The Polish consortium PGZ-Miecznik (part of the Polish defense industrial group Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa SA, part of its shipyard PGZ Stocznia Wojenna Sp. Z oo in Gdynia and the private shipyard Remontowa Shipbuilding SA in Gdansk) held a presentation of the appearance of a promising Polish frigate under the Miecznik program on April 8, 2022 in Gdynia. Three such frigates are to be built by the PGZ-Miecznik consortium on the basis of the Arrowhead 140PL (AN140PL) project selected by the British Babcock International group at the end of February based on the results of an international tender. The presentation was attended by representatives of Babcock, the European MBDA association and the Polish company OBR STM, which is involved in the development and integration of the ship's ACS.
The design appearance of a promising Polish frigate under the Miecznik program based on the Arrowhead 140PL (AN140PL) project of the British Babcock International Group (c) PGZ-Miecznik
Recall that the selection of the Arrowhead 140 frigate project presented by the British Babcock International group (AN140, on the basis of which the construction of five Type 31 frigates for the British Navy was started) was made by the Weapons Inspectorate of the Ministry of National Defense of Poland during the tender process, which also involved projects based on the F-100 frigate of the Spanish association Navantia, and the new MEKO A300PL project of the German association thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).
Earlier, on July 27, 2021, the Weapons Inspectorate signed a framework contract with the PGZ-Miecznik consortium for the construction of three frigates for the Polish Navy under the Miecznik program. The value of the framework contract is up to 10 billion zlotys (up to $2.58 billion), which makes it the largest defense contract in the history of Polish industry. The acquisition program for the Polish Navy of three new multi-purpose ships of the Frigate class under the Miecznik cipher is one of the key projects of the Polish Technical Re-equipment Plan for 2021-2035. The new frigates are to replace two former American frigates of the Oliver H. Perry type in the Polish fleet.
On March 4, 2022, the PGZ-Miecznik consortium, formed to build ships under the Miecznik program for the Polish Navy, signed pre-contract agreements on strategic cooperation with Babcock Group as a supplier of the AN140 frigate project for the development of a technical project for the Polish ship, and with the British branches of Thales (Thales UK) and MBDA (MBDA UK) groups as contractors suppliers of ship systems of the "first level".
The construction of three ships is planned to be carried out at the PGZ Stocznia Wojenna shipyard in Gdynia, with the involvement of Remontowa Shipbuilding as a subcontractor. Each ship should consist of four hull sections, two of which will be built by each shipyard. A new boathouse will be built at the PGZ Stocznia Wojenna shipyard to assemble the ship hulls. According to the schedule announced at the presentation on April 8, the first ship can be laid down at the PGZ Stocznia Wojenna shipyard on April 1, 2023, launched in late 2025 or early 2026 and handed over to the Polish navy in 2028. The construction of the other two frigates should be carried out taking into account the test results of the lead ship, with the delivery of two of these frigates in advance in 2033 and 2034, but these deadlines can be specified.
At the presentation on April 8, it was reported that the promising Polish frigate will have a total displacement of 7000 tons, the maximum length of 138.7 m, width of 19.7 m and draft of 5.5 m. The ship will be able to take on board 160 people (with a permanent crew of 100-120 people).
The main power plant of the frigate will consist of four diesel engines, which will provide a maximum speed of 28 knots. The autonomy will be 30 days without resupply at sea, the cruising range is more than 6000 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots. The power of the ship's electric power plant is set at 5.5-6 MW.
The Polish frigate will be equipped with more powerful weapons and electronic means than its British prototype Type 31. The basis of the radio-electronic armament of the Polish ship will be the Thales TACTICOS ASBU and the Thales Sea Master 400 multifunctional radar complex with four fixed antennas with S-band AFAR installed in an integrated mast. Also, the Thales NS50 general detection radar with a rotating antenna with X-band AFAR will be installed on the mast. The hydroacoustic complex will be made up of a new Thales Blue Hunter submerged gas (previously there were no mentions of this GAS in open sources) and a towed active-passive GAS CAPTAS.
The Polish ship will be equipped with 16 Saab RBS-15 Mk 3 or Mk 4 anti-ship missiles (a specific modification has not yet been selected by the customer) in four four-container launchers, two of which will be placed amidships and two in the hangar area. The ship will be equipped with an MBDA Sea Ceptor anti-aircraft missile system with short-range SAMM and medium-range SAMM-ER anti-aircraft missiles in a 32-charge universal vertical launcher Mk 41 (four modules of eight cells) between the superstructures. Each UVPU cell will accommodate one SAMM-ER missile (32 missiles in total) or four SAMM missiles (128 missiles in total). In the future, other types of missile weapons, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, may also be deployed in the Mk 41 UVPU.
The armament will also include the 76 mm/62 Leonardo Super Rapid universal artillery system, two Polish 35 mm single-barrel anti-aircraft artillery systems OSU-35 and four 324 mm torpedo tubes for MU90 anti-submarine torpedoes. The extensive hangar will be able to accommodate two medium helicopters or one heavy helicopter of the Leonardo AW101 type, and the latter without folding the tail.
The Polish frigate will be able to receive four motor boats (two 11 m long and two 7.5 m long) - including in the non-emergency version. There are reserved spaces on the deck for four 20-foot containers, in which additional equipment (for example, mine protection systems) can be placed.
Poland thus became the second foreign customer of the Arrowhead 140 frigate project after Indonesia, which in September 2021 signed a contract for the licensed construction of two ships of this type. The Arrowhead 140 project was developed under the auspices of Babcock on the basis of the project of the famous Danish frigates of the Iver Huitfeldt type created earlier jointly by the British design and industrial group VMT and the Danish company Odense Maritime Technology (OMT). In September 2019, the Arrowhead 140 project presented by a consortium led by Babcock won the tender of the British Navy for the construction of five promising Type 31 frigates (Inspiration type) for the Royal Navy. The Type 31 lead ship for the British Navy Venturer was started by construction at the Babcock Rosyth shipbuilding facility in Rosyth on September 23, 2021, with a planned delivery date of all five ships by 2030. The Arrowhead 140 project is also actively promoted for export.
