A maritime August for the Polish Navy. Gdynia parade and the launch of the first Miecznik

More than 20 warships in formation on the Gulf of Gdańsk

According to Poland's Ministry of National Defence, this year's celebrations will be held under the banner Polska SAFE - Bezpieczna Polska (Safe Poland). The military parade begins at 12.00 on 15 August in Warsaw, and at exactly the same time a parade of naval vessels will get under way on the waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk. In total - on land, in the air and at sea - up to several thousand troops from all branches of the armed forces and allied militaries will take part.

More than 20 vessels of the Polish Navy and allied fleets will pass in a special formation, representing a range of classes and specialisations - corvettes, frigates and mine countermeasure vessels, as well as hydrographic and rescue ships. The spectacle will be rounded off by a flypast of naval aviation and special mission aircraft, including the unique SAAB 340 used for airspace monitoring.

The best vantage point for the naval parade will be Kościuszko Square in Gdynia. It is there, alongside the Warsaw Citadel, that one of the main public military zones has been planned. Visitors will be able to watch a combined broadcast of the Warsaw parade and the naval parade on large screens, see military equipment up close, meet serving soldiers, listen to military bands and sample the traditional army pea soup.

Borsuks, Abrams tanks and F-35s over the Wisłostrada

In Warsaw, the armed forces will showcase their most modern land and air equipment. The ministry has announced, among others, Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, Rosomak armoured personnel carriers, Leopard, K2 and Abrams tanks, Krab self-propelled howitzers, Rak mortars, Gladius drones and the Poprad, Himars and Patriot systems. Overhead, spectators will see Poland's F-35 Husarz and F-16 Jastrząb fighters, alongside the newest helicopters in Polish service: the Black Hawk, AW-149 and Apache.

The celebrations will in fact begin before the holiday itself. On 13 August, at the Museum of the Battle of Warsaw 1920 in Ossów, the defence minister will decorate the most distinguished soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces. The same venue will host the finale on 16 August, when a spectacular reconstruction of the Battle of Warsaw will close several days of festivities.

Three days earlier, Wicher takes to the water

For followers of the Polish Navy, the August calendar holds one more date, arguably the most important of all. The launching of ORP Wicher, the prototype frigate of the Miecznik programme built at the PGZ Naval Shipyard in Gdynia, is scheduled for 12 August. It will be the first launch of a major combat vessel built in a Polish shipyard in decades, and a symbolic opening of a new chapter in the history of the country's fleet.

The Miecznik programme frigates, based on the British Arrowhead 140 platform, are set to be the largest warships ever operated by the Polish Navy. Each will displace around 7,000 tonnes at a length of nearly 139 metres. Ultimately, the three vessels - Wicher, Burza and Huragan - will replace the ageing Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates and form the combat backbone of the fleet. The value of the programme, the navy's largest modernisation effort in decades, is estimated at around 15 billion złoty.

The launch itself will not, of course, mark the end of construction. Once afloat, ORP Wicher still faces outfitting work, the installation of weapons and electronic systems, and many months of sea trials. Yet it is precisely this moment that shows the project entering its most visible phase - and the fact that just three days later more than 20 Polish and allied warships will parade across the Gulf of Gdańsk gives this August a distinctly maritime flavour.

At a time when the Baltic remains one of the most tense bodies of water in Europe, both events carry a significance that goes well beyond spectacle. They send a clear signal that Poland is investing in its maritime capabilities - and that, after years of waiting, the Polish Navy is returning to its rightful place.