The launch marks a milestone in the Miecznik program, Poland's largest naval modernization effort, which is replacing the navy's aging fleet with modern warships designed to defend Polish waters and the Baltic Sea.
Marcin Ryngwelski, president of shipbuilder PGZ Stocznia Wojenna, said the frigate's scale was hard to appreciate while its hull sat inside the construction hall. "Even on me, an old sea wolf, it makes an impression", he said, adding that the ship will grow another 12 meters once its radar systems are installed.
Builders have finished all underwater components, including propulsion, propellers and cathodic protection, needed to put the ship in the water, Ryngwelski said. Outfitting the vessel with its remaining systems will take about two years, with port trials set for September 2028 and sea trials to begin in June 2029. The navy is expected to receive the finished ship that November.
The frigate is based on Britain's Arrowhead 140 design, modified to meet Polish military specifications. It measures 140 meters long and 20 meters wide, with a current displacement of roughly 3,000 tons that is expected to nearly double, to about 6,000 tons, once fully equipped. Ryngwelski said adapting the British design to Polish naval requirements took longer than anticipated when the contract was signed in 2021, since the foreign partner could not meet all Polish regulations on its own.
Armed to counter surface, underwater and aerial threats, the ship will also carry long-range radar sensors and is designed to operate in coordinated groups with other vessels, boosting its effectiveness.
"This will be the most powerful ship of its type in NATO forces as well", Ryngwelski said, adding that the frigate completes Poland's Wisła and Narew air-defense systems from the naval side.
The new vessel represents a sharp break from Poland's current frontline ships, two Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates that joined the U.S. Navy in 1980 before being handed over to Poland in the early 2000s.
Ryngwelski likened the upgrade to "switching from a [Volkswagen] Golf II to a Golf VIII", predicting that sailors will need extensive training to master a ship carrying what he described as an almost unimaginable array of sensors and weapons systems.
(jh)
Source: Polish Radio