Mistral class
BPC Dixmude in Jounieh Bay, Lebanon 2012.
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Mistral class |
| Builders: | |
| Operators: | |
| Preceded by: | Foudre class |
| Cost: | €451.6m(FY 2012) (~US$600m) |
| In commission: | December 2005 – present |
| Planned: | 5 |
| Completed: | 5 |
| Active: | Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar El Sadat |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Amphibious assault ship |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 199 m (653 ft) |
| Beam: | 32 m (105 ft) |
| Draught: | 6.3 m (21 ft) |
| Installed power: | 3 Wärtsilä diesel-alternators 16 V32 (6.2 MW) + 1 Wärtsilä Vaasa auxiliary diesel-alternator 18V200 (3 MW) |
| Propulsion: | 2 Rolls-Royce Mermaid azimuth thrusters (2 × 7 MW), 2 five-bladed propellers |
| Speed: | 18.8 knots (35 km/h) |
| Range: |
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| Boats & landing craft carried: |
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| Capacity: | 59 vehicles (including 13 AMX Leclerc tanks) or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion |
| Troops: |
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| Complement: | 20 officers, 80 petty officers, 60 quarter-masters |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 16 heavy or 35 light helicopters |
| Aviation facilities: | 6 helicopter landing spots |
The Mistral class is a class of three amphibious assault ships, also known as a helicopter carrier, of the French Navy. Referred to as "projection and command ships" (French: bâtiments de projection et de commandement or BPC), a Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tiger helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 vehicles including 13 AMX Leclerc tanks, or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion, and 450 soldiers. The ships are equipped with a 69-bed hospital, and are capable of serving as part of a NATO Response Force, or with United Nations or European Union peace-keeping forces.
Three ships of the class are in service in the French Navy: Mistral, Tonnerre, and Dixmude. A deal for two ships for the Russian Navy was announced by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 24 December 2010, and signed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and French Defence Minister Alain Juppé in the presence of Sarkozy on 25 January 2011. On 3 September 2014, French President François Hollande announced the postponement of delivery of the first warship, Vladivostok, due to the Russia–Ukraine crisis. On 5 August 2015, President François Hollande and Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that France will pay back payments and keep the two ships initially produced for the Russian Navy; the two ships were later sold to Egypt.
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Wikipedia