Defence & Space

Thales to provide sonar suite for future Netherlands’ Orka-class submarines

Thales, a long-standing partner of both Naval Group and the Royal Netherlands Navy, will provide a comprehensive suite of high-performance sonar systems…

2025-03-20 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Christening and Launch of Rybitwa – the Fifth Project 258 Minehunter for the Polish Navy

The christening and launch of the minehunter 258/5 took place yesterday, on March 19, 2025, at the Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyard…

2025-03-20 | Przemysław Gurgurewicz | 8 minutes

Run-flat inserts – an essential component of modern military wheeled vehicles

For many years, it has been observed that wheeled chassis purchased and operated by the armed forces require additional equipment to enable…

2025-03-07 | Radosław Niesobski | 4 minutes

When Trump Plays with Putin – Europe Must Arm Itself

Donald Trump makes it clear that Europe must defend itself and take care of its own security. It has taken…

2025-02-21 | Sławek Zagórski | 4 minutes

Christening and Launch of Rybitwa – the Fifth Project 258 Minehunter for the Polish Navy

The christening and launch of the minehunter 258/5 took place yesterday, on March 19, 2025, at the Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyard…

2025-03-20 | Przemysław Gurgurewicz | 8 minutes

Meeting at the Polish Ministry of National Defence with the Director of the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA)

A meeting took place in Warsaw between Paweł Bejda, Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of National Defence, and Emmanuel…

2025-03-19 | Redakcja | 2 minutes

Polish Ministry Of National Defense: Quantum key distribution is a breakthrough in the security of state entity communications

A presentation of research findings on the use of quantum key distribution in state communications was held at the Club of…

2025-03-17 | Redakcja | 8 minutes

Curtiss-Wright to support USMC’s Combat Data Network Program

Curtiss-Wright Receives $18 million follow-on order from U.S. Marine Corps to support Combat Data Network Program with Tactical Communications.

2025-03-08 | Redakcja | 2 minutes

Bambi Bucket Firefighting Baskets at Verticon 2025

During the Verticon 2025 air show in Dallas, the Canadian company SEI Industries showcased its Bambi Bucket firefighting baskets.

2025-03-17 | Rafał Muczyński | 3 minutes

Airbus Helicopters at Verticon 2025

During the Verticon 2025 aviation fair in Dallas, the European company Airbus Helicopters (a part of the Airbus Group) showcased its…

2025-03-17 | Rafał Muczyński | 6 minutes

Thales to provide sonar suite for future Netherlands’ Orka-class submarines

Thales, a long-standing partner of both Naval Group and the Royal Netherlands Navy, will provide a comprehensive suite of high-performance sonar systems…

2025-03-20 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Christening and Launch of Rybitwa – the Fifth Project 258 Minehunter for the Polish Navy

The christening and launch of the minehunter 258/5 took place yesterday, on March 19, 2025, at the Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyard…

2025-03-20 | Przemysław Gurgurewicz | 8 minutes

FFS-class H135 helicopter simulator for the Polish Air Rescue Service

The Polish Air Rescue Service (LPR) has published information on the launch of a tender for the delivery and installation of…

2025-03-17 | Rafał Muczyński | 4 minutes

Leonardo at Verticon 2025 in Dallas

Italian group Leonardo has announced a series of agreements signed at Verticon 2025, the world’s largest event for the global vertical…

2025-03-13 | Redakcja | 20 minutes

Thales to provide sonar suite for future Netherlands’ Orka-class submarines

Thales, a long-standing partner of both Naval Group and the Royal Netherlands Navy, will provide a comprehensive suite of high-performance sonar systems…

2025-03-20 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Christening and Launch of Rybitwa – the Fifth Project 258 Minehunter for the Polish Navy

The christening and launch of the minehunter 258/5 took place yesterday, on March 19, 2025, at the Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyard…

2025-03-20 | Przemysław Gurgurewicz | 8 minutes

Further Polish-Korean Talks at the Polish Ministry of National Defense

Deputy Minister of National Defense Paweł Bejda met in Warsaw with Hyunki Cho, Deputy Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program…

2025-03-07 | Redakcja | 2 minutes

France is considering deploying Rafale jets with nuclear weapons in Germany

As reported by The Telegraph, after a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump, the Élysée Palace is…

2025-02-26 | Rafał Muczyński | 5 minutes

Thales Alenia Space to develop the navigation system orbiting around the Moon

Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with Telespazio to design and develop the space segment of the Navigation System and satellite…

2025-03-14 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Cooperation Agreement between Radmor and WiRan

The Gdynia-based companies Radmor and WiRan have signed a cooperation agreement for the development of projects in the space industry. The…

2025-02-24 | Redakcja | 3 minutes
Shooting

Streamlight introduces the TLR-8 HL-X and TLR-8 HL-X sub

Streamlight introduces the TLR-8 HL-X flashlight with an integrated laser sight, producing a beam with up to 1,000 lumens of power, offering…

2025-03-18 | Michał Ihnatów | 3 minutes

Semi-automatic designated marksman rifle MSBS Grot .308 S20 for civilian shooters

Fabryka Broni Łucznik-Radom, a member of the Polish Armaments Group, has introduced the semi-automatic designated marksman rifle MSBS Grot .308 S20…

2025-03-11 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Streamlight introduces the TLR-8 HL-X and TLR-8 HL-X sub

Streamlight introduces the TLR-8 HL-X flashlight with an integrated laser sight, producing a beam with up to 1,000 lumens of power, offering…

2025-03-18 | Michał Ihnatów | 3 minutes

IWA 2025: Leupold’s New Products

In a short video report from IWA OutdoorClassics 2025, a Leupold representative discusses the key new products for this year.

2025-03-10 | Michał Ihnatów | 1 minutes

Enforce Tac 2025: Source Tactical with Ballistic Protection for Women

At the Source Tactical booth, not only popular hydration systems were showcased, but also personal ballistic protection—including armor specifically designed…

2025-02-26 | Michał Ihnatów | 2 minutes

CuraheeGear introduces the TF-50 uniform set to its product lineup

CuraheeGear introduces the TF-50 uniform set, which includes pants designed specifically for the Commando Military Unit (Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosów) in…

2025-02-18 | Michał Ihnatów | 4 minutes

Enforce Tac 2025 starts on February 24th

Enforce Tac is an international trade fair aimed at law enforcement officers, experts from government agencies, and representatives of the…

2025-01-30 | Michał Ihnatów | 4 minutes

POLSECURE: Holsters HPE Poland offer for uniformed services

At the 3rd International Police and Public Security Fair POLSECURE 2024 in Kielce, Holsters HPE Poland presented its offer for…

2024-05-01 | Redakcja | 2 minutes

Semi-automatic designated marksman rifle MSBS Grot .308 S20 for civilian shooters

Fabryka Broni Łucznik-Radom, a member of the Polish Armaments Group, has introduced the semi-automatic designated marksman rifle MSBS Grot .308 S20…

2025-03-11 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

IWA 2025: WBP Rogów presents Piast rifle

The Wytwórnia Broni Jacek Popiński (WBP Rogów) is presenting a highly anticipated new product at the IWA OutdoorClassics 2025 trade fair…

2025-02-27 | Michał Ihnatów | 3 minutes

Setting Up a Shooting Belt: An Example with Clawgear

To assist with shooting training and beyond, various belts and gear configurations have been developed and customized to suit individual needs. It’s…

2024-11-28 | Łukasz Kołodziejski | 14 minutes

Weapon light: a practical tool for everyday service. How to choose?

In the world of armed forces, where every second can determine the outcome of an operation, precision and effectiveness are…

2024-08-29 | Redakcja | 7 minutes

Over 100% increase in gun permits in Poland in 2024

The Polish Police have released statistical data on firearm permits issued in 2024. An increasing number of Poles now hold…

2025-02-20 | Michał Ihnatów | 5 minutes

Firearms In Poland 2023: Number of permits continues to grow

The National Police Headquarters has released statistics regarding the number of firearm permits and firearms themselves in the hands of…

2024-02-17 | Michał Ihnatów | 5 minutes

5 Best Value ATN Rifle Scopes Under €1500

ATN is a leading manufacturer of daytime optics, smart night vision, and thermal vision technology. The innovative features and ergonomic designs…

2022-11-11 | Redakcja | 8 minutes

MILMAG Visits Grand Power

Grand Power is a Slovak manufacturer of the acknowledged good quality firearms. Take part in our guided tour with English subtitles.

2022-05-23 | Redakcja | 1 minutes

TEST: Direct Action Vanguard Uniform

The Vanguard is a uniform set from the Polish brand Direct Action, designed in collaboration with special forces soldiers. There are…

2025-01-19 | Michał Gaweł | 18 minutes

EOTECH Holographic Sight – History, Technology, Practice

The holographic sight is a device known for nearly 30 years and used by professionals around the world. A favorite sight of many…

2024-09-02 | Michał Gaweł | 12 minutes

EOTECH Holographic Sight – History, Technology, Practice

The holographic sight is a device known for nearly 30 years and used by professionals around the world. A favorite sight of many…

2024-09-02 | Michał Gaweł | 12 minutes

Miecznik: Spain Offers Poland F-100

Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia revealed that they are offering their F-100 missile frigate for the Polish Miecznik coast defense ship program.

On August 6, Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia revealed that it offered F-100 as a bid for the Polish Miecznik (“Swordfish”) coast defense ship program. It was a surprise, as the commentators expected Navantia to offer F-110 frigates, which are still in the planning phase.

Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia revealed that they are offering their F-100 missile frigate for the Polish Miecznik coast defense ship program. / Phot: US Navy

Navantia is one of the three potential contractors, whose concepts will be refined by the end of November this year, along with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) offering MEKO A-300 PL (Mehrzweck-Kombination) and British Bacock (Arrowhead 140). At the turn of 2021-22 the best concept will be selected with the specific project development following.

Javier Herrador, commercial business and development director of Navantia said:

Navantia is ready for active presence in Poland to support construction and servicing the ships. We are proud to offer the Polish Navy a partnership model which will be mutually beneficial and will help our friend and ally Poland maintain marine defense capabilities based on modern technology, advanced and tested by the Spanish Navy and our export customers.

In practice, it means that the F-100 project will be the basis for development of three Miecznik missile frigates for the Polish Navy. Five (out of six planned) ships are serving Spanish Navy (Armada Española) as a Álvaro de Bazán class (Álvaro de Bazán, Almirante Juan de Borbón, Blas de Lezo, Méndez Núñez, and Cristóbal Colón) and entered the service between 2002 and 2012.

Three slightly bigger Australian air warfare destroyers (AWD) of the Hobart class (Hobart, Brisbane, and Sydney) based on the same design entered service in the years 2017-2020. The project was modified to integrate the American Aegis combat system in its Baseline 7.1 version.

F-100 was also the basis for five slightly smaller Norwegian frigates of the Fridtjof Nansen class (Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Otto Sverdrup, Helge Ingstad, and Thor Heyerdahl), introduced in 2006-2011. One of the frigates, Helge Ingstad was rammed by Maltese tanker Sola TS and sunk near Sture oil terminal in Øygarden. After it was recovered and towed away, the damage assessment deemed the repairs too costly and Helge Ingstad was scrapped.

In their basic, Spanish configuration, F-100 are 146.7 meters long, 18.6 meters wide, with 4.75 meter draft, standard displacement of 5900 tons, and maximum displacement of 6594 tons. It is propelled by two General Electric LM2500 gas turbines with a total power of 46 650 hp (34 790 kW), and two Caterpillar 3600 diesel engines with total power of 12 000 hp (8900 kW). It grants speed of up to 28 knots and range of 4500 naval miles at an optimal speed of 18 knots. The crew is composed of 201 officers and sailors.

The ships are equipped with 48-cell vertical launching system Mk 41 VLS with 32 anti-air SM-2MR Block IIIA or 64 RIM-162 ESSM missiles, eight launchers of anti-ship RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, 127-mm naval gun Mk45 Mod 2, and two 325-mm Mk 32 Mod 9 torpedo tubes with 12 Mk 46 Mod 5 light torpedoes.

W wersji bazowej (hiszpańskiej), F-100 charakteryzują się długością 146,7 metra, szerokością 18,6 metra, zanurzeniem 4,75 metra, wypornością standardową 5900 ton i pełną 6594 ton. Napęd stanowią dwie turbiny gazowe General Electric LM2500 o łącznej mocy 46 650 KM (34 790 kW) i dwa silniki wysokoprężne Caterpillar 3600 o łącznej mocy 12 000 KM (8900 kW). Zapewnia to prędkość do 28 w. i zasięg do 4500 mil morskich przy prędkości ekonomicznej 18 w. Załoga składa się z 201 oficerów i marynarzy. It has space for a single SH-60B LAMPS III Seahawk multi-purpose helicopter on the aft.

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