Not only the flag is similar, Poland's choice for the future warship program (frigate) is also similar to Indonesia's choice. To be precise, the Polish Government has signed a contract for the procurement of the Miecznik (Swordfish) frigates from Babcock International, UK. The MIECZNIK frigate design itself is based on the Arrowhead 140 frigate base, with some adjustments for the needs of the Polish Navy.
Quoted from navalnews.com (7/9/2022), the contract between the Polish Government and Babcock International is based on the Transfer of Knowledge & Skills program, where Babcock will provide training and ship design development to local Polish companies. Similar to the Babcock cooperation model in Indonesia, where two Arrowhead 140 frigates will be built by PT PAL Indonesia, the Miecznik frigates will also be built by a local Polish shipbuilding consortium, PGZ-Miecznik.
However, if the frigates to be built by PT PAL Indonesia are two units, then PGZ-Miecznik will build three warships by maximizing local manpower. The design contract is key to supporting the maturity of the MIECZNIK frigate and providing a package of design documentation to Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ S.A) for submission to the Classification Authority.
The critical and timely process of the contract will drive the next stage, namely the schedule for cutting the first ship's steel plate which is scheduled for 2023.
Babcock International announced the contract for the Miecznik frigate program during the MSPO, the 30th International Defense Industry event held in Kielce, Poland. Earlier this year Babcock supported the opening of the PGZ S.A. Project Management Office in Gdynia, Poland, which will manage the construction of the MIECZNIK frigate program in Poland.
The Polish Miecznik frigate program is the second export contract for the Arrowhead 140 following the first order of a design license agreement with PT PAL Indonesia for two frigates. With a design license from Babcock, it allows PT PAL to build two Arrowhead 140 frigates in Indonesia with special design modifications for the Indonesian Navy. The basic design of the Arrowhead 140 can be configured to meet various naval requirements. And currently PT PAL is designing the necessary modifications to configure the Arrowhead 140 for the needs of the Indonesian Navy
