Russia and France Sign Mistral Class Helicopter Carrier Agreement

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On January 25, 2011 Russia and France signed an agreement to jointly build Mistral-class helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy. Mistral is a multi purpose amphibious assault ship/helicopter carrier/hospital ship in the French Navy. The contract is yet to be signed between both countries.

Some interesting features of the agreement are:

was signed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and French Defense Minister Allain Juppe in the presence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
totally four warships are to be built: first two at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France (in late 2013-early 2014) and remaining two at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg, Russia (second in late 2014-early 2015).
Russian expertise to be used in the construction is expected to be
- first ship – 20%
- second ship – 40%
Russian expertise is to increase to 80% for the third and fourth ships, to be built in Russia.
has a price tag of approximately 720 million Euros.
Mistral-class ship can carry 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, 70 armored vehicles and 450 personnel.

Here is the graphics of Mistral Class Helicopter Carrier from Marine nationale, France.