India, Brazil and Vietnam may buy France Mistral Helicopter Carriers

[sweetgrape]

France says there will be no weapons sales to China, following earlier speculation that France might consider selling two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships to Beijing.

France Says Will Not Sell Weapons to China

Why are you so happy? China is not vietnamese, need buying every weapon.

Okay, we may buy if France sell it on Credit plus full training for us

If you pay with price that France can't refuse, of course, they will, why not?

 

[Sommer]

India, Vietnam potential buyers of Mistrals- Russian expert

The Vladivostok amphibious assault ship of the Mistral class at the STX Europe shipyard in Saint-Nazaire. Source: Grigory Sysoev / RIA Novosti

A leading Russian defense industry expert believes that Vietnam, and India may be interested in buying the Mistral-class helicopter carriers that France refused to sell to Russia.

Alexander Korablinov, RBTH
August 10, 2015


India and Vietnam may be interested in the Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, which France has refused to deliver to Russia, Ruslan Pukhov, Head of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies told TASS.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande agreedto terminate the contract for the delivery of two helicopter carriers of the Mistral class, concluded in the summer of 2011.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has recently hinted that some countries have already displayed interest in the Mistrals.

“It is logical to presume that the French will offer these ships to the countries, which planned to have this type of vessels under their naval program, or sell these ships at a reduced price to the countries traditionally buying used French hardware,” Pukhov told TASS.

“The first country is India, which has expressed its desire to buy one ship and build three more ships of this type at its shipyards, and, as far as I know, the French would want us to assist them in this,” he added.

The Indian Ministry of Defense refused to comment on the TASS report. Sources close to the ministry told RBTH that it would be too soon for the country to explore a deal for the Mistrals since India and France are still finalizing the sale of Rafale aircrafts to the Indian Air Force. “Both countries dragged their feet on a tender which a French company won, and a compromise was reached very recently…The countries are still in talks over licensing and technology transfer issues,” the official said.

The Mistral helicopter carriers may also be of interest to Vietnam Pukhov told TASS.

Nguyen Phu Loan, a defense analyst based in Hanoi told RBTH that Vietnam would not pursue a deal without consulting Russia. “We have to understand that the establishment does not want to upset Russia, which is Vietnam’s largest arms supplier,” he said, adding that China may also be interested in buying the Mistrals. “The Mistrals issue would figure in the foreign ministry consultations between Vietnam and France in Paris this year,” Loan added. The Vietnamese Defense Ministry could not be immediately reached for comment by RBTH.

India, Vietnam potential buyers of Mistrals- Russian expert | Russia Beyond The Headlines

India, Brazil maybe, Vietnam noway~

 

[jhungary]

France are talking with Egypt for them to operate Mistral in and around suez canal zone. Reported price for 480 millions euro each.

france 24 - Egypt, Saudi Arabia ‘desperate’ to purchase Mistral warships - France 24

 

[IsaacNewton]

IMO Norway or Sweden can buy one. Afterall, the ships were designed for cold weather water.

 

[Fenrir]

IMO Norway or Sweden can buy one. Afterall, the ships were designed for cold weather water.

And do what with it? We've nothing to put on a Mistral - we've only 14 NH90s, but they are relegated to SAR and coastal ASW duties. No need to transport troops anywhere other than regional NATO exercises - NATO and US Airlift Command will assist in our trans-regional commitments such as ISAF.

The Kystvakt has a virtual lock-down on interdiction, SAR (in conjunction with the RNoAF) and general policing actions within Norway's waters:

The Mistral Class doesn't fit into the Sjøforsvaret's doctrine of coastal defense either:

We've neither the support facilities nor support ships to conduct trans-regional operations that would see the Mistral be a sound investment - this is the structure of our Navy:

Our largest ship is the Fridtjof Nansen Class frigate - we have five. The rest of the Navy is counter-mine ships, fast attack craft, and diesel-electric subs. Nothing that can project power or support the Mistral Class.

Maybe NATO can purchase the ships and station them in Norway, if we had the support facilities, but we can't justify the cost or necessity, even with a 1/2 billion USD increase to our budget.

 

[Aepsilons]

And do what with it? We've nothing to put on a Mistral - we've only 14 NH90s, but they are relegated to SAR and coastal ASW duties. No need to transport troops anywhere other than regional NATO exercises - NATO and US Airlift Command will assist in our trans-regional commitments such as ISAF.

The Kystvakt has a virtual lock-down on interdiction, SAR (in conjunction with the RNoAF) and general policing actions within Norway's waters:

The Mistral Class doesn't fit into the Sjøforsvaret's doctrine of coastal defense either:

We've neither the support facilities nor support ships to conduct trans-regional operations that would see the Mistral be a sound investment - this is the structure of our Navy:

Our largest ship is the Fridtjof Nansen Class frigate - we have five. The rest of the Navy is counter-mine ships, fast attack craft, and diesel-electric subs. Nothing that can project power or support the Mistral Class.

Maybe NATO can purchase the ships and station them in Norway, if we had the support facilities, but we can't justify the cost or necessity, even with a 1/2 billion USD increase to our budget.

Perhaps the Mistrals can join the Swedish Navy? I think they have the potential to operate those ships.

Perhaps a Baltic Battle Group shared maintenance ?

 

[Fenrir]

Perhaps the Mistrals can join the Swedish Navy? I think they have the potential to operate those ships.

Perhaps a Baltic Battle Group shared maintenance ?

Maybe as a regional command ship similar to how the US uses its amphibs to command small regional task forces (it also uses cruisers for the same role)?

We are already using our Fridtjof Nansen Class Frigates as command ships

But that would still require further integration between the Nordic nation's militaries. And despite deep defense ties, training ops, logistics and intelligence support, much work needs to be done.:

Nordic Logistics Collaboration Stalls

Logistics is complicated, but add elements of command and combat, and it seems to be a near impossible task, we can't even manage logistics alone!

They're a redundancy as heavy transports too, we've got that covered:

If nothing else the Mistral Class could reduce the redundancies by providing a unified platform to transport and conduct command and control from - but are we really going to put so many eggs into one large basket?

I doubt the Mistrals will end up in the hands of Norway or Sweden. We don't need them.

 

[Armstrong]

Maybe as a regional command ship similar to how the US uses its amphibs to command small regional task forces (it also uses cruisers for the same role), but that would still require further integration between the Nordic nation's militaries.

We are already using our Fridtjof Nansen Class Frigates as command ships

Despite deep defense ties, training ops, logistics and intelligence support, much work needs to be done.:

Nordic Logistics Collaboration Stalls | Defense News | defensenews.com

Logistics is complicated, but add elements of command and combat, and it seems to be a near impossible task, we can't even manage logistics alone!

They're a redundancy as heavy transports, we've got that covered:

If nothing else the Mistral Class could reduce the redundancies by providing a unified platform to transport and conduct command and control from - but are we really going to put so many eggs into one large basket?

I doubt the Mistrals will end up in the hands of Norway or Sweden. We don't need them.

@Nihonjin1051 - Whats with this lady ? She'd drop by and write an entire Mistral vs Fridge-something frigate comparison but can't be bothered with answering any of my posts !

I am actually hurt !

 

[Aepsilons]

They're a redundancy as heavy transports too, we've got that covered:

Impressive. Never knew this.

 

[Fenrir]

@Nihonjin1051 - Whats with this lady ? She'd drop by and write an entire Mistral vs Fridge-something frigate comparison but can't be bothered with answering any of my posts !

I am actually hurt !

I'm sorry I was going to post a funny picture to justify my grumpiness here:

Lets give a warm welcome to a US Army member ! | Page 4

But I could find one good enough.

Now about your comment - the one I ignored.

I don't want to get too serious, I like to be light hearted, but as @James Jaevid noted, military personal don't take kindly to impostors:

Intelligence For Your Life :: People Are Lying About Their Military Service and Pretending to Be Heroes

There are too many people "gaming" that system for their own selfishness without ever doing anything to earn their dues and it pisses the f**k out of those of us who actually served!

And now that I'm all worked up and grumpy, again:

 

[Aepsilons]

lol, adorable. i want to squeeze that cat to death! that's how cute it is.

 

[Armstrong]

I'm sorry I was going to post a funny picture to justify my grumpiness here:

Lets give a warm welcome to a US Army member ! | Page 4

But I could find one good enough.

Now about your comment - the one I ignored.

I don't want to get too serious, I like to be light hearted, but as @James Jaevid noted, military personal don't take kindly to impostors:

Intelligence For Your Life :: People Are Lying About Their Military Service and Pretending to Be Heroes

There are too many people "gaming" that system for their own selfishness without ever doing anything to earn their dues.

And now that I'm all worked up and grumpy, again:

What you guys don't have a system of checks and balances in place ?

 

[Fenrir]

What you guys don't have a system of checks and balances in place ?

We do - conscription (I enlisted), most people can claim to have military experience because of it, but not everyone does this. In the US there aren't too many checks to guard against someone claiming to be a SEAL to get free beer or other perks:

THE SCOURGE OF NAVY SEAL IMPOSTERS

As a result people "game the system" at a local level, but keep their heads down at a federal one, since military impersonation is a crime and at a federal level it's harder to hide your identity - but only if you receive benefits while impersonating a military member. Dressing up for a reenactment doesn't constitute a crime.

Report a Crime - regarding impersonation fraud

The problem isn't jurisprudence, it's deterrence. What's to stop someone from impersonating a military member in the first place - as we see with crime, penalties don't deter violation of the law?

I guess the answer is to treat military members the same as the general public and not offer them benefits, but that doesn't jive with me, and for a patriotic US population, I suppose it wont go over well there either.

What's to stop someone from impersonating a military member on this forum? What checks and balances, what deterrence and what penalties exist to quash this behavior?

This is why we, those who've actually served, act to deconstruct their argument and discredit their claims, it outs those who claim to have served without actually doing so - which was the crux of my comment here:

Lets give a warm welcome to a US Army member ! | Page 4

 

[Armstrong]

We do - conscription (I enlisted), most people can claim to have military experience because of it, but not everyone does this. In the US there aren't too many checks to guard against someone claiming to be a SEAL:

THE SCOURGE OF NAVY SEAL IMPOSTERS

To get free beer or other perks. As a result people "game the system" at a local level, but keep their heads down at a federal one, since military impersonation is a crime - but only if you receive benefits while impersonating a military member. Dressing up for a reenactment doesn't constitute a crime.

Report a Crime - regarding impersonation fraud

The problem isn't jurisprudence, it's deterrence. What's to stop someone from impersonating a military member in the first place - as we see with crime, penalties don't deter violation of the law?

I guess the answer is to treat military members the same as the general public and not offer them benefits, but that doesn't jive with me, and for a patriotic US population, I suppose it wont go over well their either.

I dunno ma'am how that happens over there in your countries 'cause I have never....ever....ever heard of anyone impersonating a member of the armed forces in Pakistan let alone gaming the system as one. Our military guys @Xeric and @Icarus could tell us more about that but judging by the fact that the Army just reinstated a Major General just to court martial him for corruption, I dunno if impersonating a soldier and receiving benefits for that is going to go unnoticed with them.

 

[James David]

lol, adorable. i want to squeeze that to death! that's how cute it is.

And you two @Nihonjin1051 and @Technogaianist have to rub in the salt in my wounds!??! Lol!!! Actually i experienced something funny in the Big Apple, there was this fellow wearing a full dress uniform for enlisted men, he was walking and ofcourse bystanders were thanking for his service blah blah blah...then i noticed him carrying bags from a dept store. I asked him where is his unit now, last deployment, the works! He was wearing a Ranger Tab naturally i asked all the questions that only a ranger can answer. Next thing i did was call a cop who is my neighbor and the rest is history!