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. Wicher is the first of three frigates being built under Poland’s Miecznik, or “Swordsman”, programme, the country’s largest naval modernisation project. The design is owned by British defence company Babcock, which is working with the Polish-led PGZ Miecznik consortium. W @PGZ_pl Stoczni Wojennej trwa wielodniowa operacja, której finałem będzie wodowanie przyszłego ORP „Wicher”. Name linked to Poland’s naval historyThe name Wicher, which means “gale” in Polish, was also used by a pre-war Polish destroyer.