Poland has started the launch process for its first new-generation multi-role frigate, ORP Wicher, as part of a PLN 15 billion ($3.49 billion) programme to modernise its navy.
The hull of Wicher was moved partly out of its construction hall at the PGZ Stocznia Wojenna shipyard in Gdynia on Sunday.
The ship is due to be formally named and christened on Wednesday before being launched into the Gulf of Gdańsk on Thursday.
The unfinished frigate will return to the shipyard after the launch for further equipment installation, testing and other work.
Wicher is the first of three frigates being built under Poland’s Miecznik, or “Swordsman”, programme, the country’s largest naval modernisation project.
The ships are intended to replace Poland’s ageing Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates and become the main combat vessels of its navy.
The programme is also aimed at giving Poland new ships for air defence, anti-ship and anti-submarine missions, as well as the protection of shipping
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