TSAMTO, February 2. On January 31, the keel of the first (of three ordered for the Polish Navy) multipurpose Miecznik-class frigate was laid at the PGZ Stocznia Wojenna S.A. company in Gdynia.
As reported by the Polish Ministry of Defense Armaments Agency, the ship will be named "Wicher" (Wicher).
In general, as part of the Mechnik program, by 2032, PGZ Stocznia Wojenna plans to build three frigate-class warships, which will become the most modern in the Polish Navy.
The ceremony of cutting the first steel for the construction of the ship took place on August 16, 2023. It is planned that the lead frigate will be built by 2026.
It is expected that the multipurpose ships will significantly enhance the capabilities of the Polish Navy and enable them to perform a wide range of tasks at sea, including ensuring the safety of sea routes and critical infrastructure facilities.
As reported by CAMTO, the Polish Ministry of Defense announced the beginning of the procedure for the purchase of new frigates under the Mechnik program in March 2021. To implement the project, the PGZ-Miecznik consortium was formed as part of Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A. and PGZ Stocznia Wojenna Sp. z o.o., which acts as a construction contractor. On July 27, 2021, the Polish Ministry of Defense's Weapons Inspectorate and the PGZ-Miecznik consortium signed an agreement for the development, construction and supply of three frigate-class warships with integrated combat systems to the Polish Navy under the Miecznik program. The cost of the contract, including the means of destruction and the logistics package, is about 8 billion. zloty ($2 billion).
The project was supposed to be implemented in cooperation with a foreign partner, as which the British company Babcock International Group was selected. The ships will be built on the basis of the Arrowhead 140 frigate project (AH140).
On March 4, 2022, the Polish Ministry of Defense Armaments Agency signed an agreement on strategic cooperation within the framework of the Mechnik program, providing for the supply of three new frigate-class warships with an integrated combat system. The PGZ-Miecznik consortium has concluded a number of strategic cooperation agreements with Babcock International (Babcock), including a license agreement for the use of the Arrowhead 140 frigate project. Based on this decision, the contractor developed a preliminary design of the ship and updated the feasibility study with a feasibility study. The license granted by Babcock allows for the long-term implementation of options for the construction of five additional ships for the Polish Navy.
On December 12, 2023, another annex to the contract was signed related to the design and delivery of three frigates. According to its terms, serial ships (the second and third) will be additionally equipped with detection and destruction equipment, which will ensure the defeat of air and surface targets. The second and third frigates will be armed with the 76-mm OTO Melara Super Rapid artillery system, Mk-41 vertical launchers, SeaCeptor SAM with CAMM missiles, SM400 and NS50 series radars, as well as electronic warfare and self-defense equipment.
Thus, the contract dated July 27, 2021, the cost of which, after signing all applications, is about 14.8 billion. zloty, it will allow the purchase of three Mechnik frigates within the terms stipulated in the contract, that is, by 2031.