Russian shipbuilders, military in conflict over Mistral deal

[SpArK]

Russian shipbuilders, military in conflict over Mistral deal​

Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) has been taken out of the contractual talks with France on the purchase of Mistral class amphibious assault ships, a Russian business daily said Tuesday.
The Kommersant newspaper cited anonymous defense industry sources as saying state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport will represent Russia in direct talks with France's DCNS from now on.

Kommersant speculates that the removal of the USC from the talks could be the result of the company's aspirations to acquire a status of an "independent dealer" on the lucrative arms exports market.
Rosoboronexport, backed by the Russian Defense Ministry, has almost monopolized Russia's arms exports and apparently does not want new players to bite into its share in enormous profits from growing arms sales, which totaled $10 billion in 2010.

Moscow and Paris signed on January 25 an intergovernmental agreement to jointly build four Mistral-class helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy.

Russia's input to the construction of the first Mistral-class warship will be 20% and 40% in the second.
The third and fourth ships are to be built in Russia, whose share of labor input will subsequently rise to 80%.
The talks on the actual contract to build Mistral ships are still underway. The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said the contract could be signed in April-march this year.

Under the Russian-French agreement the first Mistral-class ship, with a price tag of 720 million euros, is expected to be built in late 2013-early 2014 and the second in late 2014-early 2015.

A Mistral-class ship is capable of carrying 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, 70 armored vehicles, and 450 personnel.

A number of Russia's neighbors have expressed concern over the upcoming deal, in particular Georgia and Lithuania.

However, the first two Mistral class ships will most likely join Russia's Pacific Fleet with an obvious task to protect the disputed Kuril Islands.
MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti)

Russian shipbuilders, military in conflict over Mistral deal | Defense | RIA Novosti

 

[DV RULES]

Russian military justifies purchase of Mistral ships
Topic: Russia's purchase of French Mistral-class warship


10/02/2011

Russia has decided to buy Mistral ships from France because it would have taken at least 10 years to develop a similar domestic model, Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov said Thursday.

"It could take at least 10 years to develop a ship similar to Mistral," Makarov said. "And meanwhile someone will create a better weapon [than Mistral]."

Makarov said Russia should buy the best of modern weaponry abroad to be built under license in Russia.

He also said that the Russian state armaments procurement program until 2020 would be adjusted and would total 23 trillion rubles ($785 billion), or 2 trillion rubles ($68 billion) more than originally planned.

A consortium comprised of French DCNS and Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) won a tender on the construction of four helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy in December 2010.

Moscow and Paris signed an intergovernmental agreement to jointly build the four ships on January 25.

Under the agreement, the first Mistral-class ship, with a price tag of 720 million euros, is expected to be completed in late 2013-early 2014 and the second in late 2014-early 2015.

Russia will construct 20% of the first warship, 40% of the second and 80% of the last two, which are to be built on Russian territory.

Talks on the actual contract to build Mistral ships are still underway. A Rosoboronexport delegation is expected to arrive in France in February to continue the negotiations and sign the contract in April this year.

A Mistral-class ship is capable of carrying 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, 70 armored vehicles, and 450 personnel.


Russian military justifies purchase of Mistral ships | Defense | RIA Novosti

 

[Kinetic]

WoW!!! That creates a history. I think Russia is the only country which has all the major weapons built indigenously since WW-II.