Mistral-class amphibious assault ship

This article is about the amphibious assault ship. For the cruise ship class, see Mistral-class cruise ship.

BPC Dixmude in Jounieh Bay, Lebanon 2012.
Class overview
NameMistral class
Builders
Operators
Preceded byFoudre class
Cost€451.6 million (2012)[1]
In commissionDecember 2005 – present
Planned5
Completed5
Active5
General characteristics
TypeAmphibious assault ship
Displacement
  • 16,500 tonnes (empty)
  • 21,500 tonnes (full load)
Length199 m (652 ft 11 in)
Beam32 m (105 ft 0 in)
Draught6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)
Installed power3 Wärtsilä diesel-alternators 16 V32 (6.2 MW) + 1 Wärtsilä Vasa auxiliary diesel-alternator 18V200 (3 MW)
Propulsion2 Rolls-Royce Mermaid azimuth thrusters (2 × 7 MW), 2 five-bladed propellers
Speed18.8 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Range
  • 10,800 km (5,800 nmi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
  • 19,800 kilometres (10,700 nmi) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Boats & landing
craft carried
  • 4 chaland de transport de matériel landing craft
  • EDA-R/S Amphibious Landing Craft (S models being delivered from 2021)
  • Landing Craft Air Cushion (2 could be carried but not acquired by French Navy)
Capacity70 vehicles (including 13 Leclerc tank) or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion
Troops450 troops (or 250 troops plus a military staff of 200 men)
Complement20 officers, 80 petty officers, 60 quarter-masters
Sensors and
processing systems
  • DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250 navigation radar
  • MRR3D-NG air/surface sentry radar
  • 2 optronic fire control systems
Armament
Aircraft carried16 heavy or 35 light helicopters
Aviation facilities6 helicopter landing spots

The Mistral class is a class of five amphibious assault ships built by France. Also known as helicopter carriers, and 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 craft, up to 70 vehicles including 13 Leclerc tanks, or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion,[4] 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 on 25 January 2011. On 3 September 2014, French President François Hollande announced the postponement of delivery of the first warship, Vladivostok, in response to the Russia–Ukraine crisis.[5][6] On 5 August 2015, President Hollande and Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that France would refund payments and keep the two ships; the two ships were sold to Egypt within one month.[7]

  1. ^ "Projet de loi de finances pour 2013 : Défense : équipement des forces" (in French). Senate of France. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2014. Dixmude cost France €451.6m at FY2012 prices
  2. ^ a b "Mistral Construction Program". Globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  3. ^ "Nexter presenting NARWHAL®, its remotely operated 20mm gun turret, at the Euronaval 2016 trade show between 17 and 21 October". nexter-group.fr. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  4. ^ "BPC Mistral". netmarine.net. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  5. ^ de la Baume, Maïa; Gladstone, Rick (3 September 2014). "France Postpones Delivery of Warship to Russia". The New York Times Company.
  6. ^ "Ukraine crisis: France halts warship delivery to Russia". BBC. 3 September 2014.
  7. ^ "France Says Egypt To Buy Mistral Warships". Defense News. Agence France-Presse. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.