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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

sources

MISTRAL

A cold north or northwest wind that blows in winter and spring on the southern coast of France.

Large modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what MISTRAL is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• MISTRAL in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  Fredery is a Provençal poet, the largest representative of the new Provençal literature (see), one of the founders and leader ...
• MISTRAL in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  (Mistral) Gabriela (real name Godoy Alcayaga Godoy Alcayaga) (1889-1957), Chilean poetess. In 1924-46 at diplomatic work. The lyrics combined the traditions of Spanish...
• MISTRAL in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
  Mistral (Frederic Mistral) - New Provençal poet, born. in 1830 after a number of small plays in Provençal. dialect he gave a rural poem "Mireio" ...
• MISTRAL in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• MISTRAL
  (Mistral) Gabriela (1889 - 1957), Chilean poetess. Lyrics (collections “Sonnets of Death”, 1914, “Despair”, 1922, “Tala”, 1938, “Davilnya”, 1954) united traditions ...
• MISTRAL in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  i, m. Strong and cold north or northwest wind blowing from the mountains to the South. France.||Wed. BORA, BORAY, BREEZE...
• MISTRAL in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  , -i, m. In the south of France: strong northwest ...
• MISTRAL
  MISTRAL (French mistral), strong and cold local north-west. wind in the south of France. Resembles boron...
• MISTRAL in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  MISTRAL (Mistral) Frederic (1830-1914), Provence. poet, head of the felibre movement. Poem "Mireio" (1859), collections "Golden Islands" (1876), "Olive Harvesting" (1912) ...
• MISTRAL in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  MISTRAL (Mistral) Gabriela (real name and last name Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, Godoy Alcayaga) (1889-1957), Chil. poetess. In 1924-46 for a diploma. work; ...
• MISTRAL in the Complete Accented Paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
  mistra"l, mistra"li, mistra"lya, mistra"ley, mistra"lyu, mistra"lyam, mistra"l, mistra"li, mistra"lem, mistra"lya, mistra"le, ...
• MISTRAL in the New Dictionary of Foreign Words:
  (French mistral) a strong and cold north or northwest wind blowing from the mountains to the south. ...
• MISTRAL in the Dictionary of Foreign Expressions:
  [fr. mistral] strong and cold north or northwest wind blowing from the mountains to the south. ...
• MISTRAL in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
• MISTRAL in the New Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
  
• MISTRAL in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  mistral, ...
• MISTRAL in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  mistral...
• MISTRAL in the Spelling Dictionary:
  mistral, ...
• MISTRAL in Ozhegov’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  In the south of France: strong northwest...
• MISTRAL in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
  (French mistral), a strong and cold local north-west wind in the south of France. Resembles bora. - (Mistral) Gabriela (real name...
• MISTRAL in Ushakov’s Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  mistral, m. (French mistral) (geographical). Northwestern dry and cold wind in the southern ...
• MISTRAL in Ephraim's Explanatory Dictionary:
  mistral m. Cold north or north-west wind blowing in winter and spring on the southern coast ...
• MISTRAL in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
  m. Cold north or northwest wind blowing in winter and spring on the southern coast...

The Egyptian authorities and military act rather closed and slowly, so any earlier story about the fate of the Mistrals, which were acquired by Egypt for its navy, would inevitably contain elements of speculation and fantasy. Now everything has become more or less clear and we can tell you what is known about the deal. So, after all, Egypt bought the ill-fated Mistrals and even claims to have found a use for them. We will present the data we know in the form of questions and answers.

Where is the Mistral today?

Did Egypt buy the Mistral or did Egypt buy the Mistral?

Egypt bought one Mistral - namely Vladivostok. The second one will most likely be purchased by the United Arab Emirates. This requires Moscow's consent, since there is Russian equipment on board the ships. In the case of Egypt, agreement was reached quickly. Any country laying claim to the second Mistral will also negotiate with Russia. Countries openly hostile to the Russian Federation are excluded from the list of buyers.

When did Egypt sign the contract for the Mistral?

How much did the Mistral cost and who will pay for it?

There is very conflicting information. For obvious reasons, the details of this transaction are not disclosed. In the military-industrial complex, it is customary to shamelessly inflate prices and issue kickbacks - this business has very ancient laws. A figure of 950 million euros has been leaked from French circles. This is the price of two ships with the cost of training to operate on French and Russian equipment.

Saudi Arabia will pay for Egypt's armament.

Where will the Egyptian Mistral be sent and what will it do?

The La Tribune newspaper claims that the Mistral will serve in the Red Sea. This is quite logical, since only there he can come up with some kind of business: sail along Yemen and make melancholy colored herring under the protection of , recently acquired by Egypt. In the Mediterranean, this ship will be in slightly greater danger.

The significance of the Mistral sale and purchase transaction to Egypt

The Ahram newspaper claims that this Mistral will be the only aircraft carrier in the Arab world. This, of course, should please the pride of the Egyptians, but it has no practical benefit from the perspective of Egypt’s naval doctrine. Therefore, answering the question “Why does Egypt need the Mistrals”, you need to answer the question - why were they sold?

France interested hush up the topic as quickly as possible, since the disruption of Mistral deliveries to Russia coincided with troubles throughout the entire military-industrial complex of this country. And the sooner the Mistrals find a new owner, the better. France itself does not need them and there is no one to pay for them - French legislators will not provide money from the budget for new ships.

Riyadh needs will enlist Egyptian support in Yemeni issues. The war in Yemen is long and serious. Therefore, Egypt is needed as a reliable ally in regaining control over the country. The invasion of Yemen is considered a gamble, and complete victory there is unlikely. However, excess funds may well remain in the form of heavy metal.

Russia received during the termination of the transaction more than she would have received from its execution. The money is back. Some technical secrets of French shipbuilders have migrated to Russian production and will most likely emerge in the form of new developments. Russian modules on the Mistrals guarantee the purchase of Russian weapons and contracts for personnel training.

It is possible that Mistral will appear in the Mediterranean, where it can carry out attacks on Libyan territory. However, everything is much more complicated here - there is no direct benefit for Egypt's sponsors in this participation. The option of supporting the Russian military operation against ISIS in Syria is completely excluded, since this directly contradicts the interests of the sponsors - the UAE and KSA.

The option of selling the ship to Russia is too demonstrative. Egypt will not agree to this, since the Saudis, who paid for the entire deal between Paris and Cairo, will be against it. The deal with the sale of fifty Ka-52 helicopters also somehow still raises doubts.

The pearl of the French Navy, which was dubbed the “Swiss knife” for its versatility, should be sold to Russia in the amount of four pieces. Neighboring countries are worried.

"Mistral"

"Honor" and "Motherland". These two mottos are emblazoned on the deck of the ship. Standing on the captain's bridge, it seems that you are at the top of the tower. It is 200 meters long, weighs 21,000 tons, and despite this, it floats. This is the Mistral, France's largest warship after the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. One of the pearls of the French navy, which makes countries turning pale with envy, seeking to gain influence and military authority. The massive gray ship looks like a giant shoebox floating heavily on the waves. Sometimes its belly opens like the mouth of a whale and accepts boats and military equipment. It is so strong that it can carry 16 heavy helicopters, 4 landing barges and 70 vehicles, including 13 Leclerc tanks. And also accommodate a crew of 650 people on board.

Its code name is BPC (from "batiment de projection et de commandement" - "landing ship-helicopter carrier"). It is also called the “Swiss knife”. Indeed, with a crew of 177 people, it can do anything. Landing troops in a theater of war, transporting battle tanks, being the location of an integrated command post, a means of intimidating pirates... It is very mobile, has amphibious properties, and is equipped with a hospital on board: two operating rooms, 69 beds, an X-ray room and tomograph. It is part of a "family" of three French helicopter carriers; the other two are the Tonnerre, which entered service in 2007, and the Dixmude, currently under construction and preparing to enter service.

In the command center with an area of ​​800 sq. m. computers are today connected to a secret NATO network, in preparation for upcoming NATO exercises in Denmark. In the combat compartment, giant screens show the situation at sea in the exercise area in real time. The controls on Mistral are so powerful that the ship can coordinate in real time the actions of large naval aviation forces involving several aircraft carriers.

It was these characteristics that aroused the Kremlin’s interest. The Russians, reforming their armed forces and wanting to expand the tactical capabilities of their fleet, want to buy four Mistral ships. The deck of the French amphibious assault ship is indeed strong enough to withstand the enormous weight of Russian helicopters. It is smaller in size than its American counterparts and less expensive. In the European market for amphibious helicopter carriers, the French ship has gained a leading position. Even the British do not have such a multifunctional warship. Invited to the Mistral on the occasion of the French Navy Day, the naval attaché at the Russian Embassy in Paris, Alexander Dryagin, wearing a round cap worn by Russian sailors, similar to an umbrella screwed to the head, holding a glass of champagne in his hand, which he finds “not strong enough” drink, nods his head. “We are very interested in the versatility of this ship. In Russia, we do not have a ship equipped with both a command center and a hospital. And if we want to build them ourselves, we will need twice as much time.”

For the French side, this sale will revive the shipyards in Saint-Nazaire, where one or two Mistrals can be built. They say that French Defense Minister Hervé Morin personally defended this project in conversations with the head of state. If the sale goes through, it will be the first such technology transfer by a NATO country to Russia. Both the Elysee Palace and the War Ministry are making a shocking argument: the Cold War is over, the “double standards” in relation to Moscow must be discarded, “Russia must be treated as a strategic partner and no longer seen as a threat.”

Not everyone was convinced by these arguments. Over the course of months, the Mistral even became a “ship of discord.” Russia's neighbors are concerned about the possible consequences for their security. “The Mistral is a strategic ship that will enhance Russia’s ability to conduct amphibious operations in the Black and Baltic Seas, as well as in more distant regions, all the way to Asia,” explains one French admiral. Russia's new military doctrine, published a few weeks ago, speaks of NATO expansion as one of the main threats to Russia.

Less than two years after the Georgian war of August 2008, when South Ossetia and Abkhazia still remain outside the control of Tbilisi, Georgia understands the French gesture all the less because Nicolas Sarkozy, who was then presiding over the EU, loudly claimed that he had prevented Russia from reaching the Georgian capital. From the point of view of Mikheil Saakashvili, the sale of Mistral is a “very risky” event. At the end of 2009, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Vladimir Vysotsky, commented on his country’s purchase of a French ship: such a ship would have allowed the Black Sea Fleet to win the war in Georgia in 2008 “in forty minutes, instead of twenty-six hours.”

But Georgians are not the only ones worried. The Baltic countries were annexed by the USSR during World War II. They gained independence only in 1991, and Russian troops were withdrawn from there only three years later. "I'm not sure the best way to turn the page on the cold war is to trade in hot war weapons," Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins said recently.

Even in Russia, the reaction to the Mistral purchase is ambiguous. "This issue has caused controversy in Moscow. Many military leaders would prefer to build helicopter carriers themselves," Marie Mendras, head of the policy planning group at the French Foreign Ministry, explained during a seminar recently organized by the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS). This is a matter of national pride... The Mistral is huge, but very comfortable. He's very noticeable. It will be difficult to cover him. But, in the end, we had the money, but we didn’t have the technology to build it ourselves, so...”, says naval attache Alexander Dryagin, half-skeptically, half-submissively. But the case is not closed yet. March 25 The French Minister of Defense assured that the Mistrals would be delivered without military equipment. This is out of the question, responded Nikolai Makarov, the Russian Chief of the General Staff. He warned that his country would buy them “only fully equipped - with all the means control, navigation and weapons."

"Realpolitik"

This approach is shared by some American leaders. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates officially announced his doubts about the sale of the Mistral to Russia during his recent visit to Paris. But he also said there was no problem from a military point of view and did not insist on his position. General James Jones, the US national security adviser, recently confirmed to Figaro that "there are no serious differences between France and the US" on this issue. “We ourselves have begun to actively warm our relations with Russia. Therefore, I do not think that this issue should cause us any great concern.” General Jones added that neither he nor President Obama raised the issue with Nicolas Sarkozy. Even NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen recently said that he considers it a “success” that the Mistrals will not be able to attack one of Russia’s neighbors...

Arriving at the White House, Obama promised to “reset” relations with Russia. The president's team needs the Kremlin to make progress on nuclear disarmament and encourage Moscow to approve tougher sanctions against Iran at the UN Security Council, where Russia has veto power. You have to pay for this. And Georgia could be the one paying. Dialogue with Moscow now seems to be more important than friendship with Tbilisi, where Washington's support is becoming less and less pronounced. As for the prospect of Georgia joining NATO, it is very remote.

Moscow remains a regional power

In the meantime, the controversial sale of the Mistral reminds countries in the region that militarily Moscow remains a regional power. The purchase of French ships will also allow Russia to increase its international authority. Marie Mendra warns: "It is not good to maintain the illusion of restoring Russia's zone of influence in its neighboring countries. These countries have always been attracted to the European Union, and they know that Russia will not be the guarantor of their security." On the contrary, she says, it will be necessary to "more boldly develop our relations with these countries and develop long-term concepts in this area."