West wind. Review of the Mistral type UDC. Who is building the Russian helicopter carrier Mistral?

West wind. Review of UDC type — West wind. Review of the Mistral type UDC. Who is building the Russian helicopter carrier Mistral?

25.09.2019

Why do you dream about your dead father-in-law being alive?

Dream Interpretation: fresh, rotten, frozen meat

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 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.

On this moment Only one company 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 failure to Russian contract 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 the head of the Russian Navy's Shipbuilding Department, Vladimir Tryapichnikov, this will be a large-displacement ocean landing ship that can transport a large number 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

The Egypt Independent reported that the Russian-Egyptian deal for deck-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 the 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, work is currently underway to adapt 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 well-known contract, and secondly, together with Paris, it will provide Maintenance ships and, thirdly, will train 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 the special warm relations between Egyptian, French and Russian specialists working on the 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 interests, while their disruption is fraught with serious consequences. 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 French system military exports, 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. Helicopter carriers were built taking into account Russian requirements and under 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 contract 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 participants in the deal are keeping promises behind the scenes, ignoring shouts from Washington.

By by and large, Russia initially planned to build helicopter carriers according to French project at their 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. Currently, Türkiye, Israel, Cyprus and Greece are claiming 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.

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13:26 23.04.2017

The next stage of negotiations on the supply of communication and control equipment for the Mistral helicopter carriers is starting in Egypt. According to a TASS source in the system of military-technical cooperation between Russia and other states, the Russian delegation has already left for Egypt. Negotiations are continuing, the Russian delegation went to Egypt to discuss with the Egyptian side the parameters of a possible deal with ready-made technical proposals for communication and control equipment, the agency’s source said. TASS notes that it does not have official

16:07 21.09.2016

Cairo requested on-board radio equipment, communication and navigation systems from Moscow. Egypt turned to Russia with a request to sell electronic equipment for two Mistral-type universal landing ships (UDC) it purchased from France. An informed source in military-diplomatic circles told Izvestia about this. We are talking about systems that ensure the combat operation of the ship's air group, as well as electronic warfare systems that should increase the survivability of the ship. The experts interviewed believe that the supply and installation of the required

11:33 06.09.2016

The defense ministers of the two countries are agreeing on this. The heads of the military departments of the Russian Federation and Egypt, Sergei Shoigu and Sedki Sobhi, agreed in Moscow on the training of Egyptian pilots for the Ka-52K attack helicopters, which should be armed with the Mistral-type universal landing ships (UDC). A source in military-diplomatic circles told Izvestia about this. This directly indicates that Moscow and Cairo are close to concluding a major contract for the supply of Katran helicopters for the Egyptian Navy. Experts note that against the background of the strengthening of terrorists in Sinai and

13:50 26.06.2016

The large landing ship Ivan Gren entered the Baltic Sea for the first time as part of sea trials, the Yantar shipyard told TASS. Let us remind you that after factory tests, Ivan Gren moved from Kaliningrad to Baltiysk for state tests. The ship will have to go to sea with a landing party, land it on the coast, receive and dispatch helicopters and other combat missions. The first stage of assessing the ship's readiness is sea trials. Ivan Gren's departure to sea will last several days, during which time the running gear will be assessed

10:36 22.06.2016

A Mistral-class helicopter carrier, built for Russia but sold to Cairo, is taking part in joint exercises between the French and Egyptian navies, which started in the Mediterranean Sea. According to Al-Ahram, the joint exercise was the first for a ship built in France. Prior to this, the helicopter carrier, named Gamal Abdel Nasser, went to sea only for small technical tests, including training for the Egyptian crew. The current joint exercises of the navies of both countries, codenamed Cleopatra, will last several days.

15:51 12.06.2016

The universal landing ship of the Mistral class, sold to Egypt and bearing the name Gamal Abdel Nasser, left the port of Saint-Nazaire and headed for the Mediterranean Sea, reported the DCNS shipbuilding corporation, which is the developer of the Mistrals. Gamal Abdel Nasser is a helicopter carrier, originally built for Russia and named Vladivostok, a representative of the corporation recalled, TASS reports. In 2014, Paris suspended the delivery of ships for which it received money, citing its disagreement with Russia’s policy in Ukraine.

15:35 12.06.2016

The first French helicopter carrier Mistral, destined for Russia, left the port of Saint-Nazaire and went to Egypt. AFP reports this. The aircraft carrier was named Nasser. He goes to Egyptian Alexandria. The city will become the helicopter carrier's home port. The second helicopter carrier destined for Egypt will receive a name former president Egypt Anwar Sadat. It will be delivered to Egypt in September this year. It should be noted that in 2014, the French authorities froze the contract with Russia for the supply of Mistrals. Paris subsequently canceled the contract

14:15 02.06.2016

The epic with the construction of Mistral helicopter carriers for Russia, France’s refusal of the deal and the subsequent resale of the ships to Egypt has come to an end. According to the Ahram Online portal, the first of them was officially handed over to the new buyer, the Egyptian flag was raised over the ship, and it itself received the name Gamal Abdel Nasser - in honor of the second president of Egypt. The ceremony took place in the French city of Saint-Nazaire, from where the helicopter carrier will depart for its home port next week. The second ship to be named after another Egyptian president, Anwar

21:07 31.05.2016

The handover ceremony for the first of two Mistral-class amphibious assault helicopter carriers built at the French STX shipyard in the French city of Saint-Nazaire will take place on June 2. With reference to unnamed sources, information about this previously appeared in the French media. The ceremony of handing over the first Mistral class helicopter carrier, named Gamal Abdel Nasser, to the Arab Republic of Egypt will take place on June 2 in Saint-Nazaire. The French and Egyptian defense ministers will attend the event along with DCNS head Herve Guillou and STX France head

12:40 20.04.2016

Cairo has turned to Russia with a request to supply radio-electronic systems for two Mistral-class helicopter carriers purchased from France. A military-diplomatic source reported this to TASS. The Egyptian military delegation, which held negotiations with Rosoboronexport, clearly stated its desire to install Russian electronic weapons, including electronic warfare equipment, on the Mistrals purchased from France, and requested its supply, the agency’s interlocutor said. Request for specific equipment samples

10:23 29.02.2016

The radio-electronic equipment produced in Russia, intended for placement on French Mistral-class amphibious helicopter carriers, was completely removed from French territory and transferred to the Russian Navy. The message about this came on Monday from the United Instrument-Making Corporation (OPK ed.). According to a representative of the corporation, all equipment was completely removed from France and handed over to the Navy for operation and training of sailors. Let us remind you that the story with the French Mistrals has been going on since 2011.

09:34 29.02.2016

The Russian Navy received radio-electronic equipment, which was placed on Mistral-class landing helicopter carriers. A representative of the United Instrument-Making Corporation spoke about this, RIA Novosti reports. In addition, he said that there is progress in negotiations with Egypt on the supply of equipment for the Mistrals. It is already clearly clear that the equipment dismantled from the Mistrals, which was intended for use by the Russian Navy, will not be supplied to Egypt. The possibility of manufacturing another one in Russia is now being discussed

20:13 09.02.2016

Two Mistral-class helicopter carriers, after their transfer from France to Egypt, will be largely equipped with Russian equipment. Russian Ambassador to Cairo Sergei Kirpichenko reported this to RIA Novosti on Tuesday, February 9. There is a fundamental understanding that the equipment of these ships will be largely carried out by the Russian side. The issue of helicopters was discussed. As I understand it, France is scheduled to transfer these two ships to Egypt this year. After they are transferred, there will be a legal opportunity to substantively deal with this

07:45 17.01.2016

Russia will begin construction of its universal large landing ship(helicopter carrier) no earlier than 2018. This was announced on Saturday, January 16, on the air of the Russian News Service by the head of the shipbuilding department of the Russian Navy, Captain 1st Rank Vladimir Tryapichnikov. Today, such a large landing ship, including a universal landing ship, is being designed design organizations. There are already developments, the appearance has been determined by us. AND necessary implementation may come in 2018 when we start

06:33 13.01.2016

As the French newspaper la Tribune reports in the article Mistral: DCNS envisage de lancer une procédure en contentieux vis-à-vis de la COFACE, the French concern DCNS intends to begin litigation against the French state insurance agency COFACE with a demand to compensate all costs associated with the canceled contract for delivery to Russia of two universal landing ships (UDC) of the Mistral type. According to sources familiar with the situation, we're talking about about an amount of about 100 million euros. It's interesting that the difficulties between the two

16:04 30.12.2015

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, in charge of Russian government The military-industrial complex said that Russia, after breaking the contract with France for the supply of Mistral helicopter carriers, returned compensation three times more than it paid for their construction. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that Russia only benefited from the termination of the contract with France for the supply of Mistral-class landing ships, Interfax reports. According to him, even despite the fact that Moscow, due to disagreements with Paris over the Ukrainian crisis, never received

In the manufacture of floating parts of the hull of two landing helicopter dock ships of the Mistral type at the Baltic Shipyard (St. Petersburg), part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation.

The first Russian Mistral-class helicopter carrier, named Vladivostok, was on February 1, 2012.

A year later, assembly of the ship's bow began at the STX France shipyards in Saint-Nazaire.

In parallel, construction of the aft section was underway at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg, which at the end of July 2013 was where work continued.

On October 15, 2013, the hull of the Vladivostok ship was launched. After that, under the control of the French state-owned military shipbuilding company DCNS, the ship was retrofitted and tested in the docks and at sea.

The first amphibious helicopter carrier of the Mistral type, the ship Vladivostok, according to the invitation sent to the Russian side, was supposed to be transferred by France to the Russian Navy, but the transfer did not take place.

The United States actively opposes the transfer of ships. Paris, on the one hand, stated that it was obliged to fulfill the contract with Russia, and on the other, linked the transfer of ships with progress in resolving the situation in Ukraine.

Even in the event of a serious contract failure negative consequences for the Russian Federation is not expected: France will have to pay a large penalty, and Russia will be able to build its own analogue of the Mistral on its own.

The contract specifies the amount of the penalty; it will be determined depending on the circumstances. The figure varies from 3 billion to 10 billion euros.

French President Francois Hollande decided to suspend the delivery of the first Mistral-class helicopter carrier to Russia due to the situation in Ukraine.

Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov that Russia will not yet make claims against France due to the decision to suspend the supply of the Mistral to the Russian Federation. According to him, everything is spelled out in the contract, Russia will act in accordance with the letter of the contract.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy for Armaments, Vice Admiral Viktor Bursuk, told reporters at the International Naval Show in St. Petersburg that the fleet plans to have two universal landing helicopter carrier ships in service by 2025.

It is worth recalling that the Navy announced the preparation of technical specifications for the development of landing ships that would surpass the well-known Mistrals in their capabilities last summer.

Russian Navy Today it does not have a single universal landing ship-helicopter carrier (UDC), although the need is obvious. Perhaps that is why at IMDS-2017 such attention was focused on the layout and conceptual design of the Priboy UDC at the exhibition stand of the Krylov State scientific center.

The purpose of the UDC is the transportation by sea and landing on an unequipped coast of troops and equipment during a naval landing operation (with the participation of combat support helicopters of the naval air group), as well as the installation of defensive minefields and net barriers, sonar buoys of an underwater surveillance system.

The ship is not easy.

In addition to a dozen helicopters, it has on board six attack boats and six landing boats with a carrying capacity of 45 tons each.

The anti-aircraft self-defense weapon includes four combat modules, including Pantsir-ME. Artillery is represented by a 76-mm universal mount.

The UDC has an integrated combat control system for tactical and operational-tactical units, as well as a three-dimensional radar, navigation complex, an integrated electronic warfare subsystem and a system for detecting underwater sabotage forces and means.

The conceptual design of the two-hundred-meter Priboy UDC with a cruising range of 6,000 miles looks quite convincing and harmonious. The history of its appearance is also interesting, which is connected not so much with the disruption of the delivery of the French Mistrals, but with the scientific and technical foresight of Russian specialists and the self-assertion of the domestic shipbuilding industry.

French accent

The decision to purchase Mistrals at the Krylov Center was met as a professional challenge, and yet a domestic UDC could have been designed here without French influence.

Valentin Belonenko, head of the advanced design department for warships at the Krylov Center, says: “When in 2005 there was talk about purchasing the French Mistrals, we clarified the purpose of the amphibious helicopter carrier and analyzed global shipbuilding trends.

And on their own initiative and for their own money, they began to create a project for a universal landing ship. Compared to the Mistrals, it was initially planned to create a ship with a larger capacity, a larger air group, with by strong means self-defense. We independently worked through project options, conducted model tests, and tested new concepts. This is how the conceptual design of the universal landing ship-helicopter carrier “Priboy” was born.

Any ship is a compromise between dozens of different parameters.

“Priboy” is designed to transport about 500 landing troops and military equipment (tanks and infantry fighting vehicles) with the possibility of the UDC going ashore. Combat support helicopters and landing helicopters must be present on board.

These features result in an almost aircraft-carrier-sized deck and architecture with two types of helicopter hangars (in the superstructure and in the hull below the deck).

With the help of crane beams, landing boats are taken not into the dock chamber, as is customary, but onto a dry dock deck located above the waterline. The absence of docking cameras ensures greater operational safety.

There are ramps at the stern and bow for receiving equipment from the shore and from the water, as well as side ramps. Self-defense weapons are minimal, but very effective: naval modifications of the well-known Tor and Pantsir systems. An amphibious helicopter carrier must operate in a group of ships, therefore it has developed electronic and hydroacoustic weapons for situational illumination and control.

The functions and required “working volume” - 50 infantry fighting vehicles and 10 tanks - determined the shape of the ship and displacement - about 23 thousand tons. The width of the dock deck (about 20 meters) and the space for power plants(in the side racks) give a total hull width of 34 meters at the waterline. The length of the hull is 200 meters.

Optimal timing

The Ministry of Defense approved the creation of a domestic amphibious helicopter carrier, and it is very likely that it will be created on the basis of the Krylov Center project. Perhaps soon we will talk about a contract.

With the exception of Project 1174 “Rhinoceros” of the late 1960s, there have been no analogues in the Russian Navy, but today Russian shipbuilding has the scientific and technical potential, production base and experience to create ships of any complexity.

Valentin Belonenko reflects on the possibility of translating “Surf” into metal:

“After a decision at the state level, the ship can be built in five years. Rationally organized technological process design and construction significantly reduces the time before launching the hull. The ship should be built not from individual units, but from assembly and installation units - modules.”

Our shipbuilders and sailors today are reluctant to remember “French history”. The transport helicopter carrier "Mistral" is a serious piece of equipment, created taking into account the experience and traditions of national shipbuilding.

However, the French classify the Mistral as an amphibious command ship (bâtiment de projection et de commandement), that is, they see it as simultaneously a transport, a command center for the operation of heterogeneous forces, and even a hospital.

Perhaps, for one ship the functional load is excessive, since it reduces combat survivability. Let the Mistrals that did not become ours serve friendly Egypt. And Russian shipbuilders are determined to surpass the French project.

Alexander Khrolenko, columnist for MIA Rossiya Segodnya

West wind. Review of the Mistral type UDC. Who is building the Russian helicopter carrier Mistral?

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French accent

Optimal timing