The boat was built by the Shipyard Krasnoe Sormovo in Gorky[1] and was commissioned on 29 April 1986 at Riga. On 13 June of the same year Orzeł was transferred to Gdynia where she was named on 21 June. The submarine was assigned to the 3rd Flotilla based in Gdynia. As of 2024, she is the oldest Kilo-class submarine in active service and the only operational submarine in the Polish Navy.[2]