Poland cuts steel for third and final Miecznik frigate

Steel is cut for Poland's third Miecznik frigate, Huragan, on 28 April 2026. (PGZ )

The Polish Miecznik consortium has started construction of the Huragan , the Polish Navy's third Miecznik frigate, consortium lead Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa: PGZ) said in press release on 28 April 2026.

The steel cutting ceremony at PGZ's Gdynia naval shipyard marked the final stage of a complex programme for the Polish defence industry, said Jan Grabowski, vice president of PGZ. The PGZ-Miecznik consortium consists of technical lead PGZ Naval Shipyard (PGZ Stocznia Wojenna), with PGZ as overall lead and Babcock International as the main project partner.

First of class Wicher is in the advanced hull assembly phase and is scheduled to launch in August 2026, with commissioning in 2029. The second, Burza , is in the hull construction phase, said PGZ. Construction infrastructure was built specifically for the programme and that a skills base built up around it would be able to serve Polish naval projects in the future, said Marcin Ryngwelski, president of the management board of PGZ Naval Shipyard. The vessels are being build in PGZ Naval Shipyard's Miecznik Hull Hall and production halls, with bow sections manufactured at the collaborating CRIST SA shipyard in Gdynia.

Poland's Miecznik frigates are based on the Babcock's Arrowhead 140 design. They will have a length of 138 m, beam of approximately 20 m, and maximum displacement (including additional equipment and plating) of approximately 7,000 tonnes. They will have a maximum range of approximately 8,000 n miles, a maximum speed of 28 kt with four combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) diesel piston engines, two controllable screws. They will have a crew of approximately 120, with space for an additional 60 personnel.