"Mistral" for Russia - money down the drain! West wind. Overview of UDC type "Mistral" Mistral technical characteristics
On December 24, 2010, Russia and France announced an agreement to build two Mistral-class helicopter carriers at the French shipyard STX Europe, located in Saint-Nazaire. Also on December 24, 2010, it was announced that following the results of the tender for the supply of helicopter carriers, the Russian authorities had chosen the proposal of a consortium consisting of the French company DCNS and the Russian United Shipbuilding Corporation.
The contract for the construction of a series of two DVKDs of the Mistral type was signed on January 25, 2011 in Saint-Nazaire. The protocol of intent was signed on June 10, 2011 in Paris, the signing of the final contract took place on June 17, 2011 within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The landing helicopter-carrying dock ship (DVKD) of the Mistral type is capable of performing four different tasks at once: landing military units on land, receiving helicopters, being a command center and a floating hospital. The ship can simultaneously accommodate a landing force of 450 people (for a short time up to 900 people) and up to 16 helicopters weighing 12 tons each. For them, a hangar with an area of 1800 square meters is provided. meters.
Russian ships of the Mistral type will carry 16 helicopters in a combination of 8 Ka-52K + 8 Ka-29, that is, eight combat and eight transport. This combination can be changed depending on the task. They will also be equipped with the most modern domestic weapons systems, including launchers for supersonic cruise missiles, the latest systems and complexes for anti-missile, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defense.
The main characteristics of the Mistral type ship: Displacement 22,600 tons. The total length of the hull is 199 meters, the width is 32 meters, the height of the side at the level of the flight deck is 27 meters, the draft is 6.42 meters. The maximum speed with a draft of 6.42 meters is 18.5 knots at 100% power of the azipod engines (3.5 megawatts). The crew is 177 people, the number of passengers is 481 people.
The lead ship of the DVKD series "Vladivostok": the laying of the bow took place on February 1, 2012 at the Alstom shipyard, Saint-Nazaire, France. The stern part was laid down on October 1, 2012 at the Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg. Metal cutting for its construction was started on 1 August.
On June 26, 2013, exactly at the time stipulated by the contract, the aft part of the DVKD was launched at the Baltic Shipyard in the presence of the leaders of OSK, STX-France, DCNS and FSUE Rosoboronexport.
Part of the hull, built at the Baltic Shipyard, is 94 meters long, with a launch weight of 6400 tons. In addition to hull painting work, the plant partially saturated the hull with pipelines and equipment.
As part of the work to saturate the hull of the first DVKD, the Baltic Shipyard installed foundations for propeller-steering columns, aft and side ramps, lifting platforms for helicopters, an ammunition lift, and hangar clinket gates. A room for ballast pumps was equipped, towing and mooring equipment was installed for transporting the hull to Saint-Nazaire. All hatches and doors envisaged by the project have been installed, electric plumbing equipment (cable trays and foundations for electrical appliances) has been installed. Also, the hull was saturated with pipes of ballast, sewage and fire systems. The total length of the pipes is about 5000 meters.
On July 04, 2013, within the framework of the International Maritime Defense Show (IMDS-2013), in strict accordance with the scheduled dates, representatives of the United Shipbuilding Corporation and the French shipyard STX-France signed an act of acceptance and transfer of the stern part of the first Russian type helicopter carrier built at the Baltic Shipyard Mistral". On the part of USC, the act was signed by the president of the corporation Vladimir Shmakov, on the part of STX-France - by the company's general director Lauren Castaing.
On July 6, 2013, at 18:00, the ocean tug "En Avant 20", accompanied by two port tugs of the St. Petersburg seaport, took the stern of the first Russian "Mistral" prepared for long-distance navigation and pulled it towards the navigation facility No. 1 of the St. Petersburg dam. There, the port tugs uncoupled, and their ocean counterpart led the part of the helicopter carrier's hull built at the Baltic Shipyard into the open waters of the Baltic.
At STX-France, the stern and bow parts of the ship were docked and the Vladivostok DVKD was launched on October 15, 2013. After that, it will be delivered to Russia and, after additional equipment in accordance with the requirements of the Russian Navy, will be handed over to the fleet in the fall of 2014.
March 05, 2014 went to sea for factory sea trials. November 14, 2014 - the company "Rosoboronexport", but the ceremony was canceled at the initiative of Paris. Earlier, President Hollande has repeatedly stated that the key condition for the delivery of the ship to Russia will be "full compliance" with the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. According to a message dated November 18 to Russian sailors, located in the French port of Saint-Nazaire. The ban has been in place since November 17. According to a December 18 report, the Russian training ship Smolny with 400 sailors trained to fly helicopter carriers.
The second ship of the DVKD series "Sevastopol": the laying of the bow took place on June 18, 2013 at the Alstom shipyard, Saint-Nazaire, France. On December 20, 2013, the last 440 ton block of the bow of the hull was installed. The stern section was laid down on July 4, 2013 at the Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg. Metal cutting for its construction was started in May 2013. On April 30, 2014, the stern was launched. On June 26, 2014, the aft hull was sent to Saint-Nazaire for docking with the "French" half. November 20, 2014 was . In March 2015, she went to sea for the first stage of sea trials, which lasted one week. April 14 for the second stage of sea trials. April 15 after the successful completion of the second stage of sea trials.
As reported on May 26, 2015 earlier in France by helicopter carriers. Now the parties are discussing only the amount of compensation.
According to a message dated August 05, 2015, the President of the Russian Federation and the President of the French Republic made a joint decision on the construction and supply of two Mistral-type landing helicopter dock ships, signed in June 2011.
According to a report dated August 31, 2015, France paid the amounts paid by Russia for the Mistral project, as well as its costs for crew training. According to a message dated September 23, French authorities helicopter carriers to Egypt. On October 10, 2015, Egypt and France signed a contract for the purchase by Cairo of type helicopter carriers built for Russia.
In June 2011, during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, something completely unique happened among other interesting events. For the first time since World War II, Russian representatives signed a large-scale contract with a foreign firm for the supply of military equipment. It became known that huge ships, Mistral helicopter carriers, are being purchased for the needs of the navy. This event became a real sensation, until now, domestic shipbuilding enterprises somehow managed with orders themselves, without foreign help, and learned how to do things that from time to time our Western “friends” began to move their hair on their heads, for example, submarine missile carriers. Where did the desire to get ships of this type come from?
Why was the Mistral created?
The mistral is a Mediterranean wind, rather cold, from time to time blowing over the southern coast of France, pampered and pampered by a mild climate. It cannot be compared with the piercing wet frosty currents of the Arctic air, to which Murmansk has long been accustomed, but to delicate Gallic noses it seems the height of discomfort. As much as the climate, France and the Russian Federation differ. The Mistral-class helicopter carrier is essentially a large ship, practically devoid of an independent system of anti-submarine, anti-ship and air defense, that is, capable of operating only as part of a squadron, surrounded by an escort.
On the other hand, it reflects the shipbuilding concept that has been fashionable in recent decades, according to which landing forces land on foreign shores, as it were, “remotely”. This happens as follows: a large ship approaches a hostile state at a relatively safe distance of fifteen to twenty miles, then begins to load equipment onto special barge-boats, and in the meantime, attack and transport helicopters with specially trained soldiers fly forward, seize a bridgehead and ensure the absence resistance during the whole process. The landing craft is not even visible from the shore, and small transports arrive unexpectedly, unless, of course, the side being invaded has the means for over-the-horizon detection. This is approximately the scenario for which the Mistral type is intended. This ship has too much draft, it cannot come close to the shore. He is also unable to provide support to the advancing troops, for this he does not have a sufficient number of guns or missiles.
Ship characteristics
The large flight deck immediately catches the eye of those who look at the Mistral. The characteristics of this large ship are impressive. It has a length of 200 meters, a displacement of 22 thousand tons, however, it is able to move through the sea at a speed of only 18 knots. The crew, including pilots, is approximately 170 team members. In addition to everything that distinguishes an aircraft carrier, that is, decks and under-deck hangars, it also has other features. For example, a compartment for transporting forty modern tanks. The Mistral is an aircraft carrier, but it is primarily a landing ship.
But it is not enough to bring tanks to the coast of an enemy country, they still need to be delivered to land and unloaded ashore. There is a whole technology for this. It is ours who simply rest their nose on the beach, open the ramps, and “forward for their homeland!”. The armies of the NATO countries act differently, much more ingeniously. But more on that later.
The air wing is completed depending on the tasks to be solved in a military campaign. Helicopters on the deck and in the hangars can accommodate from 16 to 32, depending on the ratio of anti-submarine, attack and transport aircraft of different geometric sizes.
The amount of manpower that the ship takes on board is also important - 450 marines. This is a battalion.
An urgent re-equipment of the vessel into a floating hospital is also possible. This may become necessary when solving humanitarian problems or providing medical care to wounded soldiers as a result of hostilities.
And the Mistral is a ship designed for long-distance voyages. Its autonomous range is 20 thousand kilometers. This is half the equator. If you need to restore order in the rebellious colonies, then he is what you need. But over the question of why Russia needs "Mistrals" we still have to break our heads. Our country has no overseas territories. No one seems to be planning to land troops somewhere in Australia or Argentina, and if such a desire arose, then it would be necessary to buy not two, or even four ships ... In addition, the landing process itself is very peculiar.
How is landing in French
The French "Mistral" stands aside, as already mentioned, twenty from the hot shore, where it is not clear what can happen, and releases special barges from its womb, on which armored vehicles stand. For this procedure, he has a certain dock, in which the mentioned vehicles are brought in turn, tanks and armored vehicles are loaded on them, then they are flooded to the level of the surrounding world ocean, and only after that they leave their native floating base. The landing process takes place sedately and for a long time, many hours. According to our staffing table, four is a reinforced tank battalion, consisting of three companies and a command unit, that is, quite a bit. We can say with confidence that if someone hostile to us tried to land somewhere near Anapa, then the Bastion coastal defense complex would stop it quickly ...
Helicopters
The French have their own rotorcraft. They are divided into classes according to their purpose, two of which are used as deck ones. Multi-purpose NH-90s and attack "Tigers" make up approximately equal parts of the air wing, and lifting devices are designed for their size, which ensured the movement of equipment to the flight deck and back to the hold, where they shelter from storms, sea water splashes and undergo preventive maintenance. There are two elevators in total with a carrying capacity of 13 tons, one at the stern, the other next to the wheelhouse.
Our main deck helicopters are the anti-submarine Ka-27M and Ka-226, but the Alligator Ka-52 is also needed to carry out strikes against land or sea targets. The dimensions of these machines differ from their French counterparts, moreover, in a big way. Mistrals for the Russian Navy were built taking into account the necessary adjustments.
Contract Details
The French bargained frantically. The Russian side insisted on building three of the four planned helicopter carriers at its own shipyards using imported technical documentation. We agreed on half. In addition, the stern part was manufactured at the Baltic Shipbuilding Plant, which also reduced the cost of the project. It should be especially noted the high quality of work of domestic shipbuilders and the complete docking of all units during the final assembly in Saint-Nazaire.
The condition was immediately agreed that the French side would install a part of high-tech navigation equipment on the Mistral for Russia, and only prepare installation sites for armament and lay cable communications. The Russians will supply all the missile and artillery systems themselves and their own.
An important factor in signing the contract could be the opportunity to master the latest shipbuilding technologies, if, of course, the French have something to learn. They mainly relate to methods for assembling large-tonnage hulls, although Baltzavod and the United Shipbuilding Corporation immediately received an order for nuclear-powered icebreakers no less complex than the Mistral. The cost of two warships amounted to 1.2-1.5 billion euros, plus 2.5 billion rubles for the work that Russian shipbuilders had to perform.
Weapons and warning systems
The main radar installed on the Mistral for Russia, which will be their "eyes", is the French Thales. The design features of the hull made it difficult to install domestic analogues.
The initial paucity of defensive systems caused additional demands from the naval command to equip ships with five Gibka air defense systems, designed to use Eagles and a pair of six-barreled 30 mm AK-630 rapid-fire artillery fire mounts to destroy low-flying high-speed targets. Anti-ship protection is carried out by complexes of supersonic cruise missiles capable of "working" against coastal targets. Anti-submarine defense includes all possible sonar hardware.
The details of retrofitting are not widely disclosed, but it is known that every Russian Mistral is a control ship, and not just a helicopter carrier and landing transport, so the information technology saturation of the onboard computer system is also very serious.
Balancing
The Mistral-type helicopter carrier is a large, large-tonnage ship and needs to be balanced to ensure its stability in severe storms. Three ships in service are equipped with an automatic Norwegian-made L3Marin system, which is responsible for the balance. The intention to replace it on ships under construction for Russia with a French balancer, tested on much lighter corvettes and frigates, raised objections from the customer. In addition, Rosoboronexport has a direct interest in this system, since the contract is so expensive. The navigational safety of Russian helicopter carriers is too important to skimp on.
Problems and Solutions
Problems also arose with the completion of the ship with shuttle vehicles. French double-hull catamarans were rejected from the very beginning, and domestic high-speed hovercraft did not fit in the cargo hold. We agreed that the best solution would still be the acquisition of domestic tank landing boats "Dugong" and "Cerna", having a length of 45 and 26 meters, respectively.
The ice class of the hull has also been increased, as the contractor received an order based on the possible areas for basing new ships. Unlike their French counterparts, their area of responsibility is not limited to tropical waters, and it can be very frosty in the port, for example, of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. However, the Russian naval command at the time of signing the agreement was not sure where the helicopter carriers would be based. This was decided later.
Helicopter carrier experience
The Soviet Navy was already armed with large aircraft-carrying anti-submarine cruisers - Leningrad and Moskva. The helicopter wing of these warships was intended to detect submarines of a potential enemy. After obsolescence and technical wear and tear, they were withdrawn from the Navy, their replacement was not planned, since in general they turned out to be not much more effective than the BOD of a smaller displacement and, accordingly, much cheaper both in production and in operation. Contributed to obsolescence and low modification potential, which was expressed in the impossibility of converting hangars for modern helicopters. In general, world experience shows that it is not worth saving on aircraft carriers, they should be built with a margin, taking into account the possibility of retrofitting them in the process of improving control systems, weapons, communications, navigation and detection. In this case, expensive ships can serve for decades. To what extent the Mistral type helicopter carrier meets this criterion is a big question.
"Admiral Kuznetsov" in its design is not an analogue of the "Mistral". This ship performs completely different functions, it does not carry forces for landing and has completely different driving characteristics.
International reaction
The ships have not yet been completed, and it has already been announced that the main Far Eastern military harbor will become the base for the newest Russian helicopter carrier Vladivostok, built according to the Mistral project. This news aroused the usual concern of the Japanese government, which saw some aggressive intentions in the strengthening of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Federation. Of course, the diplomatic maneuvers of our eastern neighbor are exclusively politically motivated and fit into the general format of claims to the "northern territories", the issue of which is raised periodically, on the eve of the next elections. Even the bravest patriotic Japanese science fiction writers cannot assume that the Russian marines will land a tank battalion somewhere on the island of Hokkaido for several hours. In the photo, the Mistral looks impressive, but even after equipping this ship with cruise missiles, it will not turn into a missile cruiser, it is very slow-moving, and in general, it was not built and bought for that. And for what?
Military Specialist Serdyukov
It would be more correct to ask about, not for what, but why and why. Former Minister of Defense A.E. Serdyukov evidently understood little about strategic matters. Much richer, he was gifted with natural artistry (of course, he has the makings of a good film director). Perhaps he immediately dreamed of how the formidable and huge amphibious assault ships under A would look on the ocean. In addition to artistic merit, Mr. Serdyukov, apparently, also has a certain commercial acumen. But these are just guesses.
It is quite possible for the Russian government to recognize the fallacy of the Mistral venture, just humanly uncomfortable. Two ships ("Sevastopol" and "Vladivostok") can already be considered accepted by the command of the Navy, and in favor of their uselessness is the fact that the Russian side has practically refused to build another pair, although this has not yet been directly stated. We just decided to wait.
Terrible, in fact, nothing happened. Landing helicopter-carrying ships of the dock type are not entirely consistent with Russian military doctrine, but from time to time international complications arise that force a change in previously developed approaches. It can be said about such vessels that they are “just in case of a fire”.
Money has been spent on warships, this is not done in the best way, but helicopter carriers can be used in peacekeeping operations, which, as the events of recent months have shown, are quite probable.
The French themselves classify Mistral-class ships not as traditional amphibious dock helicopter carriers in our understanding, but as amphibious command ships. This is how you can translate the original French designation of the Mistral subclass - Batiment de Projection et de Commandement. Hence its two main tasks - to land forces and means of landing and to manage the group, connection and association of ships or dissimilar forces.
Mistral helicopter carriers - video
By and large, the French experts quite successfully attempted to make a kind of "hybrid" of a universal landing ship capable of carrying out 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 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the military of the leading NATO countries faced the reluctance of their governments to continue to allocate huge funds for defense against an external enemy, which then - in the face of the Soviet Union - no longer existed. The leadership of the French shipbuilding giant DCN, which also found itself in the face of a reduced national defense budget, came to the conclusion, not without reason, that in the short term, amphibious helicopter carriers docks and ships that combine the advantages of a light aircraft carrier may be in demand from the navies of different countries of the world. with a bow springboard 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 a promising ship, it had to have a large capacity for the personnel of the landing force and military and military equipment, be able to take on board and release landing hovercraft (DKAVP), 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 command post (flagship command post of a detachment commander or a 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 show, but in even years, DCN 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 strike ship") and which was a kind of symbiosis of a light aircraft carrier and an amphibious dock helicopter carrier. The basis of its strike power was supposed to be a fairly large air group - six heavy helicopters of various types and eight VTOL aircraft, which could use the bow springboard for takeoff. In addition, the ship had an aft docking chamber for two LCAC-sized DKAVPs or four conventional LCM-sized displacement DKAs (the latter are often called a "landing barge").
Finally, in the middle of 2000, the decision of the command of the French Navy was officially announced - to create a new ship based on the BIP-19 project, and in June a tender was announced, in which two largest French shipbuilding companies were invited to participate: DCN and Chantier de Atlantic ( Chantier de l'Atlantique). The winner was announced 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 elements of hull structures. However, serious disagreements arose between the two companies on the issue of dividing the scope of work, 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 and the terms for entering the ships into the combat strength of the national navies - for 2005 and 2006. respectively.
As a result of all these ups and downs, the command to lay the lead ship was received only in July, and the “metal cutting” began in November 2001. north and north-west towards the sea (some analogue of the Black Sea bora). This Provencal word has been used since 1519, in a broader sense, it now means simply a strong wind.
Unlike the basic project - BIP-19 - ships of the Mistral type no longer have a bow springboard and do not provide for VTOL basing, although theoretically this option is not excluded - the ship's flight deck allows you to take off and land on it like an aircraft. With a total displacement of about 21,300 tons, the ship is 210 meters long (with a flight deck length of 199 meters), and almost 32 meters wide. and 13 Leclerc main battle tanks (provided there are no helicopters in the hangar below deck). The landing capacity is 450 troops in full gear and with personal weapons, or 700-900 people "light", for a short period of 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 runways for the simultaneous release and reception of helicopters (they are easy to recognize by the corresponding markings). Below the flight deck, in the aft part of the ship, there is a helicopter hangar with a usable area of about 1800 m2. To transfer helicopters to the flight deck from the hangar and back, there are two lifts in the aft. The landing of personnel and armored vehicles can be carried out either in an equipped port on the berth, 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 DKAVP displacement.
Mistral and Tonnerre BPC (bâtiment de projection et de commandment) new French 21,300 ton amphibious control and force projection ships. The ships were built by DCN in partnership with Thales and Chantiers de l'Atlantique. Each ship has the carrying capacity and versatility 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. DCN became DCNS in April 2007. This became possible after an agreement in which Thales became the owner of a 25% stake in the new company, and DCN acquired Thales' naval business in France (excluding naval equipment). , which allows it to be used as a control ship.The ship is also capable of accommodating a combined (multinational) multi-role force.
The contract for two ships was placed in January 2001. The keel of the FS Mistral (L9013) was laid down in July 2003 and launched at the Brest Shipyard in October 2004. Mistral was commissioned 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 down in January 2010. It was launched at the end of 2010 and should 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 ship was planned for 2014 and 2015, respectively. In July 2006, Mistral took part off the coast of Lebanon in the operation of the French fleet to evacuate French citizens during the conflict involving Israel and Lebanon. Mistral and Tonnerre replaced the L9021 Ouragan and L9022 Orage, which were built at 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 fleet command system for joint operations SIC 21, which was developed by Thales. The high performance communications center includes the Thales Syracuse III satellite communications system.
Aviation capabilities 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 sites and a 1800m² hangar. The 5,000 meter² flight deck can accommodate up to six helicopters simultaneously.
Amphibious capabilities of Mistral-class ships
The Mistral will carry either four landing craft (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 on the Mistral.
The crew of the ship consists of 160 sailors, including 20 officers. The operational campaign associated with the transportation of troops and equipment, as a rule, takes from two to three weeks. Mistral and Tonnerre carry enough supplies to support the crew and 450 troops for 45 days. The maximum speed is 19 knots, the range at 14 knots is 11,000 miles. The 750-meter² hospital with 69 beds is equipped with two operating rooms. If an additional hospital or additional sanitary places are required, the hangar can be converted into a modular field hospital.
Armament: armed with two launchers of French MBDA Simbad air defense missiles with infrared guidance and a range of up to 6 km. The ship also has two 30mm Breda Mauser naval cannons and four 12.7mm machine guns. The ship's electronic support facilities include the Thales ARBR 21 radar receiver, the MMR-3D NG G-band multipurpose surveillance radar from Thales Naval France. The MRT-3D has a light phased array antenna and works as a radar surveillance radar and as a self-defense system sensor with automatic mode switching. In the surface surveillance mode, the MRT-3D NG can detect targets at low and medium altitudes at a distance of up to 140 km, and in the long-range 3D surveillance mode, air targets up to 180 km. In self-defense mode, it can detect and track any threat within a 60 km radius. The Sperry Marine Bridgemaster navigation radar operates in the I-band.
The 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 their "work", the French company DCNS calls the Mistral in promotional materials nothing more than the "Chameleon" of the oceans. Currently, Mistral-class ships are in service only with the French Navy; the fleet has two such ships, Mistral and Tonner (Tonnerre - “thunder”). Attempts to deliver them abroad were unsuccessful, although almost simultaneously with obtaining a contract from the French Navy, the international branch of the developer company, DCN International, began to actively promote a whole family of such ships to the world market of naval equipment: BPC 140 (displacement 13,500 t), BPC 160 (16,700 t) and BPC 250 (24,500 t). At first, a high interest was shown in the ship from many countries of 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 preferred another bidder - the Spanish company Navantia (formerly Isar), which offered a project for a ship of the BPE type (Buque de Proyeccion Estrategica) for a tender. In fact, this is a universal landing ship, the distinguishing feature of which is the presence of a bow springboard to ensure takeoff of aircraft with a short takeoff and vertical landing.
The performance characteristics of helicopter carriers Mistral
Manufacturers: DCNS (aft, assembly), Brest; Alstom (bow), St. Nazaire; Baltic Plant (aft for two hulls in France)
Displacement of the helicopter carrier Mistral
21300 tons (full); 32300 t (limit)
Dimensions of the helicopter carrier Mistral
Length: 199 m (maximum)
- Width: 32 m (at the waterline)
- Height: 64.3 m
- Draft: 6.3 m (with GAS)
Mistral helicopter carrier engines
3 diesel generators Wärtsilä 16V32 (6.2 MW),
- 1 diesel generator Wärtsilä 18V200 (3.3 MW),
- 2 Alstom Mermaid propellers (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)
- Autonomy of navigation: 30 days
The crew of the helicopter carrier Mistral
160 men (20 officers) + 450 Marines (900 Marines short range)
Armament of the helicopter carrier Mistral
Radar armament: 2 DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250 navigation radars, MRR-3D NG target detection radar
- Artillery: AK-630
- Anti-aircraft artillery: 2 × 30 mm Breda-Mauser gun mounts, 4 × 12.7 mm Browning machine guns; "3M47" Bending
- Missile armament: 2 × 2 - PU SAM Simbad
Aviation Group
16 heavy helicopters or 32 light helicopters;
- The number of air groups on the Russian DVKD 30 Ka-52K and Ka-29 or Ka-27M helicopters
Photo of the helicopter carrier Mistral
The novelty of the helicopter carrier.
So far, all attempts to sell these ships on the world market have been fruitless. France, having built 2 ships for its Navy, was forced to stop building them, 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 the shipyards of Australia, while Paris was inferior to foreign colleagues only one ship - the second was to be built in France.
The main reason for the refusal of the Australian fleet from the Mistral in favor of its Spanish competitor was the unresolved disagreement over the construction site of the two ships. Secondly, the Australians rated the Mistral as "too complex a ship, having certain problems with seaworthiness and too expensive."
Mistral does not carry any unique equipment or unique weapons that Russia could not independently produce. The announced procurement plans raise a lot of questions.
Needed or not needed, you need to compare the characteristics.
Specifications of the Mistral-class amphibious assault helicopter carrier
Mistral Shipyard DCN (stern, assembly) Brest and ALSTOM (bow) Saint-Nazaire.
It has a standard displacement of 156.5 thousand tons, a total displacement of 21.3 thousand tons.
With a full dock - 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 helicopter group of the ship includes 16 vehicles (8 landing and 8 attack helicopters). At the same time, 6 helicopters can be placed on the take-off deck.
In addition, the vessel is capable of carrying four landing craft or two hovercraft, up to 13 main battle tanks or up to 70 vehicles, and up to 470 landing personnel (900 for a short time). The Mistral has an 850 sq. m, which can accommodate up to 200 people. It is well equipped and allows the Mistral to be used to control various types and scales of operations of inter-service groupings of troops (forces), including those carried out offline; actions of a squadron, flotilla or fleet.
In addition, the ship has a hospital with 69 beds (their number can be increased, but slightly), two operating rooms and an x-ray room. In Mistral, first of all, the power unit is interesting. The French have always been strong in creating economical engines. A distinctive feature of the propulsion system is the absence of bulky propeller shafts, since two propellers are located in special rotary nacelles - the rotation range is 360 degrees. This design of the main propellers makes the ship more maneuverable, which is especially important when moving close to the coast and in narrow spaces.
True, it is not clear how the operability of the submerged outboard HEM will be restored in the event of their failure without using the dock? And a ship without movement is no longer a ship, but a simple target. The only advantage of a French ship is its cruising range.
Mistral is designed to transport troops and cargo, landing troops, and can be used as a command 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 amphibious assault helicopter carriers of the Juan Carlos class I or how the Australians consider the Canberra-class DVKD and the Adelaide 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, a distinctive feature of which is a solid flight deck with a bow springboard to provide takeoff aircraft with short takeoff and vertical landing.In addition to twelve helicopters, it also provides basing for up to six tactical fighters - in our case it could be the MiG-29K.The ship can be used as a replacement for an aircraft carrier when it is being repaired in 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 up to 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 carry up to 902 equipped paratroopers and up to 46 Leopard main battle tanks indoors.
The flight deck of the vessel is 202.3 m long and 32 m wide. It is capable of simultaneously receiving eight helicopters or aircraft. 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 Harriers can be based on the ship.
Landing capacity: 1100 marines, 150 armored vehicles, of which 23 are sixty-ton MBTs. The ship's 69.3x16.8 m dock chamber can accommodate four LCM or Super Cat tank landing boats or one landing hovercraft.
Specifications amphibious transport dock of the Netherlands Navy, whose length is 170 m, is one of the large vessels that visit St. Petersburg in the framework of the IMDS 2009. The vessel is a combination of an airfield, a port, a garage, a hospital and hotel complex, and an information and communication center. The Dutch Navy uses the ship to conduct international peacekeeping operations and provide humanitarian assistance. Equipped with speedboats and transport helicopters, the amphibious docking ship can transport to and from land, and from other vessels, large military units with military equipment or significant amounts of humanitarian aid goods.
Her Majesty's ship Johan de Witt can fully accommodate a battalion of marines with military equipment. In addition, the ship has a whole hospital complex and a command post. Landing transport docks can function without entering the port.
The aft end of the vessel can be submerged to a depth of 4 m, forming a dock inside the vessel, which allows fast 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 at the same time. The hospital complex includes surgical rooms with the capacity to accommodate 100 patients.
The ship also has a parking area for 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 amphibious helicopter carrier dock Juan Carlos I
French benefit.
Sarkozy is using the Mistral-for-Highway deal "as a bait to build broader business ties with Russia." With this deal, Sarkozy wants to achieve guarantees for business contacts between French business and Russian. For example, GDF Suez will receive a 9% stake in Nord Stream. President Sarkozy confirmed that negotiations are underway to sell four Mistral-class amphibious assault 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. It is not clear to me how it is possible to sell Mistral without modern technologies.
By the way, official Moscow defined this condition as one of the key parameters of the deal under discussion. In addition, for France, this is primarily 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 emphasized the fact that due 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 30% reduction in overall program costs.
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 unified equipment on warships and civilian ships. But, all this unification does not affect the survivability of the ship in the best way; Although Russian ships can be more expensive, since such a 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, if you want to ensure combat stability - get another. Warships are built for warfare, not for pleasure trips on the great barrier reef or the Caribbean. It's just that they've forgotten about it now. And this is especially true of Western companies, for which the issue of low prices comes first.
The alleged troubles of Russia.
As part of the Russian Navy, the Mistral-class landing helicopter-carrying dock ship, if purchased from France, will be used only as a control ship, the military department considers the ship's landing function as a secondary one inherent in universal ships. The Russians are forced to buy this ship. The 450 million euros that we have to pay for the purchase of the lead ship, and about the same amount that we have to pay for a license to produce each subsequent ship, give us a total of almost a billion euros, which 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 a point in buying a series, then you need to buy the first one already ready. The initial official position of Russia in them is as follows: 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 had been planned. French President Sarkozy suggested that two ships could be built in Russia. “Two and two was a reasonable deal,” he remarked, implying that two Mistrals would roll off the stocks in France and two more in Russia.
Mistral will be built by STX France and DCNS. Naval experts laughed at the phrase of the head of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov, “According to the Ministry of Defense, the Mistral consumes 2-3 times less fuel than our landing ships! Did the French make a global breakthrough in ship energy? Do they have the efficiency of the power plant 2-3 times higher than that of the ships of all other countries? It becomes clear what "competent" specialists are in our beloved Ministry of Defense!
Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov believes that Russia can buy one French helicopter carrier plus technology for its production. "We do not 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 a helicopter carrier, and a command ship, and a landing ship, and a hospital, and just a transport ship, and it is very easy to give any new function to it in the shortest possible time. In addition, as part of the Navy, the Mistral will be engaged in the transportation of people and cargo, the fight against submarines and rescue people in emergency situations," the military leader said. interview with TV company "Russia Today".
The Russian Navy intends to use the Mistral, if it is purchased from France, as a command ship. The people are laughing! Buy Mistral as a control ship (and even more so four ships in the end), as an auxiliary fleet - It's taxpayers' money down the drain! Wherein the landing function of the ship is regarded as secondary. The fact is that Russian ships carry out amphibious landings in any situation under any conditions with a direct approach to the coastline and on their 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 buying helicopter carriers?
Much more important are the motives - why and for what purpose Russia is buying helicopter carriers, and why France, a member of NATO, not only agrees to such a deal, but practically pushes Russia to buy it. Buy in France a heavy (21 thousand tons of displacement) landing helicopter carrier for the current RF is meaningless. Such a large landing ship is needed to carry out amphibious landings in countries far from Russia. And then, to cover such a large ship, an escort is needed - a cruiser, a couple of destroyers, and even an aircraft carrier (which is not in the Russian Federation).
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 possible soon to throw out their marines to the distant shores of the Russian Federation, in all fleets only a marine infantry brigade.
The Mistral was created within the framework of a different Western one - the concept of using marines and conducting amphibious operations, which provides for an advanced presence in the most important areas of the World Ocean and the landing of personnel and military equipment mainly on the coast already cleared of the enemy (while the ships themselves are located on a significant distance from the coastline, including due to its large draft). In particular, ships of the Mistral type cannot carry out, in the traditional sense for us, the landing of military equipment afloat - they can only transfer personnel and equipment to the shore with the help of 2-4 landing craft, which is required.
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, frogmen-saboteurs), but it can be corrected by additional armament with domestic ship weapon systems. landing with t heavy equipment on an unequipped coast on its own "Mistral" cannot carry out, only with the help of tank landing ponies.
Since the 50s, this procedure has been long and complicated: filling the docking chamber with water and removing the rams from it takes several hours. They cannot immediately deliver all the equipment to the water's edge. You need to make several flights. The whole process of landing takes a very long time. During this procedure, the Mistral with a full docking chamber is quite vulnerable. However, paratroopers are quickly delivered to the shore by helicopters. But ... without heavy weapons and armored vehicles. The main "Mistral" does not fit today into the concept of the combat use of the Russian marines. Having received such a ship into service, our fleet will not be able to use it to carry out those amphibious landing operations that have been practiced for decades, or at least will not receive significant assistance from it for such operations. The Mistral helicopter carrier is not suitable for landing operations and it will be difficult to adapt it to Russian equipment.
This ship assumes NATO equipment", without modern equipment. The product is bought in the configuration: "empty box + running gear", but our shipbuilders can also weld an empty hull. It is difficult to imagine a situation where the French will make a hull, and we will install our equipment on it. It is difficult to fit a completely alien project to the body, which has certain overall characteristics, Russian weapons, electrical equipment and other technological components. For this, at a minimum, it is necessary that French designers build a 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. The experience has already been. When the Mistral paid a visit to St. Petersburg, Russian Ka-52 and Ka-27 helicopters successfully landed on its deck, but later it turned out that domestic rotary-wing machines did not fit into the elevator opening in height, so they could not be lowered into the helicopter hangar. A small embarrassment was quickly "hushed up".
So now we don’t need the Mistral, maybe in 15-20 years we will need it - but by that time Russia, I hope, we can do it ourselves. Provided that in Vietnam, in Sri Lapki, in Cuba, in Syria and Tunisia there will be a base where you can replenish fuel and rest.
Patriotic The Navy needs a UDC with a displacement of 28,000 tons, with a springboard and an arrester, suitable for basing 4-6 MiG-29K. The Spanish Juan Carlos I would have been more suitable, having a bow ski jump to ensure the take-off of aircraft with a short take-off and vertical landing. The French can afford to build cheap Mistral-type helicopter carriers. Russia needs a landing ship of the ocean zone with good air defense of its own, including those provided by carrier-based fighters.
Military imports are becoming fashionable in Russia. A creeping process of purchasing military equipment abroad began. Recently, the idea has been obsessively introduced into public opinion: the collapse of the country has reached such a level that Russia is supposedly unable to build landing ships itself, can not build unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, and is no longer in a state of street and submarine. 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 sauce without self-defense weapons, without escort ships, and without the presence of soma marines. The only thing he can do is the Mistral, arrange cruises for the Minister of Defense, the General Staff of the Defense Ministry and their entourage. Commander-in-Chief and leadership of the Navy.
2 Alstom Mermaid thrusters (7 MW)
10,700 miles (19,800 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
The number of air groups on the Russian DVKD 30 Ka-52K and Ka-29 or Ka-27M helicopters
Mistral-class amphibious assault ships(fr. BPC de la classe Mistral) - a class of universal amphibious assault ships-helicopter carriers, which are in service with the French Navy. The ship is capable of performing four different tasks at once: landing military units on land, receiving helicopters, being a command center and a floating hospital. The ship can simultaneously accommodate a landing force of 450 people (for a short time up to 900 people) and up to 16 helicopters weighing 12 tons. For them, a hangar with an area of 1800 square meters is provided. meters.
Order of the Russian Navy
On the deck of the Mistral
The height of the hangar allows you to place Russian helicopters Ka-27, Ka-29 and Ka-52K on the hangar deck, which was confirmed during the visit of the Mistral UDC to St. Petersburg during test landings of helicopters on the deck. However, the opening in the area of the elevators is not high enough for the Ka-29 and will be enlarged. In addition, it is planned to use this helicopter carrier in northern latitudes, in ice. This will require strengthening the sides of the ship. However, this will not entail major changes in the design and technical equipment of the Mistral. Russia buys the Mistral helicopter carrier with all navigation and technological equipment, including combat navigation, but the weapons and helicopters on the ship will be Russian.. The contract was signed by Igor Sechin and Alain Juppe on January 25, 2011 in Saint-Nazaire. The protocol of intent was signed on June 10, 2011 in Paris, the signing of the final contract took place in the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 17, 2011.
The first two landing helicopter-carrying dock ships (DVKD) "Mistral", built at French shipyards for the Russian Navy, will be transferred to the Pacific Fleet. At the same time, the infrastructure of military camps and garrisons of the Eastern Military District will be significantly modernized at the expense of the significant funds allocated for this. Particular attention will be paid to formations stationed on the islands of the Kuril chain.
According to Sergey Mikheev, general designer of the Kamov Design Bureau, Russian Mistral-class ships will carry 16 helicopters in a combination of 8 Ka-52K + 8 Ka-29, that is, eight combat and eight transport, but this combination can be changed depending on the delivered tasks .
| We are going to supply missile systems for self-defense to increase the security of air defense systems. We will strengthen the use of the helicopter component in terms of performing anti-submarine missions. The Mistrals, which are being built for the Russian Navy, can accommodate weapons with a special Russian-designed warhead. |
All systems and devices on board the ship will be Russified. The Mistral will be equipped with Russian and French command and control equipment; DCNS will need to ensure system compatibility. Part of such equipment will be installed on the ship at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, part - at one of the Russian shipyards. In addition, the ship under construction in Saint-Nazaire will receive Russian fire control systems.
According to DCNS, the Mistrals for Russia will receive 30mm AK-630 artillery mounts in the forward part on the starboard side and in the rear part of the ship on the port side. Anti-aircraft missile launchers 3M47 "Gibka" will be located in front on the starboard side and behind - on the left. DCNS will prepare places for the installation of weapons, while the combat systems themselves will be installed on the ship already in Russia.
The French Thales MRR-3D-NG radar operating in the G-band will be used as the main surveillance radar station on the Russian Mistral. Similar radars are installed on three Mistral-class helicopter carriers in the French Navy.
The system has two modes of operation: "oceanic" mode for long-range observation in the open sea, "coastal" mode for coastal areas.
Representatives
| Name | Shipyard | Laid down | Launching | date of signing acceptance act |
Fleet | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral | DCNS/Alstom | July 10, 2003 | October 6, 2004 | February 2006 | French Navy | In service | |
| Tonnerre | DCNS/Alstom | August 26, 2004 | July 26, 2005 | December 2006 | French Navy | In service | |
| Dixmude | DCNS/Alstom | April 18, 2009 | December 18, 2010 | January 2012 | French Navy | In service | |
| "Vladivostok" | Alstom/Baltic plant | February 1, 2012 / October 1, 2012 | September 2013 | 2014 | Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy | Laid down | |
| "Sevastopol" | Alstom/Baltic plant | 2015 | Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy | ordered | 20% of the hull will be built at the Baltic Shipyard. | ||
| « » | Planned for construction | ||||||
| « » | Planned for construction |
On December 21, 2012, information appeared that the order for the construction of 2 UDCs in Russia was canceled, but a little later it turned out that the military decided to postpone the implementation of options for the construction of two additional ships ordered in 2011 from France, from 2013 for 2016. |
see also
- (English) Russian
Notes
Links
- How the "Mistral" is arranged View.
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