur) of the same name, which was the first newly built large combat vessel for the Polish Navy. First Wicher was built in France and entered service in 1930.
The weight of the frigate’s keel is 127 tons, or about, 4.5% of the hull’s displacement. Gradually, successive sections, some of which have already been produced, will form the blocks from which the entire hull and superstructure will be built. With a displacement of about 7,000 tons, Wicher will become the first frigate built in Poland, and at the same time the largest combat ship built for the Polish Navy.
According to the schedule, the launching of ORP Wicher should take place in the second half of 2026. The launching procedure, as well as the size of the ship, are new to Poland. When the vessel reaches the stage of readiness for the process (it will then have a displacement of about 2,600 tons), it will be rolled out on SPMT (self-propelled modular multi-wheel transporters) and placed on a pontoon. The pontoon will be imported from the UK or Norway for this purpose.
The pontoon with the frigate on board will then be towed at sea, into the Gdansk Bay, where the pontoon will be gradually sunk and the ship will gain buoyancy. After that, tugs will escort the frigate to the shipyard’s outfitting pier. A similar procedure was used by the British for the prototype Type 26 City-class frigate, HMS Glasgow, except that the launching took place in a deep area of the river rather than the sea. The Type 31 Inspiration-class frigates – based, like the Miecznik, on the Arrowhead 140 design – will also be launched in a similar manner.
More agreements have also recently been concluded for the supply of important equipment and combat system components.
On January 12, MBDA was awarded a contract by PGZ (Polish Armaments Group) to equip the Miecznik-class frigates with Sea Ceptor naval air defence system. The contract builds upon a series of strategic agreements between MBDA and Poland around CAMM family of air defence missiles. CAMM will be installed on board with a quadpacking solution in Lockheed Martin’s Mk41 VLS (with ExLS Host) enabling a high load-out and increasing platform survivability.
Also in January, it was unofficially reported that a contract had been signed between Leonardo and PGZ for the supply of OTO 76/62 Super Rapid naval guns with the Strales package (for guided air defence ammunition DART), and new Multiple-Feeding ammunition loading system.
Under the latest Annex 4 to the main contract, all three Miecznik-class frigates will receive equipment for Anti Surface Warfare, Anti Air Warfare, as well as ESM/ECM systems. In case of the second and third frigate sensors and effectors for Anti Submarine Warfare remain optional.
At the same time, modernization of the shipyard is underway, including the construction of a hull assembly hall and an equipment hall. Construction work is scheduled for completion in August 2024. When the hall is ready, production of the Wicher and serial ships will be transferred to it. The Miecznik program is expected to be finalized in 2032s.
