French DCNS starts construction of Mistral class ships for Russian Navy
03 Dec 2011
France has started building the first Mistral amphibious assault ship for the Russian Navy, the French DCNS shipbuilding company said through a statement. It said it had received advance payment from Moscow.
''The first Mistral ship will be delivered to Russia in 2014 and the second in 2015,'' a corporation spokesman said.
The $1.2bn contract was signed by the parties in June.
Russia will build the third and fourth ships of this class at its own yards. These ships will use 80 per cent indigenous content. The $80 million contract for the construction of these hulls was signed by Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation and the Baltiisky Zavod shipyard on Friday in the presence of Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin.
Construction of the second ship at DCNS yards is due to start after some months and will proceed simultaneously with the first.
The Mistral is capable of carrying up to 16 heavy helicopters and transferring up to 900 servicemen and 70 armoured vehicles.
Russia has said it plans to use the Mistral class ships in its Northern and Pacific fleets.
