Mistral-class landing ships. Russian helicopter carrier will surpass the Mistral

Landing helicopter-dock ship (DVKD) / universal landing ship-helicopter carrier / VRS (Bâtiments de Projection et de Commandement - projection and control ship). The development of the ship project began in 1997 as part of research into the concept of a national ship for amphibious landing operations - CNOA (Concept National des Operations Amphibies, France). The purpose of the ship is landing military units, helicopter flight support, command center for operations of heterogeneous forces, hospital ship. On December 24, 2010, an agreement was announced with a consortium consisting of the French company DCNS and the Russian OSK. When transferring the ships, France will transfer to the Russian side all the technologies it is interested in. The protocol of intent was signed on June 10, 2011 in Paris, the signing of the final contract took place within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 17, 2011. According to the agreement, it is planned to build two helicopter carriers in France and two in Russia. Also, the Baltic Shipyard (St. Petersburg) was ordered to build part of the hull sections and the first two ships of the series (12 block sections of the aft parts of the ships). On October 1, 2012, the official construction of the Russian part of the sections of the lead ship for the Russian Navy, Vladivostok, began at the Baltic Shipyard.

The design of the ship version for the Russian Navy (BPC Russe) is being carried out in two stages. The first stage - preliminary design - was completed in April 2012. Technical project The ship is due to be completed in September 2012. The project provides for modification to accommodate Russian aircraft, Russification of user interfaces and adaptation of the ship and flight deck for winter operation (electric heating of the deck, etc.).

http://www.shipspotting.com/).

Start of work on the assembly of the first section of the first ship for the Russian Navy at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire - February 1, 2012. The first 100-ton section of the first ship will be manufactured in September 2012 and will be exhibited at the beginning of 2013 in the dock ship hull assembly. As of April 23, 2012, the Baltic Plant received the final list of orders for rolled metal products for the buildings (first and second), the remaining documents necessary to begin work will arrive at the enterprise on June 1, 2012. In July 2012, the French company STX France delivered to the Admiralty Shipyards a 3D model of the floating hull parts of the Mistral helicopter carrier and the first batch technical documentation according to the ship's design. The Admiralty shipyards, without disturbing the design of the future ship, reworked the project so that it could be implemented at the Baltic Shipyard's facilities. Metal cutting for the first hulls at the Baltic Shipyard began on August 1, 2012. Laying down of blocks being built in Russia for the first ship is expected on October 1, 2012.

The official laying of the first BPC Russe ship will take place on February 1, 2013 in Saint-Nazaire - the first bow section will be placed in the dry dock where the ship will be assembled. The first ship is scheduled for delivery on November 1, 2014 (as of October 2013), the second - in 2015.

Service maintenance and technical inspection of the Russian Mistral helicopter carriers were supposed to take place at the facilities of the Wartsila representative office in St. Petersburg (media report dated February 14, 2012).

In 2014, the contract for the supply of ships was suspended and later terminated. In September, the ships were sold to Egypt, where they received the names Gamal Abdel Nasser (formerly Vladivostok) and Anwar al-Sadat (formerly Sevastopol).

Design- in the version for the Russian Navy, it is planned to make some changes in the design of the ship:
- strengthening of the hull sides for operation in northern latitudes in ice conditions;
- providing heating of the flight deck for operation in winter conditions;
- increasing the height of the hangar opening in the area of the lifts for the deployment of Ka-29 helicopters;
- it is planned to install weapons on the ship Russian production.

The sides of the ship's hull do not have armor.

Helicopter carriers Mistral L9013 and Tonnerre L9014 of the French Navy (photo by Pascal Fournier, Marine Nationale, http://en.dcnsgroup.com).

Propulsion system:
- 2 x Alstom Mermaid thrusters with a power of 10,200 hp each. with 5-blade propellers;
- 3 x Wartsila 16V32 diesel generators with a capacity of 2.075 MW each
- 1 x diesel generator Wartsila 18V200 with a power of 3.3 MW

Thrusters in the bow of the hull.

Steering column DVKD "Vladivostok" Mistral type. Before launching into the water. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard. 10.15.2013 (photo - Daniil Nizamutdinov, http://en.ria.ru).

The landing helicopter dock ship "Vladivostok" of the Mistral type for the Russian Navy shortly before launching. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard. September 2013 (photo - AFP, http://legatus-minor.livejournal.com/).

Performance characteristics of the ship:
Crew - 160 people (including 20 officers)

Length - 199 m
Waterline length - 189 m
Waterline width - 32 m
Height - 64.3 m
Draft - 6.3 m
Hangar area for aviation equipment - 1800 sq.m.

Standard displacement - 16500 t
Total displacement - 21300 t
Maximum displacement - 32300 t

Full speed - 19 knots
Cruising speed - 18 knots
Economic speed - 15 knots
Travel range:
- 10800 miles (speed 18 knots)
- 19800 miles (speed 15 knots)
Autonomy - 30 days

landing 450 people, evacuation - up to 900 people. As well as up to 150 staff personnel .
Weight payload- 1100 t
Cargo deck size - 122 x 13.5 x 7.7 m

Weapons: in the version for the Russian Navy, Russian-made weapons. On 02/16/2012, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Vladimir Vysotsky, told the media that “it is possible to deploy weapons with a special warhead of Russian design on the Mistrals, which are being built for the Russian Navy.” Probably, we are talking about the possibility of placing on ships some strike systems with nuclear warheads. It is also possible that this statement was made solely for PR purposes.

	"Mistral"	"Mistral" of the Russian Navy
SAM	2 x 2 PU SAM Simbad	2 combat modules 3Р89 ZRAK " " with 2 x 2 x 4 9М340 missile launchers (presumably, not confirmed)
MANPADS		2 3M47 "Gibka" installations with "Igla" missiles
Auxiliary weapons	4 x 12.7 mm Browning machine guns	4 x 12.7 mm machine guns
ZRAK/AK	2 x 30 mm Breda-Mauser gun mounts	2 x, ammunition 2 x 2000 rounds
Jamming
Other

Project image of the BPC Russe project option. In the bow of the ship you can see the AK-630 and 3M47 "Gibka" installations (DCNS, http://bmpd.livejournal.com).

Air wing: the ship is designed to host up to 16 helicopters weighing 12 tons each / 32 light helicopters. The Russian Navy plans to base 8 attack helicopters (tested in early September 2011 on ships of the Northern Fleet of the Navy) and 8 Ka-29 transport and landing helicopters.

In the version for the French Navy, the ship carries up to 16 helicopters - the standard composition of the air group is 8 NH90 landing helicopters and 8 Tiger attack helicopters.

Equipment:

	"Mistral"	"Mistral" of the Russian Navy
BIUS	"Zenit-9" / Senit-9	"Zenit-9" / Senit-9
Radar for detecting air and surface targets	Target acquisition radar MRR3D-NG	similar?
Navigation radars	2 x navigation radars DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250	similar?
Navigation inertial system
Electronic countermeasures
GAK / GAS
Surveillance equipment		Vampir NG ultra-long-range infrared optronic search and sighting system manufactured by Sagem (the contract for equipping the first two ships was signed by 09/28/2012). The system provides passive all-round panoramic surveillance of the surface situation, automatic detection, tracking and information about threats of various types, from anti-ship missiles with a flat trajectory to high-speed ships. The system has two operating modes: - "ocean" mode for long-range surveillance on the open sea, - “coastal” mode for coastal waters.
Laser detection station
Communication complex	Syracuse Satellite Communications System	Syracuse Satellite Communications System?
General operational management system

Price ship for 2010 about 900 million euros.

Status: Russia

Helicopter carrier ship Mistral L9013 after launching, Brest, 10/06/2004 (photo from the Rama archive, http://commons.wikimedia.org).

French Navy helicopter carrier Tonnerre L9014, 07/24/2007 (photo by Beotien Lambda, http://commons.wikimedia.org).

French Navy helicopter carrier Tonnerre L9014 (http://www.venik4.com).

Helicopter carrier Mistral L9013 during a visit to St. Petersburg in November 2009 (photo - Vitaly Kuzmin, http://vitaly.livejournal.com).

- 2011 June 17 - a contract was signed between Rosoboronexport and DCNS Corporation (France) for the supply of the first two Mistral helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy. The contract amount is 1.2 billion euros, incl. 980 million euros directly cost the ships.

2011 December 02 - a contract was signed between USC and the Baltic Shipyard for the manufacture of floating parts of the hulls of two (2) Mistral helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy. The contract amount is 2.5 billion rubles.

2011 December 09 - information appeared about the start of work on changing the technical documentation for the Mistral project to meet the requirements of the Russian Navy. We are talking about changing the height of part of the hangar to ensure the basing of Ka-29 helicopters and providing heating for the flight deck.

December 22, 2011 - Russian Defense Minister A. Serdyukov told the media that the second pair of Mistral helicopter carriers will probably be built at the Sevmash Production Association (Severodvinsk).

2012 February 1 - the first Mistral helicopter carrier for the Russian Navy was laid down at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire. At the same time, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Vladimir Vysotsky, announced that the first two ships of this type will be named “Sevastopol” and “Vladivostok”.

2012 April 20 - information appeared in the media that in August 2012, the Baltic Shipyard plans to begin cutting metal for the hull sections of the first ship of the series. The laying of the first section is planned for October 1, 2012. The start of metal cutting for the second ship of the series is planned for May 2013. We are talking about hull sections that will be produced at the Baltic Plant for the first two French-assembled ships.

2012 October 1 - at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg, construction of the Russian part of the sections of the main Vladivostok DVKD for the Russian Navy officially began.

- 2013 January 24 - Critical notes appeared in the media on the decision of the previous leadership of the Ministry of Defense to purchase Mistral helicopter carriers. Media reports that the decision on the construction or refusal to build the third and fourth helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy will be made in 2016.

February 1, 2013 - according to the media, in an atmosphere of heightened secrecy, the official laying of the first ship BPC Russe took place in Saint-Nazaire (France) - the first bow section (,) was placed in the dry dock where the ship will be assembled.

February 5, 2013 - Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government D.O. Rogozin told reporters that Russia does not produce fuel for the Mistral helicopter carriers. Later, he stated that he actually meant something else. At the same time, in November 2009, when the helicopter carrier called at St. Petersburg, Baltic Bunker Company LLC bunkered this vessel, supplying it with 450 tons of diesel fuel (MGO 0.1). IAA PortNews also reports that representatives of physical suppliers of bunker fuel in Russia interviewed by IAA PortNews did not agree with the statement about the lack of necessary fuel. Ships of the Mistral type operate on diesel fuel and IFO-180 fuel oil, confirmed IAA PortNews in one of the largest bunkering companies in the North-West of Russia, the so-called “NATO” specification of marine fuels is no different from ISO standards, as well as GOSTs and specifications according to which marine fuel is produced in Russia. As for the type of engines, a large percentage of ships in the world operate on similar engines. Therefore, any bunkering company can physically supply fuel to such a vessel in Russia, the agency’s interlocutors are sure ().

http://www.meretmarine.com via http://bmpd.livejournal.com).

The landing helicopter-carrying ship-dock "Vladivostok" is a Mistral-type landing craft for the Russian Navy. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard, June 2013 (photo - Vincent Groizeleau, published 06/20/2013, http://www.meretmarine.com via http://bmpd.livejournal.com).

- 2013 June 19 - construction of the second Mistral-type DVKD for the Russian Navy began in France ().

June 26, 2013 - The Baltic Shipyard plans to launch the aft part of the Mistral-type DKVD, the construction of which is underway at the shipyard. Earlier, some media reported information about the transfer of the construction of ship sections for the Russian Navy to France due to an alleged delay in construction (). The launch of the aft part of the DVKD took place as planned on June 26, 2013. The launch of the lead ship is planned on October 15, 2013. The aft part should arrive at the shipyard in France on July 25, 2013 ().

http://www.fontanka.ru).

The ceremony of launching the aft part of the main Mistral DVKD for the Russian Navy, St. Petersburg, Baltic Shipyard, 06/26/2013 (photo - Igor Russak, http://ria.ru).

The ceremony of launching the aft part of the main Mistral DVKD for the Russian Navy, St. Petersburg, "Baltic Plant", 06/26/2013 (http://www.fontanka.ru).

The aft part of the head DVKD Mistral for the Russian Navy, St. Petersburg, "Baltic Shipyard", early July 2013 (photo - http://pfc-joker.livejournal.com).

- 2013 July 7 - the aft section of the Vladivostok DVKD, built at the Baltic Shipyard, was sent to France on July 6 for ship assembly. As part of the work to saturate the hull of the first DVKD, the Baltic Plant installed foundations for rudder propellers, aft and side ramps, lifting platforms for helicopters, an ammunition lift, and hangar clinker doors. A ballast pump room was equipped, and towing and mooring equipment was installed for transporting the hull to Saint-Nazaire. All hatches and doors provided for by the project were installed, electrical plumbing equipment was installed (cable trays and foundations for electrical appliances). The hull was also saturated with pipes for ballast, waste and fire systems. The total length of the pipes is about 5 thousand meters ().

July 23, 2013 - the aft part of the Vladivostok DVKD arrived at its dream destination in Saint-Nazaire (France).

The aft part of the Vladivostok DVKD arrived in Saint-Nazaire, France, 07/23/2013 (photo - DCNS via http://ria.ru).

The landing helicopter-carrying ship-dock "Vladivostok" is a Mistral-type landing craft for the Russian Navy. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard, July 23, 2013 (photo - Gilbert Cailler, http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1843349).

The beginning of the docking of the hull of the Vladivostok DVKD - Mistral-type DVKD for the Russian Navy - has been completed. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard, July 25, 2013 (photo by STX France via http://bmpd.livejournal.com).

The docking of the hull of the Vladivostok DVKD - Mistral-type DVKD for the Russian Navy - has been completed. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard, July 25, 2013 (photo by STX France via http://bmpd.livejournal.com).

The landing helicopter-carrying ship-dock "Sevastopol" is a Mistral-type landing craft for the Russian Navy. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard, 08/10/2013 (photo - Christophe Dedieu, http://www.shipspotting.com/).

The landing helicopter-carrying ship-dock "Vladivostok" is a Mistral-type landing craft for the Russian Navy. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard, 09/08/2013 (photo - Christian Plague, http://www.shipspotting.com/ via http://prokhor-tebin.livejournal.com/).

The Mistral-class landing helicopter carrier ship "Vladivostok" for the Russian Navy before launching. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard. 10.15.2013 (photo - Daniil Nizamutdinov, http://en.ria.ru).

The Mistral-class landing helicopter carrier ship "Vladivostok" for the Russian Navy before launching. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard. 10.15.2013 (photo - AFP, http://legatus-minor.livejournal.com/).

The Mistral-class landing helicopter carrier ship "Vladivostok" for the Russian Navy before launching. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard. 10/15/2013 (photo - Frank Perry, AFP, http://www.lexpress.fr).

The landing helicopter-carrying ship-dock "Vladivostok" is a Mistral-type landing craft for the Russian Navy. France, Saint-Nazaire, October 21, 2013 (photo - brunoh, http://www.shipspotting.com/).

The landing helicopter-carrying ship-dock "Vladivostok" is a Mistral-type landing craft for the Russian Navy. France, Saint-Nazaire, October 21, 2013 (photo - Gilbert Cailler, http://www.shipspotting.com/).

The landing helicopter-carrying ship-dock "Sevastopol" is a Mistral-type landing craft for the Russian Navy. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard, 01/02/2014 (photo - Christian Plague, http://www.shipspotting.com/).

The landing helicopter-carrying ship-dock "Sevastopol" is a Mistral-type landing craft for the Russian Navy. France, Saint-Nazaire, STX France shipyard, 01/25/2014 (photo - Christian Plague, http://www.shipspotting.com/).

- 2014 January 31 - the media stated that USC will need about 1 year to integrate domestic systems at the Vladivostok DVKD. The integration of weapons systems and avionics will be carried out in Kronstadt.

Mistral Helicopter Carrier Register(06/26/2013):

№pp	Name	head №	factory	laid down	launched	entered into service	Status
01	Mistral L9013		DCNS (Brest, stern and assembly) and Alstom (Saint-Nazaire, bow)	10.07.2003	06.10.2004	February 2006
02	Tonnerre L9014			26.08.2004	26.07.2005	December 2006	French Navy, home port Toulon
03	Dixmude L9015		DCNS (Brest, stern and assembly) and Alstom (Saint-Nazaire, bow)	18.04.2009	10.12.2010	expected May 2012 01/03/2012	transferred to the French Navy for three months ahead of schedule, home port Toulon
04	Gamal Abdel Nasser Former No. 1 for the Russian Navy "Vladivostok" (according to the statement of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy dated 02/01/2012)		DCNS (Brest, stern and assembly) and Alstom (Saint-Nazaire, bow)	2011 planned 02/01/2012 (construction of sections) 02/01/2013 (official laying, assembly)	plan - 10/15/2013 (06/26/2013) 10/15/2013 (fact)	planned 2014 (2012) plan 01.11.2014 (04.10.2013)	ship readiness - 36 months from the date of laying
05	Anwar al-Sadat Former No. 2 for the Russian Navy "Sevastopol" (according to the statement of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy dated 02/01/2012)		DCNS (Brest, stern and assembly) and Alstom (Saint-Nazaire, bow)	2012 planned (as of 2011) 06/19/2013 (construction started) plan - 07/04/2013 (official bookmark, 06/26/2013)	plan - October 2014 (June 2013)	planned 2015 (2012)	ordered, home port Vladivostok, Pacific Fleet ship readiness - 36 months from the date of laying
06	No. 3 for the Russian Navy		possibly LAO, St. Petersburg, manufacturing of floating hull parts - "Baltic Plant". 12/22/2011 it was announced about possible construction at PA "Sevmash"	-	-	-	Pacific Fleet or Northern Fleet, the decision on construction will be made in 2016 (01/24/2013)
07	No. 4 for the Russian Navy		possibly LAO, St. Petersburg, manufacturing of floating hull parts - "Baltic Plant" 12/22/2011 it was announced about possible construction at PA "Sevmash"	-	-	-	Pacific Fleet or Northern Fleet, the decision on construction will be made in 2016 (01/24/2013)

Italic speculative data is highlighted.

Sources:

The Baltic Plant began cutting the hull of the first Mistral. Website http://flotprom.ru, 2012
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia. Website http://ru.wikipedia.org, 2011
The French are changing the technical documentation for “our” Mistrals. http://navy-rus.livejournal.com, 12/08/2011
BPC Russe. http://bmpd.livejournal.com/292022.html, 2012
Lenta.Ru. 2010-2012

The French themselves classify the Mistral class ships not as traditional landing helicopter carriers in our understanding, but as landing command ships. This is roughly how the original French designation for the Mistral subclass can be translated – Batiment de Projection et de Commandement. Hence its two main tasks - to land landing forces and means and to control a group, formation and unification of ships or disparate forces.

Helicopter carriers Mistral - video

By by and large, French specialists quite successfully attempted to make a kind of “hybrid” of a universal landing ship capable of conducting amphibious landing operations and a command and staff ship. Initially, the history of the project, on the basis of which the Mistral was later created, was much more prosaic. In the early 90s, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the military of the leading NATO countries was faced with the reluctance of their governments to continue to allocate huge funds for defense against an external enemy, which was then represented by Soviet Union- no longer exists. The leadership of the French shipbuilding giant DCN, also faced with a shrinking national defense budget, not without reason, came to the conclusion that in the short term the Navy different countries the world may be in demand for amphibious helicopter dock carriers and ships that combine the advantages of a light aircraft carrier with a bow ski jump and a universal landing ship, which has a sufficiently large capacity and is equipped with a docking chamber - especially since the French already had developments in this direction.

In accordance with a fairly wide range of tasks, the solution of which was supposed to be entrusted to the promising ship, it was supposed to have a large capacity for landing personnel and military equipment, be able to take on board and launch air-cushion landing boats (DKAVP), and provide permanent deployment on board combat and transport helicopters (including having a covered hangar to accommodate them), as well as having a stationary hospital, a well-equipped control center (flagship command post commander of a detachment or formation of ships), etc.
As a result, in 1992, at the next Euronaval exhibition, which takes place in Le Bourget in the same exhibition center as the international aerospace salon, but in even years, the DCN company presented a project for a promising landing ship with a displacement of about 15,000 tons, called BIP-15 (from Batiment D'Intervention Polyvalent, i.e. “multi-purpose attack ship”) and was a kind of symbiosis of a light aircraft carrier and an amphibious helicopter carrier-dock. The basis of its striking power was to be made up of a fairly large air group - six heavy helicopters of various types and eight VTOL aircraft, which could be used for take-off by the nose springboard. In addition, the ship had a stern docking chamber for two LCAC-sized DKAVPs or four conventional LCM-sized displacement DKAVs (the latter is often called a “landing barge”).

Finally, in mid-2000, the decision of the French Navy command was officially announced - to create a new ship based on the BIP-19 project, and in June a tender was announced, in which the two largest French shipbuilding companies were invited to participate: DCN and Chantiers de Atlantic ( Chantier de l'Atlantique). The winner emerged quite quickly - by the end of the year, DCN received a contract for the construction of two ships of a new type, while the second participant received the status of a subcontractor and supplier of individual hull structural elements. However, serious disagreements arose on the issue of dividing the scope of work between the two companies, and the final contract between the customer and the contractors was signed only in January 2001, so it was necessary to shift to the right the deadlines for the commissioning of the ships into the operational composition of the national Navy - to 2005 and 2006. respectively.
As a result of all these vicissitudes, the command to lay down the lead ship was received only in July, and “cutting metal” began in November 2001. The lead ship was given the name “Mistral” - after the name of the strong wind blowing in the Rhone Valley area from north and north-west towards the sea (some kind of analogue of the Black Sea forest). This Provençal word began to be used in 1519; in a broader sense, it now means simply a strong wind.

Unlike the basic project - BIP-19 - on ships of the Mistral type there is no longer a bow ski-jump and there is no provision for the deployment of VTOL aircraft, although theoretically this option is not excluded - the flight deck of the ship allows similar aircraft to take off and land on it. Having a total displacement of about 21,300 tons, the ship reaches a length of 210 m (with a flight deck length of 199 m), and a width of almost 32 m. The total cargo capacity of armored vehicles reaches 1000 tons, for example, the French military considers 60 light armored fighting vehicles a typical version and 13 Leclerc main battle tanks (provided there are no helicopters in the below-deck hangar). Capacity for landing - 450 military personnel in full equipment and with personal weapons, or 700–900 people “light”, at short period time.
Throughout almost the entire upper deck, excluding the superstructure, there is a flight deck with an area of 5200 m2 (according to other sources - 6400 m2), on which there are six take-off and landing pads for the simultaneous release and reception of helicopters (they are easily recognized by the corresponding markings). Below the flight deck, in the aft part of the ship, there is a helicopter hangar with a useful area of about 1800 m2. To transfer helicopters to the flight deck from the hangar and back, there are two lifts in the aft section. The disembarkation of landing personnel and armored vehicles can be carried out either at an equipped port on a pier, or directly at sea using boats: the ships are equipped with an internal dock with a total area of about 2650 m2, which can accommodate two 95-ton LCAC type DKAVP or four smaller LCM type DKAV displacement.

Mistral and Tonnerre BPC (bâtiment de projection et de commandment) new French 21,300-ton amphibious command and force projection ships. The ships were built by DCN in partnership with Thales and Chantiers de l'Atlantique. Each ship has the payload and versatility sufficient to carry up to 16 heavy helicopters and one-third of a mechanized regiment, as well as two LCAC hovercraft or up to four landing craft. In April 2007, DCN became DCNS following an agreement in which Thales became the owner of 25% of the shares of the new company and DCN acquired Thales' naval business in France (with the exception of Mistral's naval equipment equipped with a high-performance communications center). , which allows it to be used as a command ship and is also capable of accommodating combined (multinational) multi-role forces.
The contract for two ships was placed in January 2001. The keel of FS Mistral (L9013) was laid down in July 2003 and was launched at the Brest shipyard in October 2004. Mistral was introduced into the French Navy in February 2006. Tonnerre (L 9014) was laid down in August 2003 and launched in July 2005, and was commissioned into the Navy in February 2007. The French Navy placed an order for a third ship, Dixmude, in April 2009. The ship's keel was laid in January 2010. It was launched at the end of 2010 and is due to enter service in 2012.

In June 2011, the Russian arms export agency Rosoboronexport signed a contract with DCNS for the supply of two Mistral/BPC class ships and related services. The deal is part of an intergovernmental agreement between France and Russia for the supply of four Mistral-class ships. Delivery of the first and second ships was planned for 2014 and 2015, respectively. In July 2006, Mistral took part off the coast of Lebanon in a French naval operation to evacuate French citizens during the conflict involving Israel and Lebanon. Mistral and Tonnerre replaced the ships L9021 Ouragan and L9022 Orage, which were built at the Brest Naval Dockyard and entered service in 1965 and 1968.

Management and control

The Mistral class is equipped with the DCN Senit 8 combat data processing system and will be compatible with the French navy's joint operations command system SIC 21, which was developed by Thales. The high-performance communications center includes a Thales Syracuse III satellite communications system.

Aircraft facilities and hangars

The ship has the ability to carry up to 16 medium or heavy helicopters below deck, such as NH90, SA 330 Puma, AS 532 U2 Cougar AS 665 or AS 665 Tiger helicopters. The flight deck has six landing areas and a 1,800 meter² hangar. The 5,000-meter² flight deck can accommodate up to six helicopters at a time.

Amphibious capabilities of Mistral class ships

Mistral will carry either four landing craft units (LCUs) or two landing craft hovercraft (LCACs). The French Navy has ordered new high-speed landing craft, engins de débarquement amphibie rapide (EDA-R), which can be deployed to the Mistral.

Ship crew consists of 160 sailors, including 20 officers. An operational campaign involving the transportation of troops and equipment usually takes from two to three weeks. Mistral and Tonnerre carry enough supplies to supply a crew and 450 troops for 45 days. The maximum speed is 19 knots, the range at a speed of 14 knots is 11,000 miles. The 750-meter-long hospital with 69 beds is equipped with two operating rooms. If an additional hospital or additional sanitary spaces are required, the hangar can be converted into a modular field hospital.

Weapons: armed with two launchers French MBDA Simbad air defense missiles with infrared guidance and a range of up to 6 km. The ship also has two naval 30 mm Breda Mauser cannons and four 12.7 mm machine guns. Means electronic support The ship includes a Thales ARBR 21 radar receiver, a multi-purpose surveillance radar MMR-3D NG G-band from Thales Naval France. The MRT-3D has a lightweight phased array antenna and operates as a surveillance radar and self-defense sensor with automatic mode switching. In surface surveillance mode, MRI-3D NG can detect targets at low and medium altitudes at a distance of up to 140 km and in long-range 3D surveillance mode, airborne targets up to 180 km. In self-defense mode, it can detect and track any threats within a 60 km radius. The Sperry Marine Bridgemaster navigation radar operates in the I-band.

Mistral is the first French ship to be equipped with two 7 MW electric slewing drives. The power generation system consists of three 16V32 and one 18V200 Wartsila diesel generators, providing 20.8 MW. Rightfully proud of its “work,” the French company DCNS calls “Mistral” in promotional materials nothing less than the “Chameleon” of the World Ocean.” Currently, ships of the Mistral type are in service only with the French Navy; the fleet has two such ships, Mistral and Tonnerre (Tonnerre - “thunder”). Attempts to deliver them abroad were unsuccessful, although almost simultaneously with receiving a contract from the French Navy, the international branch of the development company, DCN International, began to actively promote a whole family of such ships to the world naval market: BPC 140 (displacement 13,500 t), BPC 160 (16,700 t) and BPC 250 (24,500 t). Initially, the ship received high interest from many countries around the world, in particular, the BPC 250 project was included in the “short list” of the tender announced by the Australian Ministry of Defense for the purchase of promising universal landing ships. However, the Australians gave preference to another contender - the Spanish company Navantia (formerly Isar), which proposed a BPE (Buque de Proyeccion Estrategica) type ship project for tender. In fact, this is a universal landing ship, the distinctive feature of which is the presence of a bow springboard to support the take-off of aircraft with short take-off and vertical landing.

Tactical and technical characteristics of Mistral helicopter carriers

Manufacturers: DCNS (aft part, assembly), Brest; Alstom (bow), Saint-Nazaire; Baltic Shipyard (stern section for two hulls in France)

Displacement of the helicopter carrier Mistral

21300 t (full); 32300 t (maximum)

Dimensions of the helicopter carrier Mistral

Length: 199 m (longest)
- Width: 32 m (at the waterline)
- Height: 64.3 m
- Draft: 6.3 m (with sonar)

Engines of the helicopter carrier Mistral

3 diesel generators Wärtsilä 16V32 (6.2 MW),
- 1 diesel generator Wärtsilä 18V200 (3.3 MW),
- 2 Alstom Mermaid thrusters (7 MW)

Power: 20400 l. With. (15 MW)
- Propulsion: two five-bladed propellers
- Travel speed: 19 knots (maximum); 18 knots (cruising)
- Cruising range: 5800 miles (10800 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h); 10,700 miles (19,800 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
- Navigation autonomy: 30 days

The crew of the helicopter carrier Mistral

160 people (20 officers) + 450 marines (900 short-range marines)

Armament of the helicopter carrier Mistral

Radar weapons: 2 navigation radars DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250, target acquisition radar MRR-3D NG
- Artillery: AK-630
- Anti-aircraft artillery: 2 × 30 mm Breda-Mauser artillery mounts, 4 × 12.7 mm Browning machine guns; "3M47" Bending
- Missile weapons: 2 × 2 - Simbad air defense missile launcher

Aviation group

16 heavy helicopters or 32 light helicopters;
- The number of air groups on the Russian DVKD is 30 Ka-52K and Ka-29 or Ka-27M helicopters

Photo of the helicopter carrier Mistral

The Egypt Independent reported that the Russian-Egyptian deal on carrier-based Ka-52K helicopters (naval version) for two Mistral-class universal landing ships (UDC) has entered its final phase. In the very near future, no later than the end of May, the Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE) will make a final and expected decision.

The Mistral UDC, as is known, can carry up to 16 helicopters, however, most likely, Cairo will order 8 helicopters per ship. According to available information, now work in progress on adapting the Ka-52K to the requirements of the Egyptian side.

In addition to the Alligators, Moscow, firstly, will return to the Mistral the equipment removed after the termination of the known contract, secondly, together with Paris, it will provide maintenance for the ships and, thirdly, it will train the Egyptian crews. Thus, we can talk about the beginning of the formation of a new strategic alliance in the Middle East.

Let us recall that in January 2017, Egypt announced the creation of its Southern Fleet. In addition to the Mistrals, built by STX France from Saint-Nazaire (France), it will include the French-Italian multi-purpose frigate FREMM, 4 Gowind 2500 class corvettes and 4 German-built Project 209 diesel-electric submarines. It is obvious that the capabilities of this group of warships without air support do not correspond to the stated geopolitical ambitions.

In this matter, Russia plays an extremely important role, which, together with France, pushed through a deal to sell “its former” Mistrals specifically to Egypt, whose relations with the United States sharply deteriorated in the summer of 2013 - after the overthrow of an Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. The shameless US interference in the internal affairs of Egypt by supporting the so-called “Arab Spring” became a cold shower for the majority of Egyptians, who realized into what abyss the Americans were pushing them.

It is logical that Cairo began to prefer Paris and Moscow in matters of military cooperation, which, despite pressure from Washington, were able to maintain business contacts between themselves. Egyptian journalist Ahmed Syed, tracking the history of helicopter carriers, noted special warm relations between Egyptian, French and Russian specialists working on ships.

The fact is that the refusal to supply Mistrals to our country had a negative impact on the reputation of STX France in particular, and the image of the entire French military-industrial complex. This was evidenced by a survey of French society in 2015, when 72% of citizens of the 5th Republic were convinced that compliance with military contracts is in the national interest, while their failure is fraught with great economic risks.

That is why Paris did everything to keep the wolves fed and the sheep safe. France returned 949.7 million euros in advance payment to Russia, and actually transferred three key technologies, including large-block construction of helicopter carriers and waterproof protection from Admiralteïski. The Le monde newspaper estimated the cost of the design documentation received by Moscow for the UDC at 220 million euros.

At the same time, from a formal point of view, France fulfilled all the demands of the “Washington regional committee” to boycott Moscow. As a result, Paris's reputation as a reliable arms supplier was restored, which had a positive impact on the results of the French military export system, which was able to sharply increase supply volumes.

From the very beginning of the discussion of the details of the sale of the Mistrals to Egypt, it was clear that Egyptian sailors would need active support from our Ministry of Defense. The helicopter carriers were built taking into account Russian requirements and for Russian systems. It is technically possible to rebuild them to NATO standards, but it is not commercially justified: it is cheaper to send them for scrap.

Anyway, Secretary General on defense and national security 5th Republic Louis Gautier, who was the main negotiator for the French, admitted that many difficult agreements remained behind the scenes, where even emissaries were not allowed Obama. Meanwhile, if we return to the original Russian-French contract on the Mistrals, then the issue of technology transfer was on the agenda of the agreement as an integral part of it.

If the Russian Federation wins the helicopter tender (and the probability is very high), then Egyptian specialists will allow Russian naval engineers and designers access to all Mistral systems. This will allow our specialists to understand in practice how NATO helicopter carriers operate. In fact, the Russian Ministry of Defense does not hide that the experience of such cooperation will be taken into account when developing similar vessels.

Apparently, all parties to the deal are keeping promises behind the scenes, ignoring shouts from Washington.

By and large, Russia initially planned to build helicopter carriers according to the French design at its shipyards. And ordering first one, and then two UDCs can be considered as a kind of commercial concession. To call a spade a spade, Moscow received the documentation for the Mistral for nothing. More precisely - for the money of Cairo.

But it is likely that the most advantageous side will be ARE. With the deployment of the Egyptian Southern Fleet, Cairo will become a regional maritime power and will be able to protect the giant gas field recently discovered near its exclusive economic zone. Now Türkiye, Israel, Cyprus and Greece are laying claim to this asset. As experience in resolving this type of dispute shows, the best argument is warships.

Egypt also needs Mistrals to solve current problems, in particular, to protect the trade sea route in the Strait of Aden, as well as to contain Iran and Saudi Arabia in their conflict over the Houthis in Yemen.

Thus, none of the participants in this transaction were left at a loss. The 5th Republic, disobeying the United States, received additional military contracts; Russia received documentation for the Mistral and a new strategic ally, and Egypt gained the status of a maritime power.

The novelty of a helicopter carrier.

Until now, all attempts to sell these ships on the world market have been unsuccessful. France, having built 2 ships for its Navy, was forced to stop their construction, and put this ship up as a tender for a competition in Australia, when Australia decided to choose the type of ship for its landing forces. Canberra firmly insisted that both ships be built at Australian shipyards, while Paris yielded only one ship to its foreign counterparts - the second was to be built in France.

The main reason for the Australian fleet's abandonment of the Mistral in favor of its Spanish competitor was the still unresolved disagreement over the place where the two ships would be built. Secondly The Australians rated the Mistral as "too complex a ship, with certain seaworthiness problems and too expensive."

The Mistral does not carry any unique technology or unique weapons that Russia could not produce on its own. The announced procurement plans raise a lot of questions.

Whether you need it or not, you need to compare the characteristics.

Technical characteristics of the Mistral class amphibious helicopter carrier

Mistral Shipyard DCN (stern, assembly) Brest and ALSTOM (bow) Saint-Nazaire.

It has a standard displacement of 156.5 thousand tons, a full displacement of 21.3 thousand tons.

When the dock is full - 32.3 thousand tons.

Its length is 199 meters, width - 32 meters, draft - 6.2 meters.

Full speed - 18.8 knots.

Cruising range - up to 19.8 thousand miles.

The ship's helicopter group includes 16 vehicles (8 landing and 8 combat attack helicopter). 6 helicopters can be accommodated on the take-off deck at the same time.

In addition, the ship is capable of carrying four landing craft or two hovercraft, up to 13 main battle tanks or up to 70 vehicles, as well as up to 470 landing troops (900 for a short time). A command center with an area of 850 square meters is equipped on board the Mistral. m, in which up to 200 people can work. It is well equipped and allows you to use the Mistral for control various kinds and scale of operations of interspecific groupings of troops (forces), including those carried out autonomously; actions of a squadron, flotilla or fleet.

In addition, the ship has a hospital with 69 beds (their number can be increased, but only slightly), two operating rooms and an X-ray room. What is interesting about Mistral is, first of all, the power unit. The French have always been strong in creating efficient engines. A distinctive feature of the propulsion system is the absence of bulky propeller shafts, since two propellers are located in special rotating nacelles - the rotation range is 360 degrees. This design of the main propulsion makes the ship more maneuverable, which is especially important when moving close to the shore and in narrow spaces.

It is true that it is unclear how the functionality of submerged outboard propulsion engines will be restored in the event of their failure without the use of a dock? And a ship without movement is no longer a ship, but a simple target. The only advantage of the French ship is its cruising range.

Mistral is designed for transporting troops and cargo, landing troops, and can be used as a headquarters ship. Currently, the French Navy has two ships of this type - Mistral L.9013 and Tonnerre L.9014. These are the largest ships after the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

Technical characteristics of the Juan Carlos class amphibious helicopter carrier I, or as the Australians consider it, the Canberra class DVKD and the Adelaide class of the same type are planned to be built for the Australian Navy by 2013 and 2015. In fact, this is an amphibious helicopter carrier-dock, the distinctive feature of which is a continuous flight deck with a bow springboard for providing take-off of aircraft with short take-off and vertical landing. In addition to twelve helicopters, it also provides a base for up to six tactical fighters - in our case, this could be the MiG-29K. The ship can be used as a replacement for an aircraft carrier when it is being repaired in a dry dock.

It has a length of 230.82 m,

maximum width - 32 m,

maximum displacement - 27563 tons and draft - 6 m.

The ship has a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h) and transports equipment and personnel over a distance of 9,000 nautical miles (16,000 km) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h).

The ship's crew consists of 243 permanent personnel.

The ship can also internally transport up to 902 equipped paratroopers and up to 46 Leopard main battle tanks.

The flight deck of the ship is 202.3 m long and 32 m wide. It is capable of receiving eight helicopters or airplanes simultaneously. The ship can host an air group consisting of 30 NH90 helicopters or 19 AV-8 Harrier attack aircraft or 12 CH-47 Chinook helicopters or 12 NH-90 and 11 AV-8 Harrier.

Landing capacity: 1,100 marines, 150 armored vehicles, of which 23 are sixty-ton MBTs. The ship's docking chamber measures 69.3 x 16.8 m and can accommodate four LCM or Super Cat tank landing craft or one landing hovercraft.

Specifications amphibious transport dock of the Dutch Navy, whose length is 170 m, is one of the large ships that visit St. Petersburg as part of the IMDS 2009. The ship is a combination of an airfield, a port, a garage, a hospital and hotel complexes, as well as an information and communication center. The Dutch Navy uses the ship for international peacekeeping operations and providing humanitarian assistance. Equipped with fast boats and transport helicopters, the dock landing ship can transport large military units with military equipment or significant volumes of humanitarian aid to and from land, as well as from other ships.

Her Majesty's ship Johan de Witt can fully accommodate a battalion of marines with military equipment. In addition, the ship houses an entire hospital complex and a command post. Landing transport docks can operate without entering a port.

The stern end of the vessel can be submerged in water 4 m deep, forming a dock inside the vessel, which allows high-speed landing barges to leave the ship. In addition, the deck of the landing transport docks is equipped with a large helipad capable of receiving two helicopters simultaneously. The hospital complex includes surgical facilities with the capacity to accommodate 100 patients.

The ship also has a parking area with thirty spaces for Leopard-2 battle tanks and 90 spaces for armored personnel carriers. Therefore, it would be more profitable for Russia to acquire the Spanish landing helicopter carrier Juan Carlos I

Benefit for France.

Sarkozy is using the Mistral-for-Transport deal as bait to forge broader business ties with Russia. With this deal, Sarkozy wants to achieve guarantees for business contacts between French and Russian businesses. For example, GDF Suez will receive a 9% stake in Nord Stream. President Sarkozy confirmed that negotiations are underway on the sale of four Mistral-class landing ships to Russia. "Mistral" is a helicopter carrier that we will create for Russia without military equipment," if they are sold, will be deprived of electronic and computer systems. I don’t understand how it’s possible to sell the Mistral without modern technology.

By the way, official Moscow defined this condition as one of the key parameters of the deal being discussed. In addition, for France, this is, first of all, a huge sales market, and the sale of the Mistrals will save the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast from bankruptcy. If such a contract is signed, French industry will be provided with work for several years. The command of the French Navy especially emphasized the fact that thanks to the optimization of costs for various items, the introduction of innovative engineering solutions and the sectional construction of ships of this type, not only the construction time of the series was reduced, but also almost managed to reduce the total costs of the program by 30%.

In Western shipbuilding, there has long been a tendency to use civilian technologies in military shipbuilding, this makes it possible to reduce the cost of building ships and use standardized equipment on warships and civilian vessels. But all this unification has no effect in the best possible way on the survivability of the ship; Although Russian ships may be more expensive, since such deep unification of equipment with the civilian fleet is not used (and rightly so), but they only benefit from this in terms of reliability, survivability and other characteristics.

Unfortunately, these requirements are mutually exclusive: if you want cheaper and easier - get one, you want to provide combat stability- get another one. Warships and are built for military operations, and not for pleasure trips along the Great Barrier Reef or Caribbean Sea. Only now they have begun to forget about this. And this is especially the case with Western companies, for whom the issue of low prices comes first.

Anticipated troubles of Russia.

As part of the Russian Navy, the Mistral class landing helicopter dock ship, if purchased from France, will be used only as a control ship; the military department considers the landing function of the ship as a secondary, inherent universal ships. The Russians are forced to buy this ship. The 450 million euros that we have to pay to buy the lead ship, and roughly the same amount that we have to pay for the license to produce each subsequent ship, gives us a total of almost a billion euros that we actually have to give to France.

The ship for Russia will be built according to civilian standards - without weapons and radars. But if there is any point in buying a series, then you need to buy the first one already ready. The initial official position of Russia in them is this: we are buying one ship, we are building three others on the territory of our country. The construction of large ships also means jobs and support for the military-industrial complex. For Russian shipbuilders, this is also an opportunity to master new European technologies. But during the negotiations, Russia retreated from what was planned. French President Sarkozy suggested that two ships could be built in Russia. “Two and two - that was a reasonable agreement,” he noted, implying that two Mistrals would roll off the slipways in France, and two more in Russia.

The construction of the Mistral will be carried out by STX France and DCNS. Naval specialists laughed at the phrase of the Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov: “According to the Ministry of Defense, the Mistral consumes 2 - 3 times less fuel than our landing ships! Have the French made a global breakthrough in ship energy? They have efficiency power plant 2 - 3 times higher than that of ships of all other countries? It becomes clear what kind of “competent” specialists are sitting in our beloved Ministry of Defense!

Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov believes that Russia can purchase one French helicopter carrier plus technologies for its production. “We don’t have ships of this class. Our large landing ships are about 3-4 times smaller than the Mistral. This is not only a landing ship - its versatility is obvious: it is also a helicopter carrier, a headquarters ship, a landing ship, and a hospital, and just a transport ship, and it is very easy to give it any new function in the shortest possible time. In addition, as part of the Navy, the Mistral will be engaged in transporting people and cargo, fighting submarines and rescuing people. emergency situations", the military leader said in an interview with the Russia Today television company.

The Russian Navy intends to use the Mistral if it is purchased from France, as a control ship. People are laughing! Buying the Mistral as a control ship (and even more so four ships in the end), as an auxiliary fleet - This is taxpayers' money down the drain! At the same time the ship's landing function is considered secondary. The fact is that Russian ships carry out landings in any situation under any conditions with a direct approach to coastline and on our own, Mistral - and exclusively the transfer of equipment.

These ships are essentially used for as transports for the delivery of landing craft, without being such (landing craft) themselves.

Why is Russia purchasing helicopter carriers?

Much more important are the motives - why and for what purpose Russia is purchasing helicopter carriers, and why France, a NATO member, not only agrees to such a deal, but practically pushes Russia to purchase. Purchase a heavy (21 thousand tons of displacement) amphibious helicopter carrier from France for the current Russian Federation is meaningless. Such a large landing ship is needed to carry out amphibious landings in countries far from Russia. And then to cover this big ship an escort is needed - a cruiser, a couple of destroyers, and even an aircraft carrier (which the Russian Federation does not have).

In the event of a major war, this Mistral as part of the Russian Navy simply turns into a big target. It has long been clear to everyone that it will not be long before they can send their marines to the far shores of the Russian Federation; in all fleets, only marine infantry per brigade.

"Mistral" was created within the framework of a different Western concept of the use of marines and landing operations, which provides for a forward presence in the most important areas of the World Ocean and the landing of personnel and military equipment primarily on a coast that has already been cleared of the enemy (while the ships themselves are located at a significant distance away from the coastline, including due to its large draft). In particular, ships of the Mistral type cannot, in our traditional sense, land military equipment afloat - they can only transfer personnel and equipment ashore with the help of 2-4 landing boats, which requires.

A serious drawback of these ships is their weak armament, which does not provide reliable self-defense against any serious threats (anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, combat swimmers-saboteurs), but this can be corrected by retrofitting with domestic ship weapon systems. Landing of troops from t Mistral cannot independently transport heavy equipment to an unequipped coast, only with the help of tank landing boats.

Since the 50s, this procedure has been long and complex: filling the docking chamber with water and removing the pontoons from it takes several hours. They cannot deliver all the equipment to the water's edge at once. Several flights need to be made. The entire landing process takes a very long time. During this procedure, the Mistral with a filled docking chamber is quite vulnerable. However, paratroopers are quickly delivered to the shore by helicopter. But... without heavy weapons and armored vehicles. The main thing is “Mistral”, which does not fit into the concept of combat use of the Russian Marine Corps today. Having received such a ship into service, our fleet will not be able to use it to conduct those amphibious landing operations that have been practiced for decades, or at least will not receive significant assistance from it to conduct such operations. The Mistral helicopter carrier is not suitable for landing operations and will be difficult to adapt to Russian equipment.

This ship assumes NATO equipment,” without modern equipment. The product is purchased in the “empty box + chassis” configuration, but our shipbuilders can weld an empty hull. It is difficult to imagine a situation where the French will make a hull and we will install our own equipment on it. It is difficult to attach Russian weapons, electrical equipment and other technological components to the hull of a completely foreign project that has certain dimensional characteristics. For this, at a minimum, it is necessary that French designers build the ship together with our shipbuilders.

An additional reason why the ship is not needed is that Russian helicopters will not fit into French hangars and elevators. I already had experience. When the Mistral came to visit St. Petersburg, Russian helicopters The Ka-52 and Ka-27 successfully landed on its deck, but later it turned out that domestic rotary-wing aircraft do not fit into the elevator opening in height, so they could not be lowered into the helicopter hangar. The slight embarrassment was quickly hushed up.

So now we don’t need the Mistral, maybe in 15-20 years we will need it - but by then Russia, I hope, can do it ourselves. Provided that Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Syria and Tunisia will have their own base where they can replenish fuel and rest.

Domestic The Navy needs a UDC with a displacement of 28,000 tons, with a springboard and an arresting device, suitable for basing 4-6 MiG-29K. The Spanish Juan Carlos I, which has a nose ski-jump to ensure take-off of aircraft with short take-off and vertical landing, would be more suitable. The French can afford to build cheap Mistral-type helicopter carriers. Russia needs an ocean-going landing ship with good air defense of its own, including that provided by carrier-based fighters.

Military imports are becoming fashionable in Russia. A creeping process of purchasing military equipment abroad has begun. Lately, it has been obsessively public opinion an idea is being introduced: the collapse of the country has reached such a level that Russia allegedly cannot build landing ships itself, cannot build unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and is no longer capable of street and submarines. All these arguments are used by Serdyukov and Makarov, using the background and lobbying of the government elite. Russia is buying an absolutely useless ship that does not fit into the Navy under any circumstances without self-defense weapons, without security ships, and without the presence of a marine corps. The only thing he can do is Mistral, arrange cruises for the Minister of Defense, the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense and their entourage. Commander-in-Chief and Navy leadership.

How the Mistral story ended for France January 3rd, 2017

However, during the construction process, most of the arguments were for the fact that, At that moment, our shipbuilders were almost 100% loaded with military and civilian orders and did not have all the technologies (although parts of the hulls were built at Russian shipyards) for the construction of such ships.

Soon after the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Until recently, I believe everyone believed that France and in particular business circles would not dare to disrupt such a large international order for the sake of political talk. After all, they warned that money is nonsense compared to reputation and precedent. However, as we know, France is a dependent country and it is not simply given an independent policy. The decision was made not in favor of Russia and not in favor of France.

And this is what this peculiar “black mark” led to the shipbuilding company STX France from Saint-Nazaire...

After the failure of the contract for the supply of Mistral landing ships to Russia, the STX France company from Saint-Nazaire (France) was predicted to have serious problems. Complications were associated with difficulties in selling ice-class ships and narrow specialization for Russian-made equipment.

If the company managed to sell these vessels at almost cost, then the reputational risks in this situation turned out to be more serious. After failing to fulfill a Russian order, STX France received a “black mark” from Russia. This was the reason that other global customers sharply reduced contacts with the unreliable shipbuilder.

As a result, the French shipyard fell into a protracted recession, wage debts accumulated, which brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. The solution was found in the sale of the company. However, after the auction was announced, it turned out that such “toxic assets”, spoiled by scandals with the Russian Federation, do not arouse much interest among investors.

At the moment, only one single company has submitted a real bid to purchase STX France. The shipyard's management, however, said that if the transaction price was too low, the auction could be cancelled. The current state of affairs is clear evidence that the failure to fulfill the Russian contract has actually brought the French shipbuilding company to the brink of survival....

And what does Russia have as a result? Russia returned all the money spent on this project and received a large contract from Egypt for the supply of equipment and helicopters for the Mistrals sold to Egypt. The operation in Syria showed the correctness of calculations regarding the need for such ships for Russia, and having received documentation and experience in building hulls, Russian shipbuilders will now be able to build such ships themselves.

It is not for nothing that there have already been statements that Russia is developing analogues of the French Mistrals.

According to Vladimir Tryapichnikov, head of the Russian Navy's Shipbuilding Department, this will be a large displacement ocean landing ship that will be able to transport a large amount of military equipment and personnel. “Today, our military-industrial complex is quite capable of building landing ships of this class,” said Tryapichnikov.

Earlier, Oleg Bochkarev, deputy chairman of the board of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission, stated that Russia plans to build Mistral-type helicopter carriers itself. However, he stressed that this will not be exact copies French helicopter carriers, and ships with a “different approach.”

sources